The Vagus Nerve
The Vagus Nerve extends from the hypothalamus area of your brain, hitting the ear, then going down through the chest, diaphragm, and then down to the intestines, with branches wrapping around your heart and communicating with many, many other organs on the way.
This very important nerve impacts every system of the body in one way or another. To paraphrase what I heard a fellow footzone instructor, Brad Noall, say (more than once) when I took his class about 10 years into my own years as a footzone therapist, “The Vagus Nerve is, or could be, the answer to nearly every question on a footzone class final test.” It is my belief, based on years of experience, that the Vagus Nerve impacts and plays a role, somehow or another, as this quote from Brad illustrates, with every system of the body!
I would like to share with you, in this newsletter, a small part of the things we discuss about the Vagus Nerve when holding Foot Zone classes at ButterflyExpressions. (I love to teach, especially anatomy for any reason whatsoever, so teaching ‘the Zone’ is particularly fun for me!)
The Vagus Nerve and the Nervous System
There is, of course, no time nor space for an entire Medical School treatise on the Nervous System or even just the Vagus nerve and all of its functions in the body in this newsletter
The Vagus is an integral part of every branch of the Nervous System. It has roles to play in both the Central Nervous System (Brain, Brain Stem, and Spinal Cord), and in the Autonomic Nervous System with its three divisions (Peripheral Nervous System, Sympathetic Nervous System, and what I refer to as the Social Engagement Network—which is a discussion for another day).
The sympathetic division mobilizes the body’s organs and systems during extreme situations such as fear, anger, and increased activity and exercise. The parasympathetic division allows us to “wind down”, returning to a less energy-intensive state when the crisis is over.
The Sympathetic division of the ANS
Often referred to as the “fight or flight” system, the sympathetic division becomes active when we are excited or find ourselves in an emergency or threatening situation. There is a third aspect to the sympathetic nervous system. This is the “freeze” mode.
The sympathetic division works at full speed when we are emotionally upset as well as when we are physically challenged. The adrenal glands pump excessive amounts of hormones into the system. Sympathetic nervous system activation can last for several minutes—or forever if we insist on remaining emotionally triggered. The effects will last until the excess hormones produced but no longer needed are destroyed by the liver. A compromised liver slows this process, leaving us in a state of hyperactivity and vigilance, with unneeded hormones creating havoc in our bodies. Often referred to as the “fight or flight” system, the sympathetic division becomes active when we are excited
The Parasympathetic division of the ANS
The Parasympathetic Nervous System is in charge of and controls the basic functions of the body that occur without a person even giving it a thought. These functions include, to name just a few, the heartbeat, breathing, digesting, and even sweating.
This system is most active when the body is at rest and not threatened in any way. Energy is being conserved by the body. The parasympathetic division is sometimes referred to as the “resting and digesting” division of the ANS. Blood pressure and respiratory rates are being regulated at low normal levels, and the digestive tract is actively engaged. The skin is warm because there is no need to divert blood supplies to fight or flight mechanisms. The parasympathetic division might even be described as the “housekeeping” (repairing) system of the body.
The Vagus Nerve and the Digestive System
One of the important functions of the vagus nerve is to send and receive messages to control the functioning of the digestive system. In fact, this nerve is the main communication between the brain and the digestive system.
The ability of the body to uptake nutrients is greatly compromised when communication between the Vagus Nerve and the digestive system is disrupted in any way. As a result, overall health deteriorates as organs are ‘starved’ of the nutrients that they need. The body, meaning the nervous system, simply cannot be in a ‘stressed and non-restful state’ and take up nutrients.
The sensation of being full is also transmitted to the brain by the vagus nerve. Stimulation and balance of the vagus nerve is a great help in controlling weight gain. Digestive enzymes are produced and released in the stomach according to this input, telling us whether or not we are full or hungry, satisfied or unsatisfied with what we have eaten. The vagus nerve has a tremendous impact on food cravings and the ability to control them.
The vagus nerve is also responsible for muscle control throughout our digestive systems. This would include the muscle contractions and relaxations that make up the peristalsis that moves things along to excretion in the intestinal tract.
Other Responsibilities of the Vagus Nerve
The excretion of wastes by the kidneys is influenced by the branches of the nerve that reach the kidneys and the bladder.
The Vagus Nerve stimulates secretions from the pancreas as well as stimulates the excretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Diabetes and digestive issues of all sorts depend on a healthy Vagus Nerve and a healthy Nervous System overall.
This nerve is also responsible for sensory and motor functions to the pharynx, larynx, esophagus, trachea, and bronchi.
The vagus nerve regulates the heartbeat and blood pressure. Further, this nerve controls the coughing reflex, the breathing reflex, and the vomiting reflex.
It also helps regulate body temperature by stimulating sweat glands. Of course, many other glands of the body are also responsive to the Vagus Nerve! In fact, the entire endocrine system answers, in my ways, to signals from this important nerve!
Activating and Regulating the Vagus Nerve
Fortunately, there are many ways to activate and strengthen the Vagus nerve. One very simple way is deep breathing exercises.
Taking a deep breath in through your mouth and breathing so deeply that your stomach rises and your diaphragm expands, then slowly breathing out through your nose, will kick your vagus nerve into gear and activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
It is claimed that doing any type of singing strengthens the Vagus Nerve.
AND, of course, there are Vagus nerve foot-zone points on the feet (or points on the hand if you can figure out how to make the correlation).
‘Grounding’, in some circles and descriptions, refers to the mental, spiritual, and emotional effect of having direct contact with the Earth, such as by walking barefoot or lying on the ground. Research has shown that such grounding can reduce inflammation in the body and repair free radical damage. When a person becomes properly ‘grounded’ as a regular part of their lives, they can expect improvement in blood pressure numbers, sleep quality, pain and stress levels, and wound healing. Improved mental acuity and overall emotional balance are part of their lives.
However, it is believed—I would call it known—that there are many other ways to achieve the positive effects of “grounding” to the earth than walking around barefoot. As you probably know, there are many types of ‘grounding mats’ on the market today. Although I have a couple of these mats, they are not the topic of this article today.
In my opinion—and in the opinions of many people who use various alternative methods of wellness every day—many other ways to feel emotionally and physically centered and balanced were built right into this earth’s creation and in the things created and made available to us. Many of the products produced and sold at Butterfly Express are useful in ways that improve the ‘grounding’ of the individuals who make use of them on a regular (daily) basis. The following products, with accompanying special pricing, are the focus of this newsletter.
Of course, the things mentioned here are only a few of the wonderful things available to us in God’s Pharmacy.
Lymph Care Using Foot Zone Techniques
The lymphatic system is a vital part of our circulatory and immune systems. It consists of a network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, and lymphatic organs, including your spleen and tonsils.
How do I adequately describe the lymphatic system without needing as many pages as I print up when teaching about this body-wide system during the Foot Zone therapy classes that I teach?
Let’s begin today by imagining a team inside your body that is constantly working to keep everything—and I do mean everything!— in balance. That is our lymphatic system!
I find the chosen title of this article, those big bold words above, to be educational all by themselves. WOW! Caring for our lymphatic systems is precisely what we are doing during a ‘cleanse’, even if that cleanse is meant to target the intestinal tract specifically. Every alternative method of eliminating allergies that works recognizes this and works to cleanse and strengthen this vital system.
Energy and Energy Protection
‘Energy and Energy Protection’. What an interesting and fitting topic to discuss with Foot Zone Therapists. Why do I say this? I want to tell three short—very short—stories to explain.
First story: For a short time during my childhood, my mother experienced some very difficult health issues. The severe anemia she suffered, as well as the pain she endured with repeated miscarriages and surgeries, resulted in stress, tension, and—sometimes—irritability and impatience. It didn’t take much self-awareness, even as a child, to realize that tension in the home had a profound effect on the other members of my family! I even asked my father once why I had to behave ‘like an adult’ when my mother didn’t have to. I will always remember his words to me. “Dear daughter,” he said, “Because you can and, right now, with your mother’s health as it is, she cannot.”
What does this first story have to do with energy protection and zoning feet? People come to us seeking answers for health issues they are having. Many times, those issues come with emotional baggage connected to or resulting from the stress they are creating in their lives. As a young zone therapist, I didn’t expect that. I didn’t even recognize, at first, that it was happening. My husband, most helpfully, pointed it out to me!
My dear, patient husband explained to me one day that when he saw a certain car pull into the driveway carrying a young couple for zones, he absolutely avoided coming home until I had finished up with them and they had been gone for some time. That astonished me, especially when he explained that, after this couple left, I was extraordinarily critical of him, discontented, and difficult to live with for a time! They had always seemed so polite to each other to me. I had not recognized the ‘politeness’ for the underlying stress and contention that later led to their not-amicable-in-the-least divorce.
A short while later, my husband pointed out something else to me that I had not recognized or considered either.
My husband pointed out to me that if a client came with a headache (or a cough or just about anything else), they left without it at the end of the Zone session, but that I struggled with it, sometimes even for several days. I realized that he was absolutely right about that a great deal of the time.
I was already playing with (my name for blending) essential oils when I learned to zone feet. I immediately set out to make a blend using essential oils whose aromas were described, around the world, as having ‘energy protecting or ‘repelling’ properties. The Butterfly Express essential oil blend I called LeBenediction was the result. It took several attempts at blending to finally come up with this powerfully effective blend! Why the name LeBenediction? Because, previously, prayer for protection and healing was the way I was coping with whatever I picked up from a zone. (And more than a bit of prayer went into figuring out the proper oils and proportions of those oils for this blend!)
In this article, I will give a description of LeBenediction and of the newer blend, created by a very talented employee, LeGuardian. At the end of the article, I will try to contrast and explain when it might be best to use one or the other of these two blends.
The heart is an incredible muscle—yes, muscle. The amount of work done by the heart each day is almost too incredible to even believe. The body contains approximately six quarts of blood. This blood is pushed through the blood vessels over 1000 times in a day. The heart, incredibly, pumps about 6000 quarts (about 1,500 gallons) of blood in a single day for all the days of one’s life!
There is simply no way that I can cover the complicated workings and anatomy of the heart in this article. (I certainly do try during Foot Zone Therapy classes, as some of you can probably attest, to do my best with pages and pages of information—possibly too much information—in the material provided.
Two systems regulate heart activity. One involves the nerves of the autonomic nervous system and acts as an accelerator and as brakes for the heart rate. The other is the intrinsic conduction system—nodes which are built right into the heart tissue. This system sets the basic rhythm of the heart. For this article, let me stress firmly (very firmly) that when a person is under either physical or emotional stress, the heart works much too hard, pumping faster and more forcefully, in order to make more oxygen and glucose available to the systems of the body. The good news: For people who know how to handle stress more calmly or know how to rest and rejuvenate between periods of stress or hard work, the heart will slow down and beat steadily. This gives the heart a period of rest when the crisis is over.
Stress Cardiomyopathy – Broken Heart Syndrome
A troubled mind may lead to a broken heart in a very literal and physical sense.
Many patients arriving at emergency rooms and doctors’ offices with symptoms of a heart attack have just experienced the death or loss of a loved one. Traumatic experiences such as a car accident or mugging are also recognized as triggers for heart attack-type symptoms.
Intense emotional events can trigger your sympathetic nervous system, unleashing a flood of chemicals. This sudden surge of chemicals can stun the heart’s muscle and leave it temporarily, and sometimes permanently, unable to pump properly. In medical speak, this is referred to as ‘Stress Cardiomyopathy’. Energy workers often refer to this situation as ‘Broken Heart Syndrome’. It is very real!
My point? If we insist on living our lives in real or imaginary stress, we will be increasing, daily, the stress on our hearts.
A second point? Anything that strengthens you emotionally—whether oils, herbs, exercise, faith, or anything else—will benefit your heart. . . and the heart certainly needs all the help that we can give it. Statistically speaking, heart disease of various types is the leading cause of death for both men and women and has been for more than a century!
I have been a teacher all of my life! I was given the responsibility to lead the music in my LDS primary meetings when I was 11 years old and should have been just an attendant. By the time I was 14 years old, I was also the teacher of a Sunday School class of 4-year old children. (Primary was on Mondays in those long ago days, so it was possible for me to do both!) I loved those callings!
What does this have to do with this newsletter highlighting Butterfly Express, LLC specials for other Foot Zone specialists? Not much, maybe, except a desire to share some of what I have learned over these many intervening years!. I am getting older by the day, and sharing what I have learned, often by hard experience, is the best of the things that fill my days!
I have been zoning feet for almost 30 years, guessing as best I can about the ages of my children at the time. Although our family was already using both herbal and homeopathic remedies, learning to ‘zone’ feet made a significant impact on the health of my family, just as it had done for me when I began getting zoned regularly a few months before begging to be taught to do it myself. My husband’s health was very sketchy at the time, as it had been for many years already. I believe, as I did then, that regular foot zones kept him with us. His health, even now at 73 years old, is better than it was then!
After some deliberation and visiting with an employee who also knows the Zone, we decided to feature the Synergy Kit to offer these ‘whole-body’ oils to zone therapists at a discount, along with a bit of information about various body systems and the essential oil blends, mostly formulated by me, that I have found useful during foot zones over the years.
I am so excited about this new monthly Butterfly Foot Zone Focus. I have spent more than 25 years creating and then using Butterfly Products as I learned bit by bit what worked for what during a Foot Zone Session. (I even got a vote on what would be featured in this first month’s specials, ha ha.)
When the words ‘self-care’ or ‘self-improvement’ are heard, people tend to conjure up different trains of thought, especially if they apply them immediately to themselves. For some of us, the idea of ‘caring for ourselves’ may get confused with ‘caring too much for self” and/or “caring too little for others”. But failing to look out for your own health can result in a decline in physical and/or mental health in so many gradual and insidious ways! And your poor health, or even lack of optimal health, can impact those around you in so many ways.