Important Vagus Nerve Nonsense Compliments of Western Medicine

Image from this article: https://www.thecut.com/2019/05/i-now-suspect-the-vagus-nerve-is-the-key-to-well-being.html

I have been teaching about the vagus nerve for years, sharing this post and the post I wrote on how I discovered this vagus nerve healing fun, before vagus nerve - yoga science research was becoming more mainstream. 

Recently, I learned some interesting information in regards to the vagus nerve and western medicine.  Someone I love had a spell that medical people refer to as a vagal response. Have you ever heard the term "vagaled out."
When the spell was first happening, I checked for the obvious
-stroke check first and when I was clear that was not the issue... I quickly checked heart rate and heart beat strength.  Heart rate was way down & thready feeling, person feels like they are going to faint, and loss of color in the face. So I knew we were most likely dealing with a vagus response. 

I, of course, looked up information to share with the one weaving this spell, so their body's response would be better understood.
In looking up vagus response information, I tapped into all this research on how the medical field now knows that a toned vagus nerve supports weight loss. 
A paragraph from one study:
    A number of studies have demonstrated that pulsed electrical stimulations on vagus nerve could induce multiple physiologic functions related to food intake, energy metabolism, and glycemic control, which can result in appreciable weight loss20–22. An implantable vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) device for weight control was recently approved by Food and Drug Administration and commercialized20,23. Major concerns of current electrical stimulation are potential compensation mechanisms that blunt physiological responses14 and vicinity tissue damage that induces adverse effects17,24,25. In addition, the electrical system is bulky and complicated in operation. All the electrical stimulations need to be programed externally and the device needs to be charged periodically13,26. How to achieve real-time-responsive and self-sustainable stimulation remains a major challenge for this promising weight control strategy.                                         National Library of Medicine

I underlined the last sentence because, instead of recommending a inner conscience connection lifestyle habit, AKA Yoga, the medical field came up with an electrical implant to intermittently stimulate the vagus nerve to possibly tone it.
AND, the medical field seems clueless about Yoga and its ability to tone the vagus nerve.
Hmmm, maybe this is Yoga's beautiful method of supporting weight loss and healthy lifestyle choices: vagus nerve toning!

Instead of recommending Yoga for the vagus nerve's toning and health, let's do the typical western medicine quick fix BullShit (another word for nonsense) and implant people with electrical stimulation devices.
Toning the vagus nerve with Yoga prevents you from missing all the benefits of doing the actual work , a truly toned vagus nerve with the side benefits of weight loss: 
-Calmer disposition 
-Deeper breathing habits & lung capacity 
-Stopping the negative self talk 
-Ability to choose healthier habits without struggle or feeling bad
-And so much more. Read my many posts on Yoga's benefits, several of them being about weight loss benefits... the Sages of India knew what they were up to!

The field of western medicine have suppressed what the sages of natural medicine have known for hundreds and hundreds of years:
-Take this lab created pill instead of an herb, Nature's healing food.
-Have this surgery instead of changing your eating and lifestyle habits.
-Let’s implant this vagus nerve electrical stimulation device instead of teaching you time honored, Yoga inner conscious connection habits. 

Trust me, I am grateful for western medicine. In emergency situations, trauma, and acute issues; western medicine shines.
For the healing of chronic lifestyle diseases, western medicine leaves a lot to be desired.

If you believe in the ability of your body, mind, & spirit to heal itself... western medicine loses its pull to have you right where they want you: buying their medically recommended drugs, surgery, etc. 

Change Doesn’t Just “Happen”...Be The Change You Want To See In Yourself. 

https://www.paulayoumellrn.com/sacred-circle-mentorship

Sacred Circle Wise Women Mentorship™ was created to support students and clients with the tools to make lifestyle changes, to be able to self heal, and to Create Constant Calm with the tools of Yoga. When I first started teaching Sacred Circle, in person classes, we did Yoga together weekly. I taught the various tools of Yoga (it is not just poses) as a means of calming and toning the parasympathetic nervous system (vagus nerve). Just like doing daily push-ups creates whole body physical strength… having a daily Yoga practice creates whole body-mind-spirit strength! You are fortifying yourself to face the challenges of life with a skip in your step.

Sacred Circle Mentorship is now an online teaching & learning experience with the HIGHLY recommended option of joining the Yoga piece. Classes start Monday, September 14th, 2020. This is the 2020 5 week session teachings of the Earth Element. Earth Element focuses on physical health; a great place to start the years mentorship work.

Read here for more info on the self healing mentorship: https://www.paulayoumellrn.com/sacred-circle-mentorship

• A functional medicine health coaching experience to teach you the lifestyle medicine habits to put into place in your self healing life. 

• Sacred Circle is the perfect weaving together of the lifestyle medicine teachings (in the mentorship) and the vagus nerve toning through gentle, very beginner's yoga (in the yoga research group) so you can be the change you want to see in yourself! 

Read Here for more info on the Yoga education piece.

• This September is a special Yoga Education Research 12 week session. I am grateful for everyone who joins to contribute to the science of Yoga, Vagus Nerve info, and betterment of health & healing modalities for everyone interested in slow health education & slow healing. Thank You.

• Our purpose & your perfect opportunity: to tone your vagus nerve to keep you in rest and digest mode, calm you down so you can be in a comfortable personal space to make, and keep making, the lifestyle choices that will self heal your body, mind, and spirit and support weight loss and self healing.

• All classes are being taught virtually on Zoom (link to be sent to students soon).

• All classes will be recorded and sent to everyone so you can view again OR if you need to watch the recording because the live time doesn't work for you. Many students do this, join the class and watch the videos later (on their own time) to learn, grown, transform, & self heal. Modern technology has its advantages. 

  
  If you are looking for change, want to self heal, and want to tone that vagus nerve for a lifetime of advantages...

• Join me on September 14th for the Earth Element Session of Sacred Circle.

• You will be glad you did. I will be glad you did. We will be glad people ready to learn, grow, transform, & self heal.

The Wind/Air Session of Sacred Circle will begin in later October after a 2 week break post Earth Element learning. Two weeks gives time for assimilation and integration of the health education information before we learn new information.

Slow Health Education, Slow Healing

In 1986, the Slow Food Movement began in Italy. This was a movement to reclaim cultural food, the art and healing benefits of in-home cooking, and the sustainable farming of whole, real food grown locally.  This was a grassroots effort, that is now globally strong, to reclaim food from the corporate strangle hold. 

It is time to put this same grassroots action into our health care system.
Health care in this country, right now, is really just about disease management: how can the medical system suppress your ill health symptoms just enough to keep you functioning and somewhat happy.
Our current health care is not about actually restoring true vibrant health OR about true prevention of illness.
True prevention would teach you proper healthy care of the body, the real way to nourish the body with food, and actually prevent you from succumbing to degenerative lifestyle diseases.

Slow Health, Slow Healing is what I am about.
Slow Health, Slow Healing is what Sacred Circle Wise Women Mentorship™ is about. 

People have become accustomed to instant gratification with their health.
For example, if one goes to their primary care with high blood pressure issues, they are given a prescription medication and within a few days their blood pressure reading is "normal" again. (I use this example because it is an easy one to think about, a very common problem in our culture, easy to visualize the blood pressure cuff and reading procedure, and thoughtfully consider the situation and apply its concept to other health issues.)
No effort outside of filling the prescription and popping the pill daily. 
The question is: has any healing change been made, in the person's lifestyle choices, to change what actually created the downward spiral of personal health leading to the high blood pressure?
Everything seems fine, the numbers reading on the sphygmomanometer are within normal range again.
Here is where the problem lies: if zero lifestyle changes have been made, the lifestyle habits that created the high blood pressure (body damage symptoms), then the damage to the body is still happening.
The pretty number on the sphygmomanometer just hides the fact that nothing has really changed. A band-aid has been slapped on the problem. The problem will eventually lead to more problems unless change is made.
This story line can be used with any ill health symptoms and our "health care system's" business of just managing symptoms / controlling symptoms with artificial means. 

I support people's health around many, many of these lifestyle related health issues: (yes, working in cooperation with one's primary care practitioner IS ideal)

• high blood pressure and cholesterol issues

• cardio-vascular disease

• overweight and underweight

• thyroid health

• auto-immunity

• gut health

• anxiety, depression, and mood issues

• on & on

In the first couple of weeks of making lifestyle changes, a person's ill health symptoms can transform quickly. 
A good habit, I tell my clients, is to write down exactly how you were feeling (in body, mind, & spirit) before you start making changes. 
Then you can go back and put yourself back into this ill health feeling in 2 weeks, 2 months, 6 months, a year later.
Never stop reminding yourself how far you have come, how much positive change you have made, and the impact it has had on how you function, feel, and interact with yourself and others. 

After lifestyle transformation, if we could step back into ourselves to exactly one year ago and have this HUGE "Ah Ha Moment", we would 

• bow in gratitude to the work we have done with & for ourselves

• say a deep prayer to all of the powers that have held us together to accomplish what we have accomplished

• vow to only continue stepping forwards in the Slow Health & Healing process

I suggest you do this self evaluation, look back on my progress, journal keeping. Not daily, don’t stress yourself, but just often enough that you see the milestones of recovery AND can look back on how bad things once were. That is such a beautiful reminder to keep moving forward!

Slow Health Education & Slow Healing is what we do in Sacred Circle to Transform your health.

Fall and the Earth Element (The Physical Body's Health) is the perfect place to start on this Sacred Circle Year Health Coaching Experience. Fall, and back to school, has always signaled a new start, transformation for me.

Each Slow Health Education Session is 5 simple weeks long. Join one, to see how you like it, maybe you will be in love with learning how to slow heal yourself and then you will keep coming back for each 5 week session and another Element of Learning.

Mentorship is open to anyone & everyone who wants to learn to slow self heal their health back to vibrancy.

Active Vs. Passive Medicine

                     Active                    Vs.                       Passive

Healing oneself takes an individual's active participation in the process. This participation can be physical (body), emotional (mind), or spirit work.  Often times, all three woven together into a beautiful Self-Healing tapestry is your healing magic in action.

We live is a culture that generally works from a space of passive health care.

One western medicine scenario:

1. Visit your practitioner.
2. Explain your symptoms, issues, challenges.
3. Have a prescription handed to you.
4. Go home and take your pills.

Rarely does a western medical practitoner ask you to participate in the process of regaining your health. Drugs and surgery do not get at what is causing your health crisis. Drugs cover up the symptoms. Surgery removes the damaged organs but never opens up space to determine why this organ is in a state of dis-ease and how can I change my habits to reverse the damage that has been done?  What is actually causing the symptoms usually continues in a person's life because no one asks us to take a hard look at what made us arrive at this space of ill health. When we do take this hard look, unravel the causes that led to the problem, we can then start working in reverse to remove the problems and recover health.

Examples of the "You don't have to do anything active about your health problems" scenarios:

• High blood pressure: just take this pill and it will bring your blood pressure down. 
• Type 2 Diabetes: again, take this pill and continue doing what you have been doing. Until, of course, your diabetes get worse and now you need to... inject yourself with insulin at least once daily.
• Joint problems: take this pill, come on in for a replacement... keep eating and drinking all you have been because like the problems above... these problems are not your fault. You know, it's just bad genes. Take this pill and call it a day.

I could go on & on... PMS, menstrual irregularities, infertility, arthritis, auto-immune disorders, cancer... Nothing you eat, drink, or do in your life has anything to do with the presence of this health problem in your life.

Or so we are led to believe by mainstream media, mainstream medicine, and mainstream agriculture.

Active Participation in your health and healing means taking ownership of your lifestyle habits; true Lifestyle Medicine. Lifestyle Medicine is Active Medicine. You are asked and required to take a participatory role in your health and healing. You are invited to make changes towards whole health eating and whole health living that will ultimately repair your body cells.

1. How has the food I have been eating over the course of my life impacted my body's cellular health?  (Unhealthy cells mean an unhealthy body.)
2. How are my daily lifestyle habits impacting my health, my display of symptoms?
3. How is my body weight affecting my heart, blood pressure, diabetes, joints, back problems, and overall health?

It is time for your health care providers to invite you and inspire you (that is right, health care professionals who activley participate in their own well being and are good role models of real health). Your health cae providers need to be asking you questions:

"Stand up people. Take a hard look. Where can you change habits that have contributed to this crisis in your health? What can you do to actively return your body to vibrant, vital health?"

Trust me, return to health is a reality.  You just need to get active about the process. Invite healing support into your life:

• Lifestyle medicine professionals (think Functional Medicine, Functional Nutrition, Naturopathic Medicine, Holistic Health Coach)
• Acupuncture
• Massage
• Reiki
• Shamanic Care
• Chiropractic Care
• Spiritual Counselor
• Osteopath who practices lifestyle medicine

So where does preventative health care fit into this?

There is a difference between mainstream medicine's view of preventative health care and "holistic - whole health care - lifestyle medicine's" idea of preventative health care.

Mainstream's Idea of Prevention  -  Whole Health Care's Prevention                                                            (Lifestyle Medicine)

• mammogram                                                                          whole foods
• colonoscopy                                                                            deep, restful sleep
• cholesterol screening                                                              maintain healthy weight
• prostate exam                                                                         yoga, meditation mindfulness
• bone scan                                                                               moving the body daily
• vaccines                                                                                  immune building lifestyle habits
• diabetes screening                                                                  good posture
• blood pressure screenings                                                      hydration with pure water (no chlorine and fluoride)

Natural health habits are preventative health care; TRUE preventative health care.

The "get your annual mammogram, colonoscopy, cholesterol screening type of prevention" (which often leads to your lifetime pharmaceutical prescriptions)  does not actually prevent anything but instead is an early detection tool so your symptoms of dis-ease can be treated, managed, for the rest of your life. This is management of disease through management of disease symptoms.

Healing, active medicine, needs to be part of this equation.

Active Health Care is about real preventative health care... choosing lifestyle habits that build amazing cellular health & vitality so you truly prevent dis-ease from ever darkening your doorstep and actually knocking on your door. 

If disease symptoms are already part of your life, Active Health Care invites you to heal your symptoms of disease. 

I invite you to become an active part of your own healing team AND I will do my best to educate you and inspire you (be a healthy role model) towards whole health choices and self healing! 

Join me at 5 Elements Living for

Creating Inner Wisdom: Your Personal Health Journey

Register Today

3 Class overview
• March 27th: Eating for Cellular Health
• April 3rd: Natural Food Know How
• April 10th: Wise Woman Nurse "Movement Magic"
for Digestive Health & Herbs for Gut Health

Monday Evenings 6-8 PM

More info? Click here.

Ready to join us? Register here.

5 Reasons Chewing IS A Most Important Part Of Eating & Digestion

The story is that engaging those pearly whites in the chew process is the most important initial step you can take for the health of your digestive tract and your bodaciously beautiful body cells. Think how many people chuck food into their faces at break neck speed, chomp on it 5-6 times, and then swallow large chucks of food.

Pay attention the next time you engage in eating a meal. Are you a chewer or a chunk swallower? All these years picking on cows for their endless "cud chewing" and it seems those beautiful cows had it right all along.

Get chewing your cud people and here is why:

1. Chewing begins carbohydrate digestion: which prevents reflux as you are revving up the digestive tract with your chewing. The more you chew your food, the more messages are sent to the gut to get the digestive juices flowing. That means optimal hydrochloric acid for stomach digestion of food. Good digestion in the stomach sets the stage for good digestion throughout the digestive tract.

Little chewing = little time for messaging the GI tract to send out digestive juices = impeded digestion.

Most reflux is NOT an over abundance of stomach acids but in fact a lack of stomach acid (food sits in stomach not digesting and body's wisdom says "hey this stuff is rotting right here... let's get rid of it.” At this point the easiest way to get rid of stomach contents is up and out. Yup, reflux.).

2. Chewing food well feeds your beautiful gut microbes: You waste $$$ taking probiotics if you are not going to offer them kindness and feed them well. Be the gut bug hostess (or host) with the most-ess! Chew your food well. Doing so breaks down the food fibers, the starches, which feed the gut bugs you want surviving and thriving in your gut.

3. Chewing well prevents leaky gut: See above for how chewing feeds the happy, healthy gut bugs. When we are not feeding the "good" gut microbes to maintain a healthy and balanced microbial population, we can create an inflamed and irritated gut lining. This leads to leaky gut syndrome and contributes to many chronic, lifestyle related, health problems.

Belly ache or gut health... you decide!

4. Chewing food slowly and well promotes relaxation: eating fast, swallowing food practically whole, creates a stress response in the body.  Stress causes body tissues (muscles, organs etc) to tense, contributes to poor digestion, and chronic fight or flight response throughout body. This digestive tract and body tensing also contributes to constipation.

Chewing IS yoga for the digestive tract, nervous system, and really your whole body. You know how I love, love, love my yoga. Type Yoga into the search bar, below, and I will inspire you with the many body, mind, and spirit benefits of a daily Yoga practice.

5. Chewing food well means food is then swallowed in a liquid state this means your body, digestive tract, is better able to digest and pull the nutrients out of the food. 

This means your body cells are being better nourished by the whole foods you spend your hard earned money on. This is very important my friends. The more nutrients we can pull out of the food we eat, the healthier we will be. It is all about what nutrients actually got to your body cells. Poorly chewed food cannot be digested well and therefore the actual nutrition does not reach your intended body cells. Yes, your health pays dearly over the years.

Chew all food into liquid consistency. 30-50 chews per bite or gulp of food (Gulp: I am thinking about smoothies, creamed soups, etc. that are gulped down without any conscious thought of actually chewing.)  

If food is already a liquid or mushy consistency (soup, puddings, smoothies) take 20 to 30 conscious chews.  If food is solid, take 50 conscious chews.  

Example: blueberries and skins of berries require 50 chews. The soft inner part of berry will chew up quickly and naturally move down throat... keep chewing that blueberry skin 50 times. Yes, the cud will get smaller and smaller and the habit of swallowing before adequate chewing has taken place will be right there in your face (literally). Resist and keep chewing as the skins of blueberries are loaded with micro-nutrients and complex carbohydrates (fibers) that feed those gut bugs IF you chew it up well for your gut bugs to be able to use them. Trust me; the gut bugs (microbes) do not have teeth to do the chew job if you leave it unfinished. For goodness sake, show those gut bugs (who do so much for you) some genuine hospitality and chew, chew, chew!

Get Chewing & Get Healthy.

Which End of the Battery Are You?

Weight Loss, Vibrant Health, Dis - Ease of the body... How do they all fit together in some sort of sensible way?  And, what does the battery have to do with it all?

Reasonable questions, hang with me on this one and I will explain.

I work with people, daily, on their health & well being through my online classes and 1 on 1 consultations. These people, my clients and students, are motivated to change their lives, relief ill health symptoms, and live in a dis - ease free body.

The steps to getting to this space of ease in the body (lack of dis - ease) are similar for all problems:

• tease out the root causes of the problems
• remove the causes of the problem
• heal the digestive tract of inflammation of the gut lining, lack of balance in the gut microbes, remove food sensitivities...
• calm the immune system
• nourish the liver
• balance nutritional intake, balance blood sugar , & balance body weight
• add in healthy lifestyle habits (daily movement, botanicals-herbs, etc.), including whole food eating, that will nourish the body cells and whole body back to a state of ease
• understand this is a lifestyle and commit to living these changes... well, for life.

Each of these steps are personalized for each individual's specific needs based on their body's bio-chemistry and their own personality needs.

Let's get to that battery!

I have two teen boys. Teens can be snarly, negative word spouting fountains from time to time. We were having a dinner time discussion on the role of mind set in creating disease and healing the body. 

Spread Love Where Ever You Go.      Let No One Ever Come To You               Without Leaving Happier.                                    Mother Teresa.

Basically, which end of the battery are you? Positive or negative? What do you surround yourself with:

• negative or positive people?
• negative or positive words, thoughts, and actions?
• negative or positive media, screen time?

When we work to change our lives for healing, we must remember the power of the ends of our personal batteries.

Negative words, conversations, thoughts, actions, people, news, social media crap, etc. are just as toxic to our body cells as:

• heavy metals toxins
• agricultural chemicals, pesticides and the like,
• synthetic ingredients in factory made food
• factory made food itself
• chlorine
• etc. etc. etc.

Every negative experience, no matter how brief, creates negative vibrational frequencies in our miraculous & beautiful body cells. Just like other toxic impacts, these negative frequencies cause inflammation that lead to ill health, dis - ease in the body. Negativity contributes to a weaker immune system and the impacts of a weakened immune system: ill health in all areas (acute issues such as colds and flu to chronic inflammatory issues of lifestyle diseases, auto-immune responses, and cancer.

Your Everyday Positivity Prescription:

1. Every AM think of 1 kind thing you can do for someone else. Even tiny little acts of kindness have a huge positive ripple in your world and the world at large.
2. A positive act of kindness for self (10 minutes of yoga anyone?).
3. Be aware of negative thoughts creeping into your mind & stop them dead in their tracks. Replace them immediately with positive thoughts. Generating positive thoughts will become a habit quickly.
4. Negative people... move away. Surround yourself with positive people.
5. Negative conversations? Find a way to subvert to positive or excuse yourself from the conversation to go do a random act of kindness.
6. Everyday remind yourself of 1 thing you are grateful for.
7. Every night as you lie down to sleep: remind yourself of that thing you are grateful for and something good that happened that day. 
8. Remind yourself of the grateful thing every AM.

Gratitude is the attitude of happy folk!

The power of thought is the magic of the mind!  Lord Byron

Much love and gratitude for you being here & reading this! Paula

The sign on my front door:

No Quick Fixes

The "quick fix miracle" I can offer to you...

Almost daily I receive emails and/or FB messages asking me for quick fixes for all sorts of health symptoms and ills including weight loss products... "Will this really work for me and make me lose the weight?" I have stopped sending answers with suggestions. Truly, for me to even consider responding to these messages is unethical on my part as it does not serve the person's best interests.

Quick fixes do not exist for problems that have settled into our body cells over a lifetime of eating and other less than optimal lifestyle habits. Truly it takes motivation to change and commitment to the process for the "fix" to be had. And... the fix is a lifetime process, a lifetime commitment. When we reach the goal, be it weight loss or the end of some cluster of ill health symptoms, our wellness walk is not over. The walk is a walk of life and for life: a commitment to self to make the best choices every day for cellular health and overall vital wellness.

Now I will tell you this: sometimes there are quick relief strategies for problems and symptoms. What I mean is I can suggest a little tweak here and a little tweak there to give quick relief for some issues while we work to get at the underlying reason these problems exist. Then we can work on changing what needs to be changed to get rid of the problem symptoms forever.

Examples of some quick relief strategies (keep in mind these are not long term solutions but rather a "get me over the hump until we can figure better solutions":

• muscle spasms and cramps (especially at night making you shoot up out of bed in crazed agony): take magnesium 400 mg at bedtime and drink more pure water throughout your day.

• constipation: again, magnesium (of the citrate variety) will assist here as well as more fruits and veggies, more pure water, move your body daily, and maybe use some herbs for a bit of relief until we can correct the underlying issues.

• sleep issues (keep in mind sleep issues can vary from trouble falling asleep, to staying asleep, to experiencing quality sleep): magnesium can help here as well, get off the caffeine and sugar, get outside and move...

Divine Weight Loss eCourse

Last night I was told the story of a local man who has transformed himself (over 2 years... it is about the long haul and commitment to self). He went from a 340 pound ill health human with serious cardiac issues; severe back, hip, knee, and ankle/feet issues; diabetes; depression with 3 medications; and high cholesterol to a 180 man with no health issues, no medications, and a healthy, fit body free from disease and depression.

What did he do? Changed the way he ate, what he ate, and got his butt to the gym and out for walks every single day. Sunshine. Fresh air. Movement. Real food, nothing processed. No sugar. Inner Conscious Connection work: how he thinks about himself and the world.

Why? Because his body was falling apart from the way he had ill treated it. It was a conscious decision on his part: stay grossly obese and sick or choose health.

He is a happy man for his endeavors and I wish he was my poster child! He did this on his own - Woo Hoo for him!

Lifestyle choices are up to you. I am offering you the opportunity and support to make health and healing choices in your life.

Blessing of good health and happiness on your personal path, Paula

E-Courses To Walk Your Health Path