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Vagus, baby. The vagus nerve that is. The vagus nerve is the only nerve that starts at the brain stem and extends down through the abdomen. Vagus is Latin for "wandering." This wandering nerve is responsible for a heckuva lot: tasks like heart rate, gastrointestinal peristalsis, sweating, and quite a few muscle movements in the mouth, including speech and keeping the larynx open for breathing. It also controls a few skeletal muscles.
So why am I writing about the vagus nerve? It seems that scientists are unwrapping a few mysteries about this baby lately and there is quite a lot of good information out there regarding it's role in controlling the aging process (or actually how controlling it can help control aging).
Ever see those wild guys who walk across burning coals? Or Tibetan monks who generate enough body heat, on command, to dry a moist blanket on their shoulders in frigid temperatures? They aren't magicians and there is nothing supernatural going on: they have learned, somehow through meditation, to control their vagus nerve. The idea is, according to Michael Roizen, MD is this: "if you can regulate your vagus nerve, you can block some of the bad stuff that you're feeling, whether it is caused by stress, infection, or sun-hot coals. Those fire walkers, for instance, figured out a way of meditating to change how the vagus and other nerves interpret the world around them to bock not just the pain but also the blisters and other bad stuff that would happen if we mere mortals attempted the same thing."
The suggestion isn't that we begin trying this to perform super-human feats. The idea is that we learn to meditate properly in order to calm the things that hurt our immune system - like high-level inflammation and immunity challenges. We're all under so much stress today and it's wreaking havoc on our immune systems. Learned to somehow quiet our responses should strengthen our battle-weary bodies so that hopefully we can live long, enjoyable lives. (The idea is not to live exceedingly long in a broken-down body, but in a body that is fit to serve).
(I also find this interesting because my 19 yo daughter has vasovagal syncope with a component of AV block. After failing tilt tests miserably, she narrowly missed the installation of a pacemaker due to her amazing 16 minute feat on the treadmill stress-test after her heart had stopped on the tilt table. She spent a year on vasoconstrictors. Now, she's on a high protein, high sodium diet).
Vagus nerve stimulation is also a promising new treatment for depression. A device called a pulse generator is surgically implanted in the upper left side of the chest. Electrical signals travel from the pulse generator, through the lead wire and to the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve delivers those signals to the brain. But precisely how stimulation of the vagus nerve may improve depression remains unknown.
Similar treatment is also being experimented with to control epileptic seizures.
So what can we do? Meditation and deep breathing seem to be the beginning. Deep breathing tells your body that you are not in a state of alarm. That's why it's a good thing when you are alarmed to stop and take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down.
Here's an easy breathing exercise:
Sit cross-legged on the floor. Close the right nostril with the right thumb and inhale very, very slowly through the left nostril. Then with the little and ring fingers of the right hands close the left nostril. Retain breath as long as you can. Then exhale very slowly after removing the thumb. This stage constitutes one process.
Again, inhale through the right nostril, retain the breath and exhale through the left nostril. This ends the process. One can do 20 in the morning and 20 in the evening.
...just sometimes trapped in aging bodies. Why is it then that some (or maybe even most) of us just let their bodies go to pot and make themselves feel as old as or older than they are? Why is it that so many people think that laziness and inactivity are somehow a reward for old age, especially when those things rob you of your chance to enjoy life and open the door to disease?
Two Saturdays ago my friend, Beth, and I had the privilege of sharing a table with some girls from church who were a bit older than use. Quite a bit older. Louis and Peggy were in their late 70s and Tami was 82. Definitely an example of âÂÂgirlsâ trapped in old womenâÂÂs bodies. These ladies were a blast and I had so much fun. None of these ladies was ready to just sit back and knit either. Every one of them was involved in some area of service at the church, as well as maintaining their own homes, taking care of aging husbands and interacting with children and grandchildren. Tami was going swimming for exercise regularly â her shoulder problems contraindicated other exercises but she was not willing to just vegetate. I love that the stereotypes we have of âÂÂwhat old age isâ are getting shattered!
Today at the gym one of the older women who always chats with me when I show up late (Star Trek time, lol) had a friend with her. The friend was using the chest machine wrong - it hurt - and they were asking me for tips. Thinking that I had to be discreet in my speech around older ladies, I tried finding a polite way to say that the arm grips needed to be in direct line with the nipples. I neednâÂÂt have bothered trying to find some couth in my speech. What ensued next was a lively conversation about keeping âÂÂthe girlsâ perky!
WeâÂÂve all heard that our metabolism slows with aging â and basically, that happens because of the loss of muscle tissue. Did you know that this *does not* have to be the case? Pump some iron! If you lift weights and maintain muscle, you can keep your metabolism at youthful levels and still enjoy that favored activityâ¦eating! Besides keeping up your metabolism, you will enjoy strength and endurance, making your later years richer and more enjoyable. Some one told me a few months ago that he didnâÂÂt want to live past 65 because he didnâÂÂt want to be old and decrepit. Well, why let that happen?
A study reported by the New England Journal of Medicine last month showed that active sex lives are still valued by the senior population. Why not keep your body in shape and healthy so you that you can enjoy that sort of fun for decades to come? High blood pressure often gets in the way of sexual activity for men over the age of 70; illnesses such as congestive heart failure and heart disease can put a damper on keeping that part of life vibrant. With women, I wouldn't doubt if self-esteem issues are what put the freeze in frigid. The younger that you are when you wake up and realize that fitness and nutrition matter, the better your chances of good health and happy sex in those twilight years.
I enjoy the fact that I can open the trunk, lift a 20 lb bag of cat litter in one hand and a 20 lb bag of dog food in the other â and not groan, flinch or break even a tiny sweat. I want to keep that ease and power with me.
**Just a thought I had - a bit disconnected, but it just popped into my head and had to be let out: Maybe if women would stop thinking of exercise and nutrition as ways to lose weight, as if that is the "be all, end all" of life. Perhaps if they tried to look at it as what it really is -- the proper care and maintenance of the most valuable piece of equipment anyone will ever have in this lifetime, the human body.
For inspiration, all I need to do is think of those ladies at church that are still just girls inside â or my heroes Jack LaLanne and Waldo McBurney⦠And thereâÂÂs always Lenore Schaeffer who was dancing away at 104 years old...or 90 yo Rosario Igelesias who holds several womenâÂÂs masters running record.
~o~ TodayâÂÂs workout: 10 minutes on the treadmill, 8.2% incline, 4.2 mph. 45 minutes of circuit training, PULL focus. 30 minutes progressive HIIT on the Octane. 5 minutes on the treadmill, 4.0 mph, 8.2% incline.
The Circuit wide stance dead lift 12/80 1 pt dumbbell row 16/40 Bulgarian split squats 16/40 Bicep curl 16/35 Repeat for a total of 3 sets --1:30 sprint on Sci-Fit Hamstring curl 10/125, 12/120, 15/115 pec fly mach 8/100, 10/95, 12/90 Adduction 10/150, 12/145, 15/140 --1:30 sprint on treadmill seated cable row 12/160 cable woodchopper 16/100 mountain climbers 10 burpies 5 Dumbbell fly crunch 12/30 Repeat for total of 3 sets --1:00 sprint on Sci-fit Toe touch crunch 25 SHELC 15 plank up 10 side bridge lift 10 Repeat for total of 3 sets
