In medical school I would study the heart. I would learn that there are nerves that connect the heart to that part of the brainstem called the medulla oblongata via the vagus nerve, how the vagus nerve had two components, and how if you increased the output of the nerve by relaxing and slowing the breath, it would stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, slowing your heart and decreasing your blood pressure. I also learned how decreasing the tone of the vagus nerve actually stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which is what happens if you are scared or frightened—your heartbeat
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