3 Ways Vajrayana Tantra Tones Your Vagus Nerve

Did you know that Vajrayana Tantra is an extremely effective somatic healing method? The combination of breath, mindfulness, and mantric chanting hits many of the “vagal activation” cues that engage the vagus nerve and facilitate somatic healing.

But also, there’s the pure physical pleasure that can be experienced at each stage of your practice that can also support somatic healing.

For example, I love the physical sensation of Vajrayana Tantra practice. I love arranging my body into the 5 points of meditation and experiencing the visceral sensation of my channels straightening and coming into alignment.

 

I love the calm abiding practice of Shinay, where I have the opportunity to observe without hurry the effortless inflow and outflow of each breath.

 

I love the sensation of my belly expanding with each inhalation… I love feeling my belly expanding with breath to fill the bottom chambers of my lungs.

 

I love holding each breath at the peak and feeling the delicate extraction of the “prana” from the air, which occurs naturally with each breath we take. I love the sensation of pressing air out of my lungs as I exhale through the nose, carrying all that no longer serves the functioning of my body.

 

At its core, Vajrayana Tantra is an extremely effective somatic healing practice. Whether it is the simple yet profound practice of Shiny that I just described above, or the advanced “light show” of Diety Yoga practice such as Green Tara or Vajrasattva, every aspect of this practice is an invitation for deeper embodiment and connection.

 

The weaving of light, sound, and form takes this somatic embodiment practice even deeper by introducing the element of SOUND. The added component of sound and mantric recitation actively engages the ventral vagal pathway to facilitate an even greater degree of healing and restoration.

 

The Tibetan 5 Element Meditations we offer through IATE stem from the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.

This video outlines 3 ways in which the more advanced practices of Vajrayana Tantra Deity Yoga practices engage the Vagus nerve and help facilitate/support somatic healing.