12/11/2025
The Vagus Nerve theory: the vagus nerve is the highway between our body and our brain, and has a major impact on our breath, our heart, our digestion, our expressions, our structure, and our stress/tension. The vagus nerve's impact on these functions is dependent on what state our nervous system is in.
The Vagus Nerve & Dance
Movement or exercise (especially dance) has a direct impact on the vagus nerve, and is sited as one of the major ways to adjust 'vagal tone' which impacts the responsiveness and capacity of our nervous system's response to threats. Dance also allows us to move in ways that match or contrast various nervous system states. We can express the energy of fight/ flight and match the breath, heart-rate, and postures to work through mobilized energy that may be stuck. We can match movement to the postures, breathing rates, and tension levels of regulation to send a message to the system that everything is okay.