🌙 Blooming in the Shadow of the Moon: The Quiet Language of the Vagus

We’ve been wandering through the branches and roots of the autonomic nervous system together, noticing its subtle whispers in our bodies. Perhaps you’ve tried the Bloom and Grow practices from our last posts and felt a tiny spark. A seed of awareness, a little shift in how you move or breathe.

Now we are turning our attention to the language of the vagus nerve. A pathway that branches through us like a vine, translating life’s moments into sensations we can feel.

We’ve already explored the sympathetic system. The fiery current that moves us to fight or flee. Today, we turn toward the softer side of the parasympathetic system, home to two very different yet deeply human states: dorsal and ventral.

These are the pathways that shape how we rest, recover, and relate. One helps us retreat inward when the world feels too heavy. The other reminds us how to open again.

🌑 The Dorsal Pathway: The Wisdom of Stillness

The dorsal vagal branch is the body’s emergency brake. A deep, instinctive response that slows everything down when we can’t safely fight or run.

It’s often called the freeze or shutdown state, but it’s really the body’s way of saying,

“I can’t right now. I need to stop.”

For me, I’ve known this state after long, conflict-filled workdays. I’d come home completely drained, lying in bed unable to move. My thoughts quiet but heavy. My body wasn’t broken. It was protecting me. It was gathering the energy I’d spent surviving.

Dorsal can look like stillness, zoning out, or feeling disconnected. But when we understand it, we can meet it with compassion instead of shame. It’s not a flaw. It’s a survival wisdom.

🌕 The Ventral Pathway: The Return to Connection

Then there’s the ventral vagal branch. The heart of calm and connection. This is where safety lives, where breath deepens, and the world softens around us.

I often find ventral when I’m in nature or during energy sessions. When I am creating seems to be a sure way to summon Ventral Vibes.

Sensations I can experience in this state can vary. Sometimes there’s a grounded confidence that rises through my chest. Warm, golden, and expansive. It feels like gravity is holding me just right. My head lifts, shoulders back, a quiet strength radiating outward. Thoughts from my higher self flow in. “You got this”, “This is what it's all about”, “I can do anything!”.

I don’t live here all the time. Thats not how its intended. But I know how to notice. How to anchor when the waters get too rough. Even now, as I type these words, I can call on that ventral current. The steady hum of I am safe, I am here.

🌿 Vagus Vine Trace: A Grounding Technique

Purpose: This exercise aims to stimulate the vagus nerve through gentle touch and mindful movement, promoting relaxation and grounding.

Preparation: Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor, ensuring your back is supported and your posture is relaxed.

Tracing Our Blooming Path:

Using your dominant hand, gently trace the following path:

• Start at the centre of your forehead.

• Move your fingers behind your ear.

• Continue down the side of your neck.

• Along the back of your arm.

• Finish at the pinky finger.

🌸As you trace, inhale deeply through your nose.

🌸Upon reaching the pinky, exhale slowly through your mouth.

🌸Repeat the same tracing sequence with your non-dominant hand, following the same              breathing pattern.

Repetition: Complete the full trace on both sides three times, for a total of six cycles.

Optional Blooming Vision: As you trace, imagine planting tiny blooms along the path of your vagus nerve, with your arms acting as vines carrying calm energy.

Post-Practice Reflection: After completing the exercise, pause and notice any changes in your body. You might feel a sense of lightness, warmth, or a gentle hug-like sensation around your head, neck, and arms.

These practices are shared for gentle self-awareness and grounding. They’re not a substitute for therapy or medical care. Go at your own pace, and reach out for support if anything feels overwhelming.

🌸 Bringing It Together

The dorsal and ventral pathways are both part of the same sacred system. One helps us pause, the other helps us participate.

Together, they create the natural ebb and flow of aliveness. Contraction and expansion, moonlight and bloom.

By learning to recognize these states, we begin to honour their rhythm instead of fighting against it.

And in that honouring, we return to wholeness.

I believe that my dedication to tending my ANS garden is what makes me a great practitioner. It’s why I often hear, ‘I don’t normally open up like this to anyone’ or ‘You’re so easy to talk to.’ Presence plants petals of power. Empowering every person I work with to bloom into themselves.