This document discusses emotion and stress, where emotions are stored in the body, and the stress response system. It covers 3 stages of stress response involving the sympathetic nervous system, HPA axis, and unmyelinated vagus nerve. Emotions can be stored consciously or unconsciously in muscles, fascia, bones, teeth, and hair. Balancing techniques are suggested to release suppressed emotions stored in the body. The vagus nerve and polyvagal theory are also discussed in relation to stress response and heart rate variability.

1. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it

2. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it

3. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• No Stress
– Para sympathetic vagus nerve
– Social engagement system
• 1st Stage of Stress
– Sympathetic nervous system
• 2nd Stage of Stress
– Hypothalamic / Pituitary / Adrenal (HPA) Axis
• 3rd Stage of Stress
– Unmyelinated ‘vegetative’ vagus nerve
– Reverse T3
– Adrenal fatigue (low cortisol)
– Burnout

4. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Possible Outcomes of an Emotional
Experience
– Resolution of emotions
– Emotional expression
– Subconscious emotional suppression
– Emotional conflict between the conscious and
subconscious
– Deep unconscious emotional storage which
surface at inopportune moments
– Storage of emotional history

5. Porges Polyvagal Theory
• According to the polyvagal theory the autonomic
nervous system passes through three global stages,
each with an associated behavioural strategy
– The first stage is characterized by a primitive unmyelinated
visceral vagus that:
• Fosters digestion
• Responds to threat by depressing metabolic activity
• Is associated with immobilization behaviours.
– The second stage is characterized by the sympathetic
nervous system that is:
• Capable of increasing metabolic output
• Inhibits the visceral vagus
• Fosters mobilization behaviours necessary for ‘fight or flight’.
– The third stage is characterized by a myelinated vagus that :
• can rapidly regulate cardiac output
• Fosters engagement and disengagement with the environment

6. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• No Stress State Characteristics
– Increased vagal influence on the heart (via nucleus ambiguus)
– Spontaneous social engagement behaviours (e.g., facial
expression, vocalisation, listening, eye gaze, prosody)
– Structural and Functional link between the muscles of the face
and the smooth muscles of the viscera (visceral states that
promote growth and restoration)
– Neuroception which determines whether environmental stimuli
elicit a fight-flight (1st Stage) or social engagement (No Stress
State) response
– Inhibits sympathetic behaviours
– Dampens the HPA axis
– Reduces inflammation by modulating immune reactions
– promotes calm states consistent with growth and restoration by:
• slowing heart rate
• lowering blood pressure
• inhibiting sympathetic activation at the level of the heart.

7. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• 1st Stage of Stress Characteristics
– Fight Flight Response
– Governed by the Sympathetic Nervous System
– Vagal withdrawal
– Hypothalamus and PAG of the brainstem
orchestrate the response in the body
– Adrenalin from the adrenal glands
– Also known as short term stress
– Survival mechanism
– Extinguishes after the stressor disappears

8. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• 2nd Stage of Stress Characteristics
– Governed by the HPA axis
– HPA Hormones orchestrate the response in the
body
– Also known as long term stress
– Survival mechanism
– Extinguishes after the stressor disappears

9. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• 3rd Stage of Stress Characteristics
– Governed by the unmyelinated vagus nerve
• Immobilisation
• feigning death
• vasovagal syncope (fainting)
• behavioural shutdown
– Inhibition of HPA axis (low cortisol)
• Note 4 of the 6 enzymes that make cortisol from cholesterol have
heme as a cofactor
– Conditioned Emotions
– Reverse T3 is produced in the Liver
– Burnout
– Trauma
– PTSD
• Hyperarousal
• Memory blackouts
• Flashbacks

10. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• The thyroid hormone modulates:
– Oxygen consumption (all tissue except brain,
testes, spleen, ovaries)
– Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
– Lipid metabolism
– Carbohydrate metabolism
– Protein metabolism
– Synthesis and degradation rates of:
• Other growth factors
• Hormones

11. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Thyroid hormones have a wide range of
effects on humans:
– Behavioural changes
– Growth effects
– Changes in cardiac output
– Gastrointestinal functions
– Tissue oxygen consumption
– Perturbation in immune mechanism.

12. Thyroid Hormones
• Thyroid produces hormones from:
– Tyrosine
– Iodine
• The 3 products are:
– T3 (2 tyrosine & 3 iodine)
– T4 (2 tyrosine & 4 iodine)
• T3 is the hormone and has a receptor
• T4 (thyroxine) is NOT a hormone and is
converted to T3 in the liver

13. Thyroid Hormones

14. Liver Enzymes
• EC 1.21.99.4: Thyroxine 5'-deiodinase
– Converts T4 to T3 and T3 to T2
– DIO1: 1p32.3
– This protein is a selenoprotein, containing the rare
selenocysteine (Sec) amino acid at its active site
• EC 1.21.99.3: Thyroxine 5-deiodinase
– Converts T4 to rT3 and T3 to T2
– DIO3: 14q32.31
– This protein is a selenoprotein, containing the rare
selenocysteine (Sec) amino acid at its active site

15. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it

16. Reverse T3
• EC 1.21.99.3: Thyroxine 5-deiodinase is highly
expressed in:
– Pregnant uterus
– Placenta
– Fetal and neonatal tissues
• Prevents premature exposure of developing
fetal tissues to adult levels of thyroid hormones.
• Regulates circulating fetal thyroid hormone
concentrations
• Plays a critical role in mammalian development

17. Reverse T3
• Under extended periods of long term stress
it is produced instead of T3
• Antagonist at T3 receptor (Blocks the T3
receptor)
• Theoretically could contribute to burnout by
inhibiting the metabolising functions of T3
• T3 and rT3 compete with each other to be
produced from T4
• High levels of rT3 is called rT3 dominance

18. Thyroid Hormone Pathways

19. Functions of T3
• T3 modulates the following:
– Oxygen consumption
– Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
– Lipid metabolism
– Carbohydrate metabolism
– Protein metabolism
– Synthesis & degradation of growth factors & other
hormones
• The effects of the thyroid can be categorised in
2 different biological responses:
– Effects on cellular differentiation and development.
– Effects on metabolic pathways.

20. Functions of T3
• Thyroid hormones have a wide range of
effects on humans:
– Behavioural changes
– Growth effects
– Changes in cardiac output
– Gastrointestinal functions
– Tissue oxygen consumption
– Perturbation in immune mechanism.

21. Functions of T3
• Where there is a T3 deficiency the subject has:
– BMR is reduced.
– Enlarged heart with reduced cardiac output.
– Body temperature is lowered.
– Skin is “cool”
– Sweating is reduced with respect to the ambient
temperature.
– Enlarged skeletal muscles with myopathy.
– “Puffy” appearance.

22. Unmyelinated Vagus Nerve
• Depresses metabolic activity
• Is associated with immobilization behaviours:
– Defeat
– Feigning death
– Passive avoidance
– Behavioural shutdown
– Syncope (fainting)
• Reduced cardiac output
• Reduced oxygenation of the blood in the lungs

23. Cardiac Rate
• The myelinated vagus is actively inhibitory of
the sympathetic nervous system at the level of
the heart.
• The myelinated vagus functions as an active
vagal brake (parasympathetic no stress state)
• Where rapid inhibition and disinhibition of the
vagal tone to the heart can:
– rapidly mobilize or calm an individual
– Change blood pressure quickly for active demands
(such as standing up suddenly)

24. Cardiac Rate
• Problems with the parasympathetic
innervation of the heart causes recruitment of
other systems to modulate the cardiac output
– Sympathetic nervous system (1st stage of stress)
– HPA axis (2nd stage of stress)
– Unmyelinated vagus nerve (3rd stage of stress)
• The stress responses are functional in the
short term, but may result in damage to the
mammalian nervous system when expressed
for prolonged periods

25. Unmyelinated Vagus Nerve
• Fibres come from dorsal vagus nucleus
• It provides low tonic influences on the heart and
bronchi
• This low tonic influence is the vestige from the
reptilian vagal control of the heart and lung
• Mammals have a great demand for oxygen and
are vulnerable to any depletion in oxygen
resources.
• Provides inhibitory input to the sinoatrial node of
the heart triggered by hypoxia (adaptive for reptiles
but lethal in mammals)
• Involved with bradycardia

26. Unmyelinated Vagus Nerve
• It is important to note that the unmyelinated
vagus nerve has beneficial functions in
humans.
• Under normal conditions, the unmyelinated
vagus nerve maintains tone to the gut and
promotes digestive processes.
• If up-regulated, the unmyelinated vagus nerve
contributes to pathophysiological conditions
such as:
– Formation of ulcers via excess gastric secretion
– Colitis

27. Neurochemistry
• Myelinated Vagus Nerve
– Preganglionic neurons have acetylcholine
– Nicotinic receptors in the vagal ganglion
– Postganglionic neurons have acetylcholine
– M3 muscarinic receptors found in all target
tissues except M2 in the heart
• Unmyelinated Vagus Nerve
– Preganglionic neurons have acetylcholine
– Nicotinic receptors in the vagal ganglion
– Postganglionic neurons have VIP & Nitrous oxide

28. Cortisol

29. Kinesiology Approach
• Balance cortisol production in the adrenal
cortex:
– rT3 receptors
– Unmyelinated vagus nerve
• Balance the Heart, Lungs & other vagal
targets
– rT3 receptors
– Unmyelinated vagus nerve
• Balance sacral Parasympathetic NS as could
have an unmyelinated division as well

30. Burn Out & Unmyelinated
Vagus Nerve Balance
A.P. Time of Day
Lu 0300 – 0500
LI 0500 – 0700
St 0700 – 0900
SP 0900 – 1100
Ht 1100 – 1300
SI 1300 – 1500
Bl 1500 – 1700
Ki 1700 – 1900
Pc 1900 – 2100
TH 2100 – 2300
GB 2300 – 0100
Lv 0100 – 0300

31. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Resolution of emotions
– Requires access of cortical functions
– Spiritual development
– Requires ‘no stress state’ of the myelinated
vagus nerve

32. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Emotional expression
– Function of the sympathetic nervous system
– Vagal withdrawal
– Hypothalamus and PAG of the brainstem
orchestrate the response in the body

33. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Subconscious emotional suppression
– Stores emotion in the body
– Why bodywork works
– Muscle and organ stress needs to be released
– Leads to long term stress

34. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Emotional conflict between the conscious and
subconscious
– Stores emotional conflict in the fascia
associated with musculoskeletal system

35. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Deep unconscious emotional storage
– Stored in bones and teeth
– Independent of the nervous system
– Most spiritual and life challenging issues

36. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Emotional history
– Stored in our hair
– Contains the history of our emotional history

37. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it

38. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Balancing Supressed Emotion
– Use Emotion mode and Suppression mode
– Find a muscle using alarm points
– Explore the emotions of the meridian that showed
– Activate the muscle and release stress
– Balance as necessary

39. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Example Anterior Deltoid
– Explore Gallbladder emotions
• Anger
• Rage
• Annoyed
• Indignation
• Unmotivated
• Impotent
• Indecisive
– Activate muscle by testing and moving through the
range of motion
– Use tonification or sedation points while performing
the range of motion
• UE: GB43, GB40, Lv5, TH4
• OE: GB38, GB37, GB36

40. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it

41. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Balancing Emotional Conflict between the
Conscious and Subconscious Mind
– Explore the conflict
– 12 Fascia lines related to 12 muscle meridians
– Find a muscle on the fascia line and get the
client to perform the action while holding the
end point on the feet or hands
– Related to defensive chi

42. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it

43. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
Adapted from Giovanni Maciocia: The Foundations of Chinese Medicine

44. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Deltoid Muscle
– Lung Muscle Meridian
• Explore Lung emotions
• Hold Lu11 while performing the action of the deltoid
– Large Intestine Muscle meridian
• Explore Large Intestine emotions
• Hold LI1 while performing the action of the deltoid
– Small Intestine Muscle meridian
• Explore Small Intestine emotions
• Hold SI1 while performing the action of the deltoid

45. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Deep unconscious emotional storage
– Stored in teeth and bones
– Bypasses the nervous system due to actions of
the unmyelinated vagus nerve
– Our greatest lifelong challenges
– Find which bones or teeth are storing the issues
– Use meridian relationship to bones and teeth to
explore unconscious emotions
– Balance the bones or teeth

46. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Example Sphenoid Bone
– Activate sphenoid
– Explore Gallbladder emotions
• Anger
• Rage
• Annoyed
• Indignation
• Unmotivated
• Impotent
• Indecisive
– Balance the sphenoid bone

47. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
• Conscious emotional history
– Pauselock the hair
– Do age recession
– Explore emotions experienced at that time

48. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
Emotional State Awareness of Emotional Reaction
Conscious emotion I’m angry at myself and I know it
Subconscious emotion I have an issue with anger, but I’m unaware that I’m angry
with myself
Conflict Subconsciously I’m angry with myself, but consciously I’m not
Unconscious emotion The anger at myself is completely unconscious, consciously I
have no idea that I’m angry

49. Emotion and Stress:
Where we put it and what can we do about it
Emotional State Emotion Source
Conscious emotion  
Subconscious emotion  X
Unconscious emotion X X

50. HRV Case Study
• 67 year old male
• 173 cm height
• 73 kg weight
• 2 tests done 38 minutes apart
• Performed the unmyelinated vagus nerve
cardiac ganglion balance in between
• Testing done with BioSign GmbH HRV
Scanner

51. HRV Case Study
• The Deep Breathing Test determines the
current state of the parasympathetic nervous
system, which is responsible for relaxation
and regeneration.
• The 3 parts of the vagal braking system
– Flexibility
– Tone
– Dynamics

52. HRV Case Study

53. HRV Case Study

54. HRV Case Study

55. HRV Case Study
Before Balance

56. HRV Case Study
After Balance

57. HRV Case Study
Before Balance

58. HRV Case Study
After Balance

59. HRV Case Study
Data Before After Change % Change
E-I Diff. (HR) Flexibility 9.19 1/min 15.20 1/min 6.01 1/min 65.40%
Mean HR Tone 80.06 1/min 69.63 1/min -10.43 1/min -13.03%
Coefficient of variation (HR) 6.26% 8.43% 2.17% 34.66%
E-I Diff. (RR Interval) 89 ms 185 ms 96 ms 107.87%
Mean RR interval 752.35 ms 868.91 116.56 15.49%
RMSSD (Dynamics) 21.19 ms 48.36 ms 27.17 ms 128.22%
SDNN (total variability) 47.74 ms 72.32 ms 24.58 ms 51.49%
Biological Age 74 years 58 years -16 years -21.62%
Number of heart beats 75 66 -9 -12.00%
Well Being 40% 60% 20% 50.00%