The Soul Nerve and Trauma Recovery

Most human behaviour involves a part of the body that few people have ever heard of - the vagus nerve. In his brilliant book, My Grandmother’s Hands, therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem refers to the vagus nerve as the “soul nerve.” This poetic term is fitting: the vagus nerve is not just a neurological structure, but a deeply unifying organ of the entire nervous system. It plays a profound role in shaping how we relate to ourselves, others, and the world.

The vagus nerve is now considered central in understanding how trauma is held and healed in the body. As our understanding of trauma deepens, it becomes clearer that trauma is not only a psychological phenomenon, it is a physiological one. In trauma recovery, we are not just helping people change their thoughts, but working with their entire nervous system to return to a felt sense of safety, connection, and presence.

Trauma Recovery Must Include the Body

In contemporary trauma treatment, we now acknowledge that the distressing symptoms of traumatic stress are primarily experienced in the body. Clients often describe sensations like tightness in the chest, churning in the gut, a knot in the throat, or trembling in the limbs. These are not just metaphors, they are signs that the nervous system is dysregulated. Trauma recovery therefore must include the body as an active participant in the healing process. As a result, body-based and somatic practices have become central to trauma therapy. Modalities such as yoga, mindfulness, breathwork, Tai Chi, Qigong, craniosacral therapy, and Feldenkrais are no longer considered fringe. They are now essential companions to psychological treatments like Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, EMDR, Deep Brain Reorienting, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. But how does the body actually know when it is safe? How does it shift from a state of threat to one of calm? This is where the vagus nerve becomes essential.

What Is the Vagus Nerve?

The word “vagus” means “wandering” in Latin, a name that captures the nerve's vast, wandering path through the body. The vagus nerve extends from the brainstem down into the chest and abdomen, touching nearly every major organ along the way. It reaches into the throat, lungs, heart, stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, and intestines. Unlike other nerves that are either sensory or motor, the vagus nerve does both. It is part of the autonomic nervous system, which governs involuntary body functions such as digestion, heart rate, and respiration. It acts like a two-way highway, constantly relaying messages between the brain and the body. When you feel a gut instinct, tightness in your chest, or warmth in your heart when connecting with a loved one, you’re feeling the vagus nerve in action. Most fascinatingly, about 80% of the nerve fibers in the vagus are afferent which means that they carry information from the body to the brain, not the other way around. This means your brain is constantly being informed by what your body is experiencing. In trauma recovery, this insight helps us understand that healing often starts from the bottom up.

The largest branch of the vagus nerve runs through your gut which contains over 100 million neurons, more than the spinal cord. Biologists have referred to this as the “second brain,” a term that recognises the gut as a central processing centre for emotion, safety, and instinctual responses. When you feel that something is “off,” it often shows up in your belly before it registers in your thoughts. This is the vagus nerve is performing one of it's primary jobs, keeping you attuned to danger or safety in your environment. The soul nerve helps us detect what’s coherent, trustworthy, or aligned, and what’s not. In trauma recovery, helping clients reconnect to this internal knowing is critical. Over time, trauma blunts or distorts the vagus nerve’s ability to signal safety, leading to persistent hypervigilance, disconnection, or collapse.

Polyvagal Theory: Mapping the Nervous System's Response to Trauma

Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory offers a groundbreaking map for understanding how the vagus nerve supports or disrupts trauma recovery. The theory proposes that the autonomic nervous system has a three-tiered hierarchy:

1. Dorsal Vagal System: the oldest branch, which facilitates shutdown and freeze responses in the face of overwhelming threat.

2. Sympathetic Nervous System: responsible for mobilising fight-or-flight responses when danger is detected.

3. Ventral Vagal System: the most evolved system, responsible for calm, connected, and socially engaged states.

   
   

When trauma survivors are stuck in dorsal vagal (shutdown) or sympathetic (hyperarousal) states, their capacity for regulation and connection is compromised. Healing, then, involves supporting the reactivation and strengthening of the ventral vagal system—which is where the vagus nerve truly shines.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy and the Vagus Nerve

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy offers a deeply respectful and non-pathologising approach to trauma recovery. It understands the psyche as being made up of distinct parts, each with its own role and story. The goal of IFS therapy is to help clients access their Self—a core state of calm, clarity, compassion, and confidence—and to build relationships with their protective and wounded parts from this grounded centre.

The vagus nerve plays a key role in supporting this internal state of Self. When the vagus nerve is regulated—particularly through ventral vagal activation—the internal system becomes more harmonious. Parts that are normally in conflict or overwhelm can soften, step back, and begin to trust that they are no longer alone. In this way, Internal Family Systems therapy is not only a psychological process but a physiological one, relying on vagal tone and body regulation to create the conditions for inner healing.

Strengthening the Soul Nerve in Trauma Recovery

Many modern trauma therapies now include techniques specifically designed to support vagus nerve function. These include:

• Deep, diaphragmatic breathing

• Vocal toning and humming

• Safe eye contact and social engagement

• Gentle movement and somatic awareness

• Polyvagal-informed IFS therapy

• Mindfulness and present-moment anchoring

Over time, these practices help increase “vagal tone”, a measure of how quickly the body can return to a state of calm after stress. High vagal tone is associated with lower inflammation, improved digestion, better emotional regulation, and increased capacity for connection.

The vagus nerve is not just a biological structure. It is a living bridge between mind and body, self and other, past and present. In trauma recovery, strengthening the vagus nerve helps restore the body’s natural rhythms, quiet the alarm signals of the past, and open the door to healing. Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, combined with somatic and polyvagal-informed practices, offers a powerful, integrated path forward. It allows us to meet trauma not just with insight, but with presence. Not just with understanding, but with deep internal safety. And that’s where healing begins—in the body, with the soul nerve.

About the Author

Sean Cuthbert is a Clinical Psychologist, Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) Approved Supervisor, Certified IFS Therapist, and IFS-I Approved Clinical Consultant in private practice in Melbourne, online throughout Australia, and internationally. He provides 1:1 therapy for clients, and supports professionals through individual and group supervision/consultation.