Responding to both a rising occurrence of neurological disorders due to a increase in neurotropic viruses, a decline in cognitive health from environmental factors, and an explosion in interest in Flow State experiences, I developed a meditation that uniquely focuses on improving vagal tone (by decreasing Vagus nerve inflammation), increasing heart rate variability (HRV), and strengthening concentration. This is based on my personal experience as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, a student of a Taoist priest, my medical studies, and 30+ yrs meditating. While it takes a little bit of effort to learn all the pieces, patients report very clear benefits once that initial learning curve is cleared. Practice brings you resilience to stress, improved emotional balance, and an overall sense of centered calm which carries through the day. Like all things, you get what you put in.
NOVA follows a common meditative framework:
1. A signal to your consciousness of a shift from the mundane to the supramundane. In NOVA meditation, it is the vagal tone check and the Traditional Asian Medicine meditation preliminaries (smile, produce saliva, click teeth, swallow saliva)
2. External vocalization such as singing, praying, chanting. In this meditation, we use humming in three different tones – low while focusing on the lower abdomen, middle range humming while focusing on the sternum, and high range for the meditator while focusing on the third eye/pineal gland.
3. Turning inward is a common part of many traditions contemplative practices, from Quakers to Buddhist monks. It is in the third stage where the interoception provides the opportunity to release painful and ineffective perspectives and consciously absorb new healthier perspectives. In NOVA this is the samadhi or concentration practice portion where we let everything lose focus except for the breath.
This entire Vagus nerve focused, Flow State meditation can be done in as little time as 20 relaxed breaths or as long as you wish by simply increasing the repetitions of any step in groups of three. This way you can focus on certain benefits or target certain issues. A few clarifications are needed before before I get into the instructions.
I use a Hapi steel tongue drum for the upper, middle, and lower tones but you can also use a tone app on your phone. The easiest way is to find your own upper and lower range. Simply go up then down in the scale and stop at the point your voice fails and back up a bit. The key is the vibration, so the higher the fidelity, the better. You want the highest and lowest notes you can hit with strength.
The first and last sections have the Timed Vagal Tone Check. I went into detail about this in the last blog post here. It measures parasympathetic response from which we can roughly gauge Vagus nerve inflammation. Here, we are using it in a relative sense to get a baseline at the start and then measure at the end to compare and see the results. That insight helps to personalize sessions for optimal results as well as give validation as motivation.
This serves as both the opening and the closing section of the meditation. They act to settle the mind at the start and lock in the benefits of the meditation at the end. Each step involves one deep, relaxed breath. The total number of full, relaxed breaths for the introduction and closing is four, one for each step.
Timed Vagal Tone Check – both right and left sides, once each. Remember or record the number of seconds. This acts as a benchmark.
Smile - A slight smile relaxes the face.
Visualize Sour Taste - Imagine chewing a lemon to stimulate saliva release.
Teeth Clicking while holding Sour Taste Visualization - gently click the teeth together to relax the face
Swallow the saliva you have produced by the visualization while tilting the head ever so slightly back and visualizing it going down into your lower abdomen.
Breathing is now: inhale 80%, exhale 100%, making sure the exhale is longer than the inhale. You can also think of the breath as 4 seconds inhale, hold for 2 seconds as your attention rests at the top of your head, and 6 seconds exhale as your attention goes down the front of your torso. Your attention goes from tailbone, up the spine to crown of the head on the inhale, and down the center front of the torso to the pelvic bone level on the exhale with the tongue touching roof of mouth throughout. The tongue here acts as an electrical conduit between two acupuncture meridians (Du and Ren meridians, respectively) creating a circuit going up the spine and down the front.
Until you get the hang of the technique, you can stay with just the intro and this part, which is classically called the Microcosmic Orbit in Taoist texts, in sets of three.
After swallowing, keeping the breath gentle, and your attention going up the spine on the inhale to the crown of the head and going down the front on the exhale, begin to:
Inhale visualizing the color Glossy Navy Blue, Exhale keeping the color but now hum the exhale at your lowest tone range or G3, feeling the vibration in your lower torso.
Inhale visualizing the color Glossy Red, Exhale keeping the color but now hum the exhale at your middle tone range or C4, feeling the vibration in your mid torso.
Inhale visualizing the color Glossy White. Exhale keeping the color but now hum the exhale at your highest tone range or E4, feeling the vibration in the center of your head.
Do these in sets of three. Either once each, or each one three, six, etc., times. If one area captures your attention, you can increase the number of humming breaths for that spot in groups of three.
4. Samadhi (concentration practice) – Put your focus on the tip of your nose or the inner border of your nostril for nine Breaths each cycle. When your mind wanders from your point of focus, gently, like moving a butterfly, bring it back to the tip of your nose or your nostril. You can stay in this part of the meditation for longer than nine breaths if you wish to focus on building concentration.
Closing:
Smile
Visualize Sour
Teeth Clicking while holding Visualization
Swallow with head very slightly tilted back
Timed Vagal Tone Check – R & L 1 x each - Compare this time to your introduction time and adjust practice accordingly.
If you have any difficulties or questions come up, please feel free to reach out. I love to hear from people trying out the meditation!
Paul Rooney L.Ac., M.Ac., NCCAOM Dipl.
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