The HEART
Regarding the Heart:
Many people talk of getting more "in touch" with their "heart," or about speaking "from The Heart," almost as if something bypasses the brain on the way out into self-expression. These individuals are often thought of as a little "out there," and that they are only speaking metaphorically. Yet modern emergency medicine research in the last ten to twenty years indicates that via the vagus nerve, the physical heart does actually provide immense amounts of sensory information and feedback to the brain and mind. This information, if "listened to" and processed, can contribute a great deal to better communication and action in life.
This sensory/motor system, called the Poly-Vagal nerve system, is thought by some to actually be a distinct part of the nervous system. The other parts being the sympathetic (fight or flight, emergency response), the parasympathetic (rebuilding, healing and immune function), and what some researchers call the enteric (digestive) system. (Like the poly-vagal sytem, it is controversial as to whether the enteric should be considered its own system or not.)
If the Poly-Vagal system indeed performs as some clinical medical researchers think, yoga is a perfect system by which to "open up" or facilitate these channels of communication. In doing so, the human being will have access to a richer and deeper experience of life to draw upon, providing a significant enhancement to everything they do.
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