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For me, the amazing thing about the Vagus nerve is that you can stimulate it with your breathing. And since the Vagus nerve affects the autonomic nervous system

For me, the amazing thing about the Vagus nerve is that you can stimulate it with your breathing. And since the Vagus nerve affects the autonomic nervous system (involuntary, not consciously controlled) while breathing choices are conscious, this is one of the few ways that humans can directly impact important aspects of their psychology and physiology, like how calm they feel. Mindfulness + breath choices + vagus nerve => altered state. And that's why traditions including yoga and buddhism empathize breathing. Couple great books that touch on this are: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0735213615/ref=asc_df_0735213615/ https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/073521... and Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Brain https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Meditation-ebook/dp/B01N3BUE70/ https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Medita...

buildsjets 3y ago
A modern classic would be Holotropic Breathwork, developed by Stanislav Grof after the LSD based therapies he had been developing in the 1970s were made illegal. Yes, it sounds like hippie silliness. But it does have notable effects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Grof https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Grof https://www.amazon.com/Holotropic-Breathwork-Self-Exploration-Transpersonal-Humanistic/dp/1438433948 https://www.amazon.com/Holotropic-Breathwork-Self-Exploratio...
adriand 3y ago
This might go beyond how you feel and into direct biological impacts. I don’t listen to the Huberman Lab podcast much these days but I did listen to the episode with David Linden, which I found quite interesting. [1] At one point, they are discussing the mind/body axis and the latest scientific developments in exploring how mental states can affect the body. There is a fascinating although very untested - but, testable - hypothesis that meditation may be able to slow the growth of cancerous tumours. The mechanism here is via nerve endings that reach the tumour and their effect on immune responses at the site. Linden was emphatic about how science requires a mechanism of action, and that when people refer to this potential effect against cancer as due to “alignment of chakras” or whatever, it is “bullshit” to use his word. I get where he’s coming from, but on the flip side, the benefits of meditative practice were arrived at long before science took any note of them. In fact for many years, the scientific perspective on it was that it was entirely bullshit. Meanwhile the people who were (admittedly incorrectly) talking about chakras were delivering real benefits to their followers. As such it seems to me that more respect is warranted, and perhaps even more caution. What do you think? 1 https://hubermanlab.com/dr-david-linden-life-death-and-the-neuroscience-of-your-unique-experience/ https://hubermanlab.com/dr-david-linden-life-death-and-the-n...
- pegasus 3y ago
  Well put.
- xgb84j 3y ago
  I think these eastern concepts (e.g. meditation concepts such as chakras, "organs" in traditional chinese medicine) are not meant as objective truths, but rather as useful mental models. Different mental models used in the same culture often contradict one another, which only makes sense if you don't see them as ultimate truth.
- TriNetra 3y ago
  Chakras are real so as Kundalini [0]. However, these aren't physical in nature, rather, they are on subtle body of consciousness. Now, that's not possible to prove scientifically yet, but with your dedicated regular practice, you can experience them yourself as this guy on HN did [1] which inspired me to start my own exploration (back in 2014) and have intense experiences which remains with me. 0: https://www.amazon.in/Kundalini-untold-story-Om-Swami/dp/8184958625 https://www.amazon.in/Kundalini-untold-story-Om-Swami/dp/818... 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6910041 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6910041
  - georgeburdell 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - gourabmi 3y ago
      Just because it isn't published in a journal with latin1 characters doesn't mean it isn't true
      - jvanderbot 3y ago
        > Now, that's not possible to prove scientifically yet It may be that there is something to the idea that there are ways of stimulating certain parts of the body that can produce something like vagus nerve effects, but asserting it's true by the name given in an ancient mythology is a great way to derail any conversation.
rgrieselhuber 3y ago
I first learned about it when studying martial arts, years later science is just starting to realize how important it is.
BizarroLand 3y ago
Just by box breathing you can willfully lower your blood pressure and heart rate a good percentage (low double digits) with only a little practice.
hospitalJail 3y ago
>Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art I'm a bit surprised that we don't have more criticism of this book. It was less of a pop science book, and more of an anecdotal gonzo journalism.

buildsjets 3y ago

A modern classic would be Holotropic Breathwork, developed by Stanislav Grof after the LSD based therapies he had been developing in the 1970s were made illegal. Yes, it sounds like hippie silliness. But it does have notable effects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Grof https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Grof https://www.amazon.com/Holotropic-Breathwork-Self-Exploration-Transpersonal-Humanistic/dp/1438433948 https://www.amazon.com/Holotropic-Breathwork-Self-Exploratio...

adriand 3y ago

This might go beyond how you feel and into direct biological impacts. I don’t listen to the Huberman Lab podcast much these days but I did listen to the episode with David Linden, which I found quite interesting. [1] At one point, they are discussing the mind/body axis and the latest scientific developments in exploring how mental states can affect the body. There is a fascinating although very untested - but, testable - hypothesis that meditation may be able to slow the growth of cancerous tumours. The mechanism here is via nerve endings that reach the tumour and their effect on immune responses at the site. Linden was emphatic about how science requires a mechanism of action, and that when people refer to this potential effect against cancer as due to “alignment of chakras” or whatever, it is “bullshit” to use his word. I get where he’s coming from, but on the flip side, the benefits of meditative practice were arrived at long before science took any note of them. In fact for many years, the scientific perspective on it was that it was entirely bullshit. Meanwhile the people who were (admittedly incorrectly) talking about chakras were delivering real benefits to their followers. As such it seems to me that more respect is warranted, and perhaps even more caution. What do you think? 1 https://hubermanlab.com/dr-david-linden-life-death-and-the-neuroscience-of-your-unique-experience/ https://hubermanlab.com/dr-david-linden-life-death-and-the-n...

pegasus 3y ago
Well put.
xgb84j 3y ago
I think these eastern concepts (e.g. meditation concepts such as chakras, "organs" in traditional chinese medicine) are not meant as objective truths, but rather as useful mental models. Different mental models used in the same culture often contradict one another, which only makes sense if you don't see them as ultimate truth.
TriNetra 3y ago
Chakras are real so as Kundalini [0]. However, these aren't physical in nature, rather, they are on subtle body of consciousness. Now, that's not possible to prove scientifically yet, but with your dedicated regular practice, you can experience them yourself as this guy on HN did [1] which inspired me to start my own exploration (back in 2014) and have intense experiences which remains with me. 0: https://www.amazon.in/Kundalini-untold-story-Om-Swami/dp/8184958625 https://www.amazon.in/Kundalini-untold-story-Om-Swami/dp/818... 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6910041 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6910041
- georgeburdell 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - gourabmi 3y ago
    Just because it isn't published in a journal with latin1 characters doesn't mean it isn't true
    - jvanderbot 3y ago
      > Now, that's not possible to prove scientifically yet It may be that there is something to the idea that there are ways of stimulating certain parts of the body that can produce something like vagus nerve effects, but asserting it's true by the name given in an ancient mythology is a great way to derail any conversation.

rgrieselhuber 3y ago

I first learned about it when studying martial arts, years later science is just starting to realize how important it is.

BizarroLand 3y ago

Just by box breathing you can willfully lower your blood pressure and heart rate a good percentage (low double digits) with only a little practice.

hospitalJail 3y ago

>Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art I'm a bit surprised that we don't have more criticism of this book. It was less of a pop science book, and more of an anecdotal gonzo journalism.