Heart of the Village Yoga

No one can take your intuition away from you. Intuition is an inner knowing of what is true.

You may have heard the phrase “I feel it in my gut.” There is a physiological connection between the space between the eyebrows/middle of the forehead, sometimes called our 3rd eye or 6th Chakra or the seat of our intuition, and our gut.

“The heart, guts and brain communicate intimately via a nerve” – the pneumogastric or vagus nerve – “the critical nerve in the expression and management of emotions in both humans and animals…. ”  says Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk, psychiatrist, author, researcher and educator. This, of course, is why our gut reacts strongly to our emotional state.

Why am I saying all this? Because this is a stressful time for everyone. Everything is changing all the time and so much of what is happening around us is affecting our lives in a very real way. Whether you’ve lost your job or your business has closed or your children are home or you don’t have enough money to pay your rent or put food on the table or you’ve lost loved ones to the Corona Virus or you are shot because of the color of your skin or you work in an unsafe environment or you are going back to work and  are unsure if it is safe or you’re quarantining or getting married or having a baby, you have to constantly respond to the rapidly changing world around you.

This constant change and uncertainty result in many new situations that require decisions. When we make decisions it is so important for us to follow our intuition. You may say “I don’t know” to yourself or others more often than you like. And what I’m saying is YOU DO KNOW. When you take quiet time to sit with a decision your truth unfolds. You “feel in your gut” the direction you know to go, and so you “follow your gut.” The false pulls fall away and you know the answer. If you don’t take the time to discern the path your intuition guides you on, your stress rises as you feel ill at ease.

“Every time you exhale, your vagus nerve squirts some acetylcholine (also known as “vagusstoff” or “vagus substance”) onto your heart. Vagusstoff acts as a tranquilizer-like substance to slow down beat-to-beat intervals and improves heart rate variability (HRV). Robust vagal tone and higher HRV go hand in hand and are markers for overall psychological and physical well-being.” writes Christopher Bergland in his blog “The Athlete’s Way.”

So take the time to slow down. To sit. To breathe. To meditate. To listen to your inner voice. To connect with your inner knowing. To follow your truth. To believe in yourself. You owe it to yourself and those around you to live your truth and walk your path. Thereby living a healthy life and allowing your light to shine.

©Jo Kirsch, September 2020