Cleeve Healing Room

06/07/2025

🌬️✨ Meet Your Vagus Nerve: The Wanderer That Talks to Your Lymph!

Did you know there’s a superhighway of communication between your gut, your brain, and your immune system? It’s called the vagus nerve — and this magical nerve does way more than most people realise.

The vagus nerve (Latin for “wandering”) is the longest cranial nerve in your body. It starts at your brainstem and wanders all the way down to your chest and abdomen. Along the way, it stops to chat with your heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, digestive organs… and yes, your lymphatic system!

🧠 What Makes the Vagus Nerve So Special?

This powerful nerve is the main highway of the parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest and digest” part of your nervous system. When your vagus nerve is happy, it promotes calmness, slows your heart rate, helps you digest food, and reduces inflammation.

But when it’s underactive or overwhelmed, your body gets stuck in fight or flight mode. That’s bad news for healing, detoxing, and lymphatic flow. 😮‍💨

💧 So, How Does the Vagus Nerve Help the Lymphatic System?

Great question! Here’s where it gets juicy:

1️⃣ It Regulates Lymphatic Flow Through Movement and Rhythm

The vagus nerve influences the smooth muscle tone of your intestines (peristalsis). These gentle contractions actually help to pump lymph, especially through the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), one of the biggest immune hubs in your body.

➡️ When the vagus nerve is stimulated, it keeps this rhythm going — supporting lymphatic drainage through the abdomen.

2️⃣ It Reduces Systemic Inflammation

The vagus nerve activates something called the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. This directly reduces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines — a massive help for anyone with autoimmune disease, chronic inflammation, or sluggish lymph.

➡️ Less inflammation = less lymphatic congestion.

3️⃣ It Enhances Immune Surveillance

A well-toned vagus nerve improves communication between the brain and immune system. This helps the lymphatic system filter invaders more efficiently and coordinate better with the spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes.

➡️ This means quicker detection and clearance of toxins and pathogens.

4️⃣ It Works With the Glymphatic System While You Sleep 🧼🧠

Yep, your brain has its own lymph system — called the glymphatic system. The vagus nerve supports deeper sleep, during which cerebrospinal fluid washes over your brain to clear waste. This reduces the burden on your body’s detox and immune systems.

➡️ Vagus + Glymphatics = Dream detox duo!

🌀 How to Stimulate Your Vagus Nerve (And Support Your Lymph)

The best part? You don’t need expensive tools to activate this healing connection. Try these daily habits:

🌬️ Deep belly breathing
🎶 Humming, chanting, or singing
💧 Gargling water for 30 seconds
🧊 Splashing cold water on your face
🧘‍♀️ Meditation or prayer
🌿 Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapy
💚 Castor oil packs (calm + drainage = yes please!)
🐾 Lying down with a pup (bonus points for your 5 dachshunds!)

🧠💧 In Summary

The vagus nerve is the calm conductor of your inner healing orchestra. When it’s functioning well, it works hand-in-hand with the lymphatic system to reduce inflammation, support detoxification, enhance immunity, and promote true rest.

So if you’re working on healing your lymphatic system, don’t forget the nerve that’s quietly running the show behind the scenes.

📚 Research & Resources
• Tracey, K. J. (2002). The inflammatory reflex. Nature, 420(6917), 853–859. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01321
• Breit, S., Kupferberg, A., Rogler, G., & Hasler, G. (2018). Vagus nerve as modulator of the brain–gut axis in psychiatric and inflammatory disorders. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9, 44. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00044
• Meneses, G., Bautista, M., Florentino, A., et al. (2016). Electric stimulation of the vagus nerve reduced the mortality and serum TNF in a murine sepsis model. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 47, 191–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2015.03.012
• Jessen, N. A., et al. (2015). The glymphatic system: A beginner’s guide. Neurochemical Research, 40, 2583–2599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-015-1581-6

©️

02/07/2025

Shop Powerful, gentle Flower, Crystal & Oil Essences + Spays by StarryHeartEssences located in Cardiff, United Kingdom. Top shop for gifts. Buyers bought gifts from this shop and gave them 5-star reviews!

02/07/2025

Rose for the Heart Essence is made with Roses, rose petals, rose leaves, Rose Quartz, Rose water & Rose essential oil - 2 drops in water, juice or tea can be taken 2 or 3 times a day to help with any grief or disappointment. It combines well with other medicines & is also in the Relax & Comfort Essence & aromatherapy spray.

17/06/2025

5 Things To Know About Uneven Hips and Abnormal Pelvic Tilts

https://goto.healingthroughmovement.com/uyhfpsoas_06_16_25c

17/06/2025

15/06/2025

12/09/2024

Autumn is all about letting go x

once upon a time
before the shame
and the sin
you were a cartwheel

hair flying
in full tumble
throwing yourself
with mad delight
into the arms of

wind and spirit

once upon a time
before the shame
and the sin
you were a starkeeper

your wishes alone
kept the stars aloft
in a velvet sky
of invitation
and belonging

you knew the sylvan
truth of fireflies
and trailed their
golden lantern path
over silvered meadow
into to the lullaby
of fairyland

the moon was a
grandmother from a tale
you still remembered
watching over your every move
look! you said. Look!
everywhere we go
the moon follows us

all the way home

once upon a time
before the shame
and the sin
acorns wore goblin hats
trees were secret keepers
clouds formed sky puppets
butterflies and honey bees
were emissaries of otherwhere
guarding the old stories
adults had already

forgotten
to remember

once upon a time
before the shame
and the sin
you moved through
the world like it was
your back yard

elbows made of frolic
knees made of wonder
fingers and toes a whirl
of color and possibility

your mind was full of
neverland
and your heart was full
of Oz
your body was still
a playground
and a confidant
and a friend

remember her?

she got lost somewhere
between the shame
and the sin
but she’s still
there

cartwheel smile
moonbeam soul
fairy tale girl
in love with
her own life

in love with you
b***y and soul

she’s still in there
daring
brazen

wild with
possibility

let’s
go
get
her

poem


more poems - www.angisullins.com
support the poet - www.patreon.com/angisullins

Art by Lisa asiato

12/09/2024

I can remember a great talk by Leo Buscaglia I saw in the 90’s. I think it saved my life and showed me, for the first time, what might be my spiritual trajectory.

It was all about love. Love. Beginning and ending with self love. And he looked straight into the camera, straight into my soul, and told me “You can be the ripest, juiciest, world-class, award-winning peach, and there will still be people in the world who don’t like peaches.”

Well said, Leo.

For most my life I was a chameleon. I would bend and contort myself to make people feel at ease, and in the process I would become what would please them most. If people didn’t like peaches, I’d act like a banana or an apple or an orange. It made me nervous. Anxious. It made me alone inside a room crowded with people and good intentions.

Mostly, it made me exhausted.

Until I learned the fine art of belonging, and decided to entertain myself, letting the peach connoisseurs show up at my fruit stand.

And I just want to encourage you today that you don’t have to be anybody but yourself. You are fruity and weird in all the right ways. Your people will recognize you and love every last bit of your juicy self. If you’re struggling with rejection or the singular pain of longing, listen to the muse of Maya Angelou, who once said: “Dont go where you are tolerated. Go where you are celebrated.”

Sometimes that has to start with JUST YOU. You liking you. Celebrating you. Entertaining you. Don’t worry about who’s approving and not approving. Play. Dance. Enjoy your whackadoodle self. Make a YOU smoothie and drink it down.

And know, today, that this peach celebrates you...in all your garlic-banana-pineapple-onion-watermelon ways.