The Role of the Vagus Nerve in the Mind-Body Connection

Transformational life coach Peter Winslow possesses more than 15 years of experience in helping people make radical life changes. Since launching his Scottsdale, Arizona-based life-coaching company, GoldMind, LLC, Peter Winslow has raised awareness of the mind-body connection and its impact on healing, pain management, and emotional well-being. 

The vagus nerve, a cranial nerve that runs from the base of the brain to the digestive system, is a crucial part of the mind-body connection. The nerve is involved in processing tactile sensations and managing muscle movements and heart rate. 

Taking deep breaths causes the vagus nerve to release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is vital for the body’s relaxation response. However, if the myelin sheath that wraps around the vagus nerve is weakened, it can slow signals between the brain and the rest of the body. 

This weakening of the myelin sheath can be a result of several factors, including diet and sleep quality. A weak or impaired vagus nerve has been linked to depression and low stress tolerance. Eating a balanced diet and practicing deep breathing are thought by some experts to strengthen the vagus nerve.

Differences Between Qi Gong and Tai Chi

An accomplished author and life coach in Scottsdale, Arizona, Peter Winslow stands out as the author of four books about health and personal development. In his personal life, life coach Peter Winslow maintains his own sense of wellness by practicing tai chi and qi gong.

Two of the most popular spiritual and physical practices to emerge from ancient China, both tai chi and qi gong focus on manipulating “qi,” which is the Chinese term for the essential life energy that flows through all living things. Though historians debate the precise origins of the disciplines, most scholars agree that qi gong is the older of the two practices, dating back to the 8th century BC.

Though the two practices are similar in origin and intent, tai chi and qi gong have several differences. Perhaps the biggest of these differences lies in the complexity of motion. While tai chi involves a series of fairly complex movements, qi gong focuses on simplicity and precision. Additionally, tai chi’s movements are more akin to those found in combative martial arts.

Furthermore, tai chi’s complex motions are given form through choreography and specific progressions, which again suggests the practice’s more martial in nature. Qi gong, on the other hand, is less prescriptive, with practitioners focusing more on the meditative aspects of the movements than a specific progression or structure.

How the Body Heals Itself Section 5

I’m Peter Winslow, a life coach in general practice. In our last post we discussed stress as a leading indicator for the mind-body connection. Now, let’s use this awareness to better utilize optimal healing.

Your body is predesigned to heal itself from illness and dis-ease. It contains a complex healing system whose purpose is to keep you in constant balance. This healing system continually guides you toward optimal function, proper repair and rejuvenation, no matter the circumstances in your body.

For example, when you slice your finger, you can observe as the wound heals itself without you having to think about it. It’s a routine process for the healing system in the body. The incredible healing system is always on the job, working tirelessly to mend your body regardless of whether or not you know how it works, or undergo medical treatment.

A basic survival tool, the mechanism we think of as “healing” is found in every life form on Earth, including plants and animals. By understanding the healing system from a different perspective, you can grasp a more complete image of what true and total healing really is. How?

Suspend ignorance and disbelief, expand your curiosity and think of the healing system within your body as a type of higher consciousness. It’s an inner awareness that operates on its own, constantly watching over you and seeking to fulfill its function for better health and wellbeing.

This healing “inner awareness” is the spirit that commands an incredibly complicated interaction of the physical and subtle energy systems in your body that maintain delicate relationships with each other and must work together for the greater good of the organism—you.

Now let’s get some real mileage out of this. Your role in directing the mind-body connection for greater healing results is simply to decide what outcome you choose to experience. Then commit to believing and behaving in your chosen outcome, and watch with confidence as the inner awareness of the body follows the mind to positive results.

Consider this quote from Norman Cousins, the celebrated newspaper columnist who completely healed himself from a medically incurable condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis: “The personal belief system is often the activator for the healing system.”

You better believe it.

–Peter Winslow

A Powerful Secret 2

I’m life coach and success catalyst Peter Winslow. In theprevious post I shared a powerful secret that can lead you to achieve your goals much more quickly and effortlessly. The secret: align your goals with your intentions.

Here are three coaching tips on how to do so:

1. Does your goal feel right to you? If it feels like something you SHOULD want rather than what in your heart of hearts you really do want, it's the wrong goal for you.

For example, I've coached many clients who wanted to leave the corporate arena because it no longer felt right for them. That's because their values and intentions were no longer aligned with their corporate goals and what it would take to achieve them.

2. Make your goal less about acquiring possessions and more about helping others. It is not necessarily wrong or greedy to be driven by personal gain. If one of your intentions is to be wealthy, you will find your goals for prosperity perfectly aligned with your intentions.

For many, money or wealth is not a strong motivator, which simply means their intentions do not reflect money as a goal. However, there are many ways to create prosperity, and the best ways happen when you focus on increasing your service to others rather than fixating on how much money you collect from them.

3.  Success-oriented people use intention to create the lives they desire, and so can you. How? Learn to create the authentic feeling of already having what you want, and then prefer more of what you already have. Start small and watch what happens over time.

With the alignment of your goals and intentions, you have a powerful formula for creating the life you desire—and you are well on your way to living it.

 –Peter Winslow