The Vagus nerve regulates several mechanisms like anxiety and the fight or flight response, immune system defense and digestion.

At the center of our bodies resides a long, sinewy nerve that extends all the way from our medullas down through our chests to beyond our stomachs. This nerve, known as the Vagus Nerve( chitamani), happens to be at a most fascinating intersection, not only between our two physical nervous systems (our central and autonomic nervous systems) but also between our conscious minds and subconscious minds. As such, it also acts as a bridge between our gross bodies and our subtle bodies

The Vagus nerve regulates several mechanisms like anxiety and the fight or flight response, immune system defense and digestion. When the Vagus nerve is not functioning at 100% it can be causing poor health such as digestive issues, hormone imbalances and chronic diseases.

Q: 

Gurudev, can you please talk about the chintamani in the center of the brain, and the tip of the nose, where the subtle body is connected to the physical body?

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji

Scientists say that the tip of the nose has a lot of information; we have not yet been able to process all of it. Any knowledge that you get, should pass through the test of scientific methodology, and that includes spirituality too. Scientific methodology simply means going through a logical, sequential understanding, and then coming to a conclusion. Once you get to the conclusion, you still have to keep an open mind because there are many possibilities.

Where is chintamani? The ancient scriptures have said that there is a point in the center of the skull, perhaps, just below the hypothalamus. Hypothalamus is a point that controls the entire body; all the voluntary and involuntary activities in our system. This is what they meant by chintamani, the spot which scientists have called hypothalamus in the skull. You can draw parallels because there is such a huge gap of time and language, which has almost made it impossible to say this is it. For e.g., all the chakras that have been described in the Yogic texts somewhere correspond to our endocrine system. Hence, you can say it is very similar.