To access the benefits of mind-body medicine, you may want to familiarize yourself with the vagus nerve, which is a two-way communication system between the brain and your organs.
The 10th of the 12 cranial nerves, the vagus nerve is responsible for regulating emotional and physiological well-being.
It’s the longest nerve in the autonomic nervous system—actually, we have two, one on each side of the body that weaves through the torso and neck. Vagus is Latin for “wandering,” aptly named, as this nerve communicates both sensory and motor information from several systems and many organs.
Because it’s associated with blood vessels, the lungs, the heart, the stomach, the esophagus, and the intestines, the vagus nerve regulates circulation, breathing, heart rate, digestion, and other areas of our physical health….