If you are breathing you have a purpose, but what is that breath trying to tell you or what is it activating or not activating? Have you ever been aware of your breath?
What does the doctor do when we first enter this world? She/He slaps your tookus to make sure we have taken our first breath. That first breath is something we like to call spirit. When we enter this world by taking our very first breath, we are/were never educated on the gift our breath has to offer. Conscious- (being aware of) breathing allows us to regulate our nervous system. Breathing in through the nose allows nitric oxide to move from the nasal cavity to the lungs and throughout the body. Nitric oxide allows vasodilation, widening of blood vessels to lower blood pressure, heart rate and plaque buildup, decreased recovery time for an increase in fitness, reduces inflammation, increases memory retention, a powerful neurotransmitter for communication between brain cells etc. Performing breath work allows us to tap into our polyvagal system. Which is a part of our autonomic system, but is rarely spoken about (further discussed in a video shared on https://www.instagram.com/vesselchiropractic/ instagram). Conscious breathing allows the self to become meditative, centering the mind, body, and spirit into a unison, harmonious state. Creating an environment that influences the collective, the ones around you to even regulate their nervous system into a more restful, healing circumstance. Don’t just perform breath work for yourself, but for the sake of humanity. <3
When it comes to our autonomic system, we always hear about the sympathetic and parasympathetic system. Both influence our body’s reaction to stimuli and affect our nervous system. We rarely speak about the polyvagal system; the relationship our nervous system has to emotions and social engagement we encounter. To break it down; poly implies many, breaking down into the ventral and dorsal vagal. Vagal refers to our 10th cranial nerve, the vagus nerve. It is in communication with our internal organs, the viscera; the ones found in the abdomen.
The ventral vagal complex influences the heart and respiratory rate which are greatly affected by our social engagement with others. A constant regulation of ourselves asking; are we safe and secure? Am I being present and mindful? How aware am I of my surroundings?
The dorsal vagal complex deals with the digestive functions and organs below the diaphragm. When we encounter a dysfunction within this system, we are affected emotionally where we become withdrawn from crowds and feel anti-social. The dorsal is actually the most primal, the oldest to date, to be discovered, being 500 million years old. While the Ventral had been discovered 200 million years ago. Over the course of humanity, our polyvagal system has evolved. Now is our time to create a relationship with it. To honor its purpose in helping our nervous system become more self operating rather than stimulated by the external world.
Written By: Jiana Lanza DC
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