Regulated with Bowenwork & Breathwork

Crystal Maceira, CBP, LMT, MH
September – October 2024 • Vol 4, No 12

The Vagus Nerve is the longest and most complex of the cranial nerves in the human body. It is a pair of nerves that originate in the brainstem and extend down through the neck and chest to the abdomen. The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to regulate a variety of bodily functions, including heart rate, digestion, and breathing.

In the last article, I wrote about how crucial the Vagus Nerve is, what it is, the divisions of it, HRV, HPA, and more. We wanted the reader to know just how important the Vagus Nerve is to the overall health of the body, which includes the CNS and the gut/brain connection. Be sure to go back and read the article so you will better understand this one. In this article, we will learn more about what the Vagus nerve does, and two things that can help increase vagal tone: Bowenwork and Breathwork.

While I was researching how Bowenwork can help, I came across a Bowenwork practitioner and Instructor, John Wilks from the UK. I use his book Understanding the Bowen Technique, to educate my clients on the basics of Bowenwork. He wrote an article called “The Vagus,” in the Dec. 2022 issue of Bowen Hands, a magazine for Bowenwork Practitioners such as myself.

He talks about a man named Stephen Porges, who developed Polyvagal Theory over 25 years ago. The basis of his theory is that our nervous system has developed in response to our needs for survival. He describes how our autonomic nervous system has three parts;

1) Dorsal Vagus or Old Vagus—which is unmyelinated and was primarily designed to regulate our gut and digestion.

2) Sympathetic Nervous System—so called because the little ganglia on either side of the spinal cord were thought by early anatomists to be “little brains” that worked in sympathy together.

3) Ventral Vagus—so called because the nuclei that control it are slightly anterior to the dorsal vagus in our brain stem and is referred to as our “social nervous system.” The ‘new’ vagus works closely with other cranial nerves such as the trigeminal, the facial, the accessory, and the glossopharyngeal.

John Wilks has listed a number of things that can affect the vagus nerve:

• Nerve entrapment
• Stress and trauma
• Bacteria (e.g., Lyme’s Disease)
• Viruses (often a trigger for M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
• Cranio-cervical instability (e.g., whiplash)
• The microbiome and the gut

Regulating the Vagus Nerve through BOWENWORK

The moves utilized in Bowenwork address two types of receptors in the fascia which have a powerful effect on the vagus when stimulated: the Ruffini receptors and the Interstitial receptors (or free nerve endings). Research has shown that this kind of stimulation has a direct effect on the anterior lobe of the Hypothalamus resulting in lowering muscle tonus and a strong increase in vagal tone.

I would recommend for further study Accessing the Healing Power of Your Vagus Nerve, by Stanley Rosenberg (he worked with Porges). It includes a useful overview and great exercises to stimulate the vagus which are simple to do. John Wilks also has courses on “50 ways to Activate the Vagus” at Therapy-Training.com.

I hold two classes on Bowenwork. One is called Intro t