based on the books written by Dr Chandra shekhar bhatt titled Vajramukti Chandra shekhar’s art of
Indian gung fu ISBN 81-7525-010-0 ,Yoga the gift from sanatana to mankind 81-901041-0-1
Diabetes may develop due to impure blood as caused by
tensions, worries, thoughts excessive intake of flesh foods, carbohydrates
excessive sexual indulgence or side effect of strong drugs.
In diabetes sugar level is elevated in the blood, it
happens by diseasing the body’s system
of assimilating and utilizing glucose, which affects other vital organs
of the body as pancreas, liver, kidney, and complicates the body functioning.
It is mainly a stress related disorder, but it happens with all other diseases
& also is due to karmic
entanglement.
Biologically the internal secretion of the pancreas insulin helps digestion of food. It prepares dextrose from glycogen which is manufactured
by the liver from starches, fats, albumen and carbohydrates. This is the sugar
for energy stored up into the calls of the pancreas and it’s burnt according to
the physical needs which maintains the body temperature, and keeps up the
nerves and tissues active
A weak livercannot
store up glycogen as required by the body, nor can the weak pancreas create
dextrose for the purpose of our activity. The sugar then returns to the stream
of blood, overloads it and destroy the alkalinity resulting in poor body
resistance, kidney over strains in filtering the sugar from blood stream, which
demands profuse water for dissolution of excess sugar resulting state of thirst
and frequent urination.
It concludes
the main reason as indigestion or accumulation of fats which is not burnt or
excessive intake of carbohydrates and fats.
cut out cleverness
simplicity of heart will take you to real luv inner calm success in essence
& inner smile of Buddha an awakened one Dr chandra shekhar bhatt
www.ulslab.blogspot.com
Prevention& cure for Diabetes, Personality development
& Success
Accepting all ways as the way as Hindus has accepted all religions
even the one not accepted by western world the Parsis were accepted in this
land of Hindus. Different martial arts are like different religions goal of all
is same to go inside, once you start travelling inside there is no religion no
path no way… when individuality is dissolved where are the tools to operate we
also don’t know how to give awareness of that to all
I saw a boy of eleven years attacked by some seven or eight people his bag of
tomato was thrown he had no knowledge of martial art he just moved with whoever
was nearby touching the empty space he found and went on with all and got away collecting his
left over tomatoes. If you can move within the space by just observing you have
made your martial art. But it’s not possible with all if we are depressed due
to various reasons may be we won’t be able to defend all the time the only way
is to train by inculcating your experiences and making your own system. But
if you cannot due to past imprints on your consciousness to what Hindus believe
as karmas then you can go to some systems or learn from the event you pass through
and make your own awareness system suiting you the best. As master Lee said if
you understand the principals of different arts and if you learn to flow with
the movements you have made the system for your body mind quantum,same as master lee worked on in the name of man
who was once fluid. Yoga
the way of life given by the people who went inside and thought of helping
people because in essence we are all spark of that same light. Hindu kings send
their love sometime as accepting Buddhism and sending monks around the world to
spread love they accepted Jews and others from world as their own extensions. Martial
arts spreading were just the byproduct there were many arts remained silently
flowing in its own accordance. If you don’t like yoga as a Hindu word you can
learn from the western people who learned yoga extensively and came out adding
their awareness to it as Ida Rolfs system or her many students developing the
branches in many forms, and if you find short of economic needs come in India
there are still people who teach free, out of love but learn to relax and then
be in your way until you feel need to know thyself.
History of Indian martial art is beyond time framework there are
masters living in Himalayas who can attack you and change your thought process
from thousands miles, but they don’t because you are undivided part of the
whole and you have your own free will. Once a
professor of Harvard University asked Swami Vivekanandaji, whether he knew
about anyone who has studied Self-hypnosis?
Swamiji said in western countries whatever they call as hypnotism, it is just
the part of the actual text which Rishis called as—— atmapasammohan
(dehypnotisation) they say, you are already hypnotized, you have to
dehypnotize.
With mind the speech, without knowing that, comes
back,
By knowing that one, the fear remains not this is
dehypnotisation.
Swami ji was not in favor of treating people by
hypnotism. He said that every individual has power of Braham. By someone else
controlling it, there are very much chances of you losing your own will power.
There
are master livings of age more than two thousand years. Hindu kings Ashoka
abandon martial arts because his being was touched so deeply by the adverse
effects the war gives. Chinese have come to the land of Hindus at the time of
Moriya dynasty, when Nalanda was the center of education in its natural sense
and essence. Flowing in accordance with nature all subjects were unfolded in
its natural way, understanding everything as spark of light from which all came
into existence. The
science of Yoga is the base of Indian martial art which goes subtly and
naturally beyond modern psycho-physiology for example while I was teaching yoga
I came across a female with psychosomatic problem it took three years for her
to become normal so as she don’t know if she was facing such problem. In psycho
systems they treat patients to eliminate emotions by relieving past experiences
same is achieved by practicing one moola bandha of yogic sciences but it takes
time to affect the centers at brain.
All ranks, all rules, all pre-orchestrated movement, all
limitations are respected by us and carried forward as development of mind body
relationship ,except for the limitation of mind and body is the way ofmoving from "Law of Nature" to
beyond the juxtaposition of mind and body or mind and matter through meditation.Indian martial Art is a system of real
education working as a bud transforms into flower no force required it’s the
relaxed way of Yoga. Meditation on third eye is the way wherein you can break
the knot of mind and matter. Agastya muni had coded down these in the form of
sutras for good people to read and practice through meditation but very few
people can excel in that like Prakasan from south part of India could do
thathe could attack without contact
within 10 feets and the person will be knocked down , Indian Martial Art is a
system beyond normal understanding because of its vast history wherever Hindu
kings ruled around the world they never exploited the humanity inspite of such
high knowledge on martial arts the king like Ashoka renounced weapons it was
due to love for humanity understanding the higher purpose of being in the human
birth. By reading the book by a yogi who left his body voluntarily at united
states at a last speech uttering that where Ganges flow men leave their houses
in search of god lo.. my soul have touched that sod and he left the body can
you imagine, have you ever noticed such happening. His book is named
Autobiography of a yogi…..
Let me tell you about the interest on yoga in Russia, justice V. R Krishna Iyer former judge of Supreme Court of
India, at the time of visiting a town near Leningrad. He asked a group of
professors there whether they had thought about what happens when man dies.
After a few minutes discussion, one of the professors quietly went inside and
came out with the book “Autobiography of a yogi.”
He was surprised. In a country ruled by the
materialistic philosophy of Marx and Lenin, here is an official of a government
institute showing him Paramhansa ji’s book “Please realize that the spirit of
India is not alien to us”, said professor “We accept the authenticity of
everything recorded in this book, and we are trying to understand the state of
super conscious this soul must have possessed while here in the body. Our
research is focused on that.
V. R. Krishna Iyer wished there were scientific
institutes in India that would have the courage openly to say, “We are doing
research into the super consciousness of the paramhansa. But we do not yet have
the courage.
education in human biomechanics and the study
of human behavior under extreme situations is like being aware of how bud
transforms into flower you cannot forcibly do it, it should be in accordance
with the harmony of nature Students should be guided to introspect their vision
to explore their full human potential by learning the art of relaxation by
various aspects of yoga. The learning without competition adding the quality of feeling and ease, as
equality and enjoyment of stillness in action are derived from a Sanskrit sloka
“sthir sukham asanam” study pleasurable is the pose and the second part is “pyatam
sathilyam anant smapatibhyam” meaning where effort ceases to exist or the state
of effortless effort then you are in the way towards infinite. Movement should
be natural tension free in a deep relaxed state. Exertion had to kept bare minimum
because in yoga there no exertion it’s not exercise, and acquirement of skill
is based on the study of Indian Yogic philosophy, Slowly naturally developing
into laws of interdisciplinary kinesiology, biomechanics, and psycho-physiology
with easy yogic practices avoiding exertion understanding the philosophy
because it’s not callisthenic.
In Indian Martial Art, the main goal of a person is to avoid conflict by word
of mouth or diffuse it by using nonviolent methods, avoid such places and
situations at extreme situations just …….. Render the adversary harmless while
minimizing losses for both self and foe. Students learn to be aware of self defense
self understanding self exploration and be in the path of self realization work
efficiently in any situation that requires defense, prevention of aggression,
or conflict resolution. This is how the Indian Martial Artist takes an
individual from action to liberation it’s not to become fighters but to
understand our tools to use at the right moment in self defense self
understanding and self exploration.
Characteristics of Indian Martial Art
Indian thought believes that god resides
in every particle I have interacted with Dr Ram Bhosle a martial artist healer
and the freedom fighter. He wanted to make a sitar an instrument to play music generally
it has sixteen to seventeen stubs or gattas in between but he wanted to make
thirty two, so he went to a tree and bowed prayed to tree. Which was situated
at the river bank, the flow of continuous water was there underneath the tree.
He requested to the tree that he wanted his wood for good reasons and then he
made instrument out of that. Sir Jajdish Chandra basu worked to break the
barrier between animate and inanimate by making his instrument kriskograph and
proved that every particle has life we can understand Indian martial art by
understanding the Indian healing or medicinal approach towards lovingbeings, the three approaches, Ayurvedic
allopathic and homeopathic. The allopathic approach combats the symptom; the
homeopathic approach amplifies and utilizes the symptom in the therapeutic
process Ayurvedic goes to the root of the conflict because the rishis have
understood that the five elements earth is enemy of water, water is enemy of
fire, fire is enemy of air and space eats all. So they conclude three as the
savior of the body mind quantum as in conjunction and they are wind bile and mucus. If these three are in
harmony your system will be finely tuned. The yogic postures practiced have effects
in whole endocrinal system to its brain centers if suppose someone is habitual bribe
taker it’s because some of his gland isn’t working proper off course it has its
past imprints in his consciousness due to the actions performed by him. Around
the globe you can see the vast use of yoga and its relaxation methodology by
some way or other, if you cannot do a normal exercise of stomach in an western exertion
way you can practice same in a breakup yogic way all are using it except some
like great grand master Bruce Lee may accept it and recommend Indian
philosopher Jkrishnamurti for mental cultivation others start with their own
names and country but Hindus are liberal to give out of love for humanity and
by the way at death not a farthing can be carried away. What matters are your
actions performed because they are carried away as imprints in your being.The Ayurvedic approach is seen in very few
forms of martial art, for it orients not on conquering and controlling
adversary, not on non-resistance and amplification but on going to the source
of human nature’s karmic juxtaposition as to why certain individual is like
that because from one light all have evolved so who is bad or good under the
roof of that one lord all are same.
.
In the entire globe land of Hindus is the only
place where non violence had been practiced from thousands of years in the
recent era Gandhi is the supreme example to conclude. Vajramukti is a non
violent art uses body and its processes as means towards an end to know thyself
and holistic healing. I am trying to describe or put my awareness of
nonviolence, by quoting dialogue between Yulteshwar giri and Paramhansa
Yogananda author of Autobiography of a Yogi.
Yuktesgwar
ji was interpreting the ancient texts.Yoganandaji was also sitting there. A
mosquito sat upon his thigh and was distracting his attention.Yogananda raised
his hand, but at the same time he remembered Patanjalis sutra of nonviolence
{ahimsa}.
“Why didn’t
you finish the job?” said Yukteshwarji
“Master
!Do you advocate taking life?” replied
Yoganandaji
“No, but in
your mind you had already struck the death blow.
“I don’t
understand”
“By ahimsa
Patanjali meant removal of the desire to kill”
This world
is conveniently arranged for a literal practice of ahimsa. Man may be compelled
to exterminate harmful creatures, he is not under a similar compulsion to feel
anger or animosity.
Patanjali yoga sutra 11…35 says.
“In the
presence of a man perfected in ahimsa {nonviolence}
Enmity does
not arise.”
This is the
state true martial artist should strive to be in it’s the inner state of
developed mind
In
evaluation as human we should go away from war for higher evolution
Saturday, 11 October 2014
I have worked with these mudras with
patients with mental problems it can be helpful for any psychosomatic disorders
more easily than other made up exercises
Sources is from my book published
from
Germany Black belt in karate &
authority in Yoga
Vajramukti Tao of holistic healing
for ageless body
Timeless mind ISBN 978-3-659-18745-2 available atwww.amazon.com
Now suppose
you have some mental problem, a yogi will give you a simple bandha a Jivha
bandha (tongue lock), which is very important in kriya yoga (a higher yogic
science). It is to touch your tongue to the upper palate of your mouth and
stretch. You can see this in these two postures.You can sit in any pose back
should be straight.
There won’t
be any harm by performing it and if you are interested, you can go for higher
meditative purpose also. This one bandha has got a profound effect on vagus
nerve, which is the highest autonomic nerve and it sends fibres to many glands
and organs. The autonomic nervous system is divided fubctionally into two
parts, Sympathetic & Parasympathetic system. Sympathetic system lies in
front of the vertebral column and is associated and connected with the spinal
cord by the nerve fibres. The Parasympathetic system is divided into two parts
composed of cranial and sacral autonomic nerves.
These sympathetic and parasympathetic
cords constitute the Autonomic system which supplies nerves to the involuntary
organs such as heart,lungs,intestines,kidnes,liver etc and controls them. The
vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve and is associated with the medulla
oblongata.
For further reading or practising
The Neurobiology of Grace Under Pressure
8 habits that stimulate your vagus
nerve and keep you calm, cool, and collected.
When was the last time that you had
to perform gracefully in a high-pressure situation? How did you handle it? Did
you choke or did you have grace under pressure? Researchers continue to confirm
that daily habits of mindset and behavior can create a positive snowball effect
through a feedback loop linked to stimulating your vagus nerve. In this
entry I will show you 8 habits that stimulate healthy ‘vagal tone’ and allow
you to harness the power of your vagus nerve to help you stay calm, cool, and
collected in any storm.
Healthy vagal tone is indicated by a
slight increase of heart rate when you inhale, and a decrease of heart rate
when you exhale. Deep diaphragmatic breathing—with a long, slow exhale—is key
to stimulating the vagus nerve and slowing heart rate and blood pressure,
especially in times of performance anxiety. A higher vagal tone index is linked
to physical and psychological well-being. A low vagal tone index is linked to
inflammation, negative moods, loneliness, and heart
attacks.
Heart disease is the number one
killer in America. One way to improve your heart health is to focus on the
vagus-friendy lifestyle habits I explore below. Well conditioned athletes
have higher vagal tone because aerobic breathing creates healthy vagal tone,
which results in a lower resting heart rate. Healthy cardiac function is
directly linked to stimulating the vagus nerve.
In 1921, a German physiologist named
Otto Loewi discovered that stimulating the vagus nerve caused a reduction in
heart rate by triggering the release of a substance he coined Vagusstoff
(German: “Vagus Substance”). The “vagus substance” was later identified as
acetylcholine and became the first neurotransmitter identified by scientists.
Vagusstuff is literally a tranquilizer that you can self-administer
simply by taking a few deep breaths with long exhales. You can consciously tap
the power of your vagus nerve to create inner-calm on demand. This knowledge
alone should be enough to reduce the fear-of-fear-itself and give you grace
under pressure next time you need it.
What exactly is the vagus nerve?
The word vagus means "wandering" in Latin. The words vagabond, vague,
and vagrant come from the same root. The vagus nerve is known as the wandering
nerve because it has multiple branches that diverge from two thick stems rooted
in the cerebellum and brainstem that wander to the lowest viscera of your abdomen
touching your heart and most major organs along the way.
The vagus nerve is constantly sending sensory information about the state of
the body's organs "upstream" to your brain. In fact, 80-90% of
the nerve fibers in the vagus nerve are dedicated to communicating the state of
your viscera up to your brain. When people say “trust your gut” they are in
many ways saying, “trust your vagus nerve.” Visceral feelings and gut-instincts
are literally emotional intuitions transferred up to your brain via the vagus
nerve.
As with any mind-body feedback loop, messages also travel
"downstream" from your conscious mind through the vagus nerve
signaling your organs to create an inner-calm so you can “rest-and-digest”
during times of safety or to prepare your body for “fight-or-flight” in
dangerous situations.
Your vagus nerve is the commander-in-chief when it comes to having grace under
pressure. The autonomic nervous system is comprised of two polar opposite
systems that create a complementary tug-of-war which allows your body to
maintain homeostasis (inner-stability).
The sympathetic nervous system is
geared to rev you up like the gas pedal in an automobile – it thrives on
adrenaline and cortisol and is part of the fight-or-flight response. The
parasympathetic nervous system is the polar opposite. The vagus nerve is
command central for the function of your parasympathetic nervous system. It is
geared to slow you down like the brakes on your car and uses neurotransmitters
like acetylcholine and GABA to literally lower heart rate, blood pressure, and
help your heart and organs slow down.
Unfortunately, the vagus nerve’s reflexive responses can backfire and turn it
from comrade into saboteur. Anytime you psyche yourself out before an important
event, feel intimidated, or insecure your vagus nerve interprets that you are
in real danger which exacerbates these negative responses.
All of the physical symptoms of performance anxiety—racing heart, sweaty palms,
dry mouth, upset stomach, shakiness—are the result of your vagus nerve
disengaging. Luckily, you have the power to harness your vagus nerve and
keep it engaged to create grace under pressure. By understanding the incredible
power of your vagus nerve you can begin practicing ways to flex its inhibitory
strength to keep you mellow in times of distress.
8 habits that will stimulate your
vagus nerve and give you grace under pressure.
Early anatomical drawing of the
vagus nerve.
1. Visualize the Vagus Nerve. Visualizing the vagus nerve as a wellspring of
neurobiological ingredients that create mental and physical calmness will
create a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is not just the placebo effect in action.
Remember, anytime you take a deep breath and exhale you are triggering a
biological release of vagusstuff that will lower heart rate and blood pressure.
In addition to visualizing my vagus
nerve I literally talk to it in the third person like it is a separate entity.
You can try this too the next time you have the butterflies or are shaky before
a big presentation or challenge. I will literally say to my vagus nerve things
like, "I thought we were in this together. I need you to work with me
here. Come on! Don't let me down." Somehow this helps take my ego out of
the situation, puts me at ease, and makes me feel like I have a loyal comrade
on deck. Try this trick the next time you need grace under pressure and see if
it works for you.
I include this narrow anatomical
drawing to help you visualize what the vagus nerve actually looks like in your
body and to illustrate how long it is from top to bottom.
2. Practice, Practice, Practice. In a Psychology Today blog entry called No.
1 Reason Practice Makes Perfect, I wrote about the power of your
cerebellum to store muscle memory and allow you to perform
gracefully under pressure. Without extensive practice we are forced to rely too
much on the ‘executive function’ of our prefrontal cortex. Anytime you
'over-think' your performance you are more likely to choke, fumble and drop the
ball. Arthur Ashe called this “paralysis by analysis." Once the
cerebellum is running the show your vagus nerve engages which helps create
fluidity in your thoughts and actions.
3. Create Flow by balancing skill
and challenge. The key to being in the ‘zone’ or
creating a state of ‘flow’ is to find the sweet spot where your skill level
perfectly matches the challenge. Get in the habit of continually nudging
against your limits. By increasing the challenge gradually you become more
skilled and comfortable with more difficult tasks.
Seek challenges that keep you
nestled between anxiety and boredom. The key to peak performance is to have a
heightened state of arousal but an inner sense of calm reflected in a perfect
dynamic tension within the yin-yang of your autonomic nervous system. Although
it is tempting to bite-off-more-than you can chew, your vagus nerve can betray
you if it feels you're in uncharted territory. By consistently increasing your
skills you will feel at ease as you take on bigger challenges. That said, if
you ever do have the opportunity to leap frog to a high-stakes challenge, use
other techniques here to harness the vagus nerve and use it as an ally to get
you through.
4. Reframe Priorites and Values. I strongly believe that friends, family, good health, and generosity of spirit matter more
than any achievements that requires grace under pressure. In 2006, Geoffrey
Cohen, a professor at the Stanford University School of Education, conducted a series
of experiments designed to reduce test-taking pressures. In the experiment he
asked students to write a paragraph about a topic unrelated to the exam such
as: “relationships with friends and family,” “religious values,” “athletic
ability,” and “being good at art” before being tested. This brief writing
assignment significantly improved the grades of students.
Before you face any challenge or
test that fills you with performance anxiety get in the habit of reframing the
importance of the event by putting it in a broader perspective of other things
that you're good at and what matters most to you. Even when the stakes
are high, remember that every hurdle is an opportunity to learn. Mastery is a
process. Overblown performance anxiety jacks up cortisol and andrenaline levels
and makes you less likely to succeed.
5. Use neuroplasticity to re-wire
habits of positive thinking. By generating positive emotions and a learned
optimism you will ‘fire-and-wire’ together neural networks associated with a
mindset that will give you grace under pressure. The vagus nerve picks up on
signals coming from the 'top-down' and from the 'bottom-up' and uses these
signals to re-wire your mind through neuroplasticity.
On January 28, 2013 researchers at
the University of Glasgow in Scotland announced that they are hoping to help
victims of stroke to overcome physical disabilities by helping their brains to
'rewire' themselves using a Vagal Nerve Stimulator (VNS). Lead researcher
Dr Jesse Dawson, a stroke consultant and clinical senior lecturer in medicine,
described the vagus nerve by saying, "That nerve is one of the major
nerves that goes to the brain. By stimulating the nerves, you can cause
upstream changes in the brain without having to go into the brain."
It is hoped that the device will
stimulate release of the brain's own chemicals and help the brain form new
neural connections which might improve participants' arm mobility. In 2005, the
FDA approved the use of VNS for treatment-resistant depression,
although it’s use remains controversial... VNS is also used to treat epilepsy
and tinnitus.
Dr Dawson added: "Evidence from
animal studies suggests that vagus nerve stimulation could cause the release of
neurotransmitters which help facilitate neural plasticity and help people
re-learn how to use their arms after stroke, particularly if stimulation is
paired with specific tasks.” The link between vagus nerve stimulation and
neuroplasticity is strong. By focusing on creating healthy vagal tone you can
trigger similar neuroplastic changes from the bottom-up. Creating a mindset of
grace under pressure can be reinforced through the powerful mind-body
connection of the vagus nerve.
6. Seek Daily Physicality. Cardio-respiratory activity, strength training and yoga
stimulate vagal tone and harmonize hormones and neurotransmitters
linked to grace under pressure. Aerobic activity stimulates healthy vagal tone
due to the inherent diaphragmatic breathing of rhythmic cardio-respiratory
exercise. Strength training with an emphasis on a robust exhale as you push the
weight will stimulate vagal tone.
Yoga increases vagal tone, too. In a 2012 article published in Medical
Hypotheses, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM),
New York Medical College (NYMC), and the Columbia College of Physicians and
Surgeons (CCPS) presented evidence that yoga may be effective in treating
patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions such as
depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac disease.
The researchers hypothesize that stress causes an imbalance in the
autonomic nervous system (parasympathetic under-activity and sympathetic
over-activity) as well as under-activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter
GABA. According to the researchers, low GABA activity occurs in anxiety
disorders, post-traumatic
stress disorder, depression, epilepsy, and chronic pain. The hypothesis
advanced in this paper could explain why vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) works to
decrease both seizure frequency and the symptoms of depression.
"Western and Eastern medicine complement one another. Yoga is known to
improve stress-related nervous system imbalances," said Chris Streeter,
MD, associate professor of psychiatry at BUSM and Boston
Medical Center, who is the study's lead author. Streeter believes that
"This paper provides a theory, based on neurophysiology and neuroanatomy,
to understand how yoga helps patients feel better by relieving symptoms in many
common disorders."
7. Anxiety is contagious: Avoid anxious people. As a neurosurgeon, my
father needed to have grace under pressure. He understood how delicate the
sensors of his own vagus nerve were and would ask anyone in the operating room
to leave if he or she was emitting an uptight vibe.
I’ve learned to do the same in life—especially before an important event.
Because anxiety is catching, I will remove myself from the vicinity of anyone
who is negative, cynical or doubtful of my ability to hit-it-out-of-the-park in
a high stakes situation. The vagus nerve picks up on people’s vibe. Of course,
none of us like to be around high strung people, but it is particularly
important when you need to have grace under pressure.
If you are unable to remove yourself from anxious or nervous people (like in a
waiting room for an audition or near the starting line of a race) I recommend
using headphones with music that creates an appropriate mood and blocks the
ability of others' anxiety to affect your vagal tone. You can also close
your eyes and do mindfulness or meditation maneuvers to
distance your vagal nerve from picking up the nervous vibe of people in your
vicinity. Obviously, people who emit easy-going, warm, upbeat emotions are much
better for your health, longevity, and ability to perform with grace under
pressure. Seek these people out!
8. Foster Loving & Kindness. In order to maintain healthy vagal tone
it’s important to foster diverse and rewarding social connections. In a 2010
study published in Psychological Science, Barbara Frederickson and
Bethany Kok of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill focused their
attention on the vagus nerve.
Their article was titled: How
Positive Emotions Build Physical Health: Perceived Positive Social Connections
Account for the Upward Spiral Between Positive Emotions and Vagal Tone.They
discovered that a high vagal tone index was part of a feedback loop between
positive emotions, physical health and positive social connections.
Their research results suggests that positive emotions, positive social
connections, and physical health influence one another in a self-sustaining
upward spiral dynamic that scientists are just beginning to understand. Kok
states that: “We propose here that people’s ability to translate their own
positive emotions into positive social connections with others may hold one of
the keys to solving this mystery.”
In the experiment Frederickson and
Kok used a Loving-Kindness Meditation technique to help participants become
better at self-generating positive emotions. However, they also found that
simply reflecting on positive social connections and working to improve them
also caused improvements in vagal tone.
Conclusion: The Vagus Nerve and Ferocious Equanimity
Equanimity
is a core tenet of many ancient philosophies and religions. Equanimity is
defined as “Mental calmness, composure and evenness of temper, especially in a
difficult situation.” Equanimity has its biological roots in the vagus nerve
and is synonymous with grace under pressure.
Equanimity is not synonymous with
passivity. As you strive to push yourself ever higher—and take on bigger
challenges—do so with what I call “Ferocious Equanimity”. Use your vagus
nerve to stay balanced and calm when the stakes are high. As you push
against your limits remember that your vagus nerve is always there to keep you
imperturbable and steady on the high-wire act of living your life to its fullest
and maximizing your potential.
Hopefully the advice herein will
give you some tools to utilize the incredible power of your vagus nerve and
give you grace under pressure the next time you need it.
