You've Got Some Nerve!

Each month, the CMP team gathers to learn and grow together. We are deepening our own practice and strengthening our ability to share meditation and mindfulness with the community members who join our sessions. This past month, Carol Shear and Lisa Sheehan, two of our facilitators, helped us expand our understanding of the Vagus Nerve - the nerve that runs from the base of the brain down the spinal cord and connects the mind and the body as it touches most of the organs in the torso.

Lisa and Carol combined have more than 60 years of health and meditation training and experience, having studied at UMass Center for Mindfulness, Duke University, the Insight Meditation Center, Kripalu, Omega Institute (and many others) and having studied with teachers such as Jon Kabat-Zinn, Saki Santorelli, Dr. Jeff Brantley, Tara Brach, Jillian Pransky, Dr. Herbert Benson and Judson Brewer.

The way the Vagus nerve functions and the information that it conveys from brain to body and body to brain play a major role in our physical and mental well-being. There is a lot to know about the Vagus nerve, but one of the most important points is that the way we breathe affects the messages that the Vagus nerve sends to the brain and the body about whether we are safe or whether we are in peril. Free flowing and deep breaths that allow the diaphragm to float up and down help our system understand that we can be in “rest and digest” mode. Short, shallow or frozen breaths can make our system think that we are in trouble and should be in “fight or flight” mode.

So what does this have to do with meditation? For one, when we engage in mindfulness of breathing - bringing attention to the movement of the breath as it enters and leaves the body - we may often find that our breath flows more evenly and freely than when we’re pre-occupied. This period of breathing easily and knowing that we’re breathing easily can help our nervous system stay at or return to a regulated state. Equally important, by paying attention to our breath, we become more familiar with what it feels like to breathe freely and that helps us to be aware of when we’re not breathing freely. Often, when we’re engaged in an activity, whether it’s typing, chopping vegetables or driving, we may hold our breath without knowing it. For instance, my mother (Hi Mom - love you!) holds her breath when she is preparing to turn while driving. This frozen breath can set off small or large alarm bells in the brain and body, causing a release of stress hormones.

In mindfulness of breathing, we place about 75% of our attention on the feeling of the breath entering and leaving the body, with the remainder of our attention available to take in sounds, be aware of thoughts and emotions and other sensations. In engaged life, with practice, the sensations caused by breathing remain a part of our conscious awareness even when we’re driving, chopping vegetables or typing so that we’re much more likely to breathe more fluidly throughout our day.

For a deeper dive into the Vagus nerve, we recommend reading Vagus Nerve by David Reyes or The Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges.

We hope you can join us at one of our ten meditation sessions (zoom and by phone) this week.

May all beings breathe freely and easily,
Your CMP Family