The Empowerment Couple

Vagus Nerve Medicine: Unlock your body’s built-in calm, creativity, and connection system

• Zuri Star & Mikey Star • Season 7 • Episode 5

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Have you ever felt like your life is stuck in survival mode even when you’re doing “all the right things”? We go straight to the root—the vagus nerve—and show how this quiet superhighway between body and brain can unlock calm, creativity, and connection without fancy tools or long routines. Think of it as your body’s Wi‑Fi for safety and presence: once the signal is strong, everything loads faster.

We break down what the vagus nerve does, why 80% of its signaling runs from body to brain, and how that flips common self‑help advice on its head. You’ll hear why trauma lives in the nervous system, not just the mind; how chronic fight or flight blocks abundance and intimacy; and what the research says about HRV, cortisol, mood, and resilience. We dig into practical science, from Harvard Health on clinical vagus stimulation to emerging studies showing benefits for PTSD, chronic pain, and depression. Then we translate it all into an everyday toolkit you can actually use.

You’ll leave with ten free, accessible practices that build vagal tone: deep belly breathing, humming or singing, cold exposure and the face‑plunge dive reflex, saltwater gargling, laughter and play, safe eye contact and co‑regulation, meditation, gentle yoga, targeted neck and foot massage, and daily gratitude. We connect the dots to real life—why regulation is the best strategy for business results, money manifestation, emotional regulation during conflict, and deeper intimacy. And yes, we have fun with a “Vegas vs vagus” game to make these concepts stick, plus a journal prompt to help you hear what your nervous system is asking for next.

Hit play to learn how to steady your baseline, expand your capacity, and invite more love and abundance by making your body feel safe. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs nervous system relief, and leave a quick review to help others find these tools. Your calm is contagious—let’s spread it.

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SPEAKER_00:

You know, I don't like starting a conversation with negatives, but what is the most stressful place on the planet for you?

SPEAKER_03:

I would probably say Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Most certainly Vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

Vegas just stresses me out, period. It's like like it's like chaos on display.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct.

SPEAKER_03:

That's what I feel like. It's like people's inner chaos is just like on the side of a car, you know, or like somebody's handing you out their their inner chaos. It's like chaos collection cards. You know what I mean? Instead of baseball cards, it's like chaos cards.

SPEAKER_00:

It's it's a it's a city filled with anxiety and depression. It's just like, you know, oh, I gotta get this, I gotta get this money, I gotta get this money, and and then they leave without the money. It's like, oh crap.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it's wild. I mean, I love to gamble, I love to dance, don't get me wrong, I love to play. That is like the basis of my being-ness here is to be playful. But like, there's just like a city of sadness, you know, there's a sad side. Oh, yeah. But to me, it's very stressful. I feel like I'm always looking to like, where can I breathe? Like I can't smoke me everywhere. You know what I mean? Where can I, where can I get, where can I be in hygienic situation too? Like, if you if you have any germ germophobe issues, you know, like, ooh, I just am swimming in this water next to a band-aid. Ooh, like you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_00:

Everyone is like either like sloshed or on multiple drugs, like consciously they're not even there. It's just like it's too much. Yeah, it's it's it's too much.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like, yeah, there's no chill.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's like, oh, if you can't handle Vegas, don't take no. I'm I don't I don't handle Vegas. Yeah, I don't I don't go to Vegas. No.

SPEAKER_03:

But if I did go to Vegas, there's only there's a certain way you can go to Vegas and experience, but in general, for the average person, I would say, and for me, it's it's a stressful place.

SPEAKER_00:

It's not a happy place.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Like, you know, I've had fun, but I've also had deep stress.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. I've I've I've uh I've almost ruined my life a couple times in Vegas. Same. I almost ruined my life at least four times in Vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, for sure. Welcome to the Empowerment Couple Podcast for the lovers, leaders, and legacy builders ready to rise. We're Zuri and Michael Starr, your favorite empowerment coaches, partners in life, love, and leveling up.

SPEAKER_00:

This show is your sanctuary for soul aligned success in a world drowning in burnout, broke mindsets, and relationship drama.

SPEAKER_03:

Each week, we'll bring you real talk, radical tools, and sacred strategies across our four transformational pillars wellness mastery, wealth expansion, sacred relationships, and embodied leadership.

SPEAKER_00:

We'll guide you to lead from your soul's desire and create meaningful impact without sacrificing your wellness. Plus, this season we're bringing on powerful guests, playing laugh-out loud games, and sharing unfiltered stories that will challenge your beliefs and amplify your energy.

SPEAKER_03:

So if you're ready to regulate your nervous system, elevate your relationships, and rewire your life for magnetic love, wealth, and purpose, hit follow and join our empowered posse. It's time to rise into your most beautiful life.

SPEAKER_00:

Your most beautiful let's do it together. One, two, three. Your most beautiful life.

SPEAKER_03:

What if the most powerful medicine for your anxiety, disconnection, and burnout was free, accessible, and already in your body?

SPEAKER_00:

I would I would certainly ask, what is it?

SPEAKER_03:

Your vegas nerve is what it is, and it's like your body's Wi-Fi for calm, creativity, and connection.

SPEAKER_00:

Now we're not talking about Vegas as in Las Vegas. We're talking about Vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Which has a different spelling indeed, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

And we are talking about the Vegas nerve today because we already gave you so much information about nervous system alignment, breath work medicine, reaction versus response, which is like vagal tone, which equals your emotional regulation. We've talked about money medicine, shadow integration. Your money medicine is like part of your nervous system safety to receive, your shadow integration is like your safety to face repressed parts. So if you haven't listened to those episodes, go back and give those a listen. We're going to talk about the vagus nerve. You want to tell us what it is?

SPEAKER_00:

The vagus nerve. So the vagus nerve is Latin for wandering, right? It is the tenth cranial nerve connecting your brain to your heart, lungs, and gut, controlling your parasympathetic parasympathetic nervous system, your rest, digest, and heal. So it is quite important to your well-being. The vagus nerve carries 80% of its signals from your body to your brain. Not the other way around, right? Your body is constantly telling your brain if it feels safe enough to heal, to connect, and receive. So your vagus nerve is the highway of mind-body connection, and it is free medicine.

SPEAKER_03:

It is free medicine. So this is your vagus nerve medicine prescription today. It's pretty crazy what how important it is and how little it's talked about.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So let's talk about number one. Trauma lives in the nervous system, not just the mind.

SPEAKER_00:

That is so true. That is so true.

SPEAKER_03:

So number two is you cannot manifest abundance while in fight, flight, or your body will just resist expansion because it feels unsafe.

SPEAKER_00:

That is correct. You are in flight or flight mode. And when you're in flight or flight mode, it is all about survival, not thriving. That's the other, that's the other side. Right. So once you calm your mind, then you have the opportunity to have thriving thoughts and survival thoughts.

SPEAKER_03:

Number three is vagal health affects your ability to love. Hear me out and connect.

SPEAKER_00:

Now imagine if both you and your partner are tending to your vagal nerve, how close do you think you guys will get?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, your dysregulation is going to be in the way. Yeah, exactly. 100%. Number four is cold showers and breath work stimulate the vagus nerve and improve mood.

SPEAKER_00:

Which is interesting because, again, it's typically free medicine. I mean, I guess your water is not going to be, you know, free, but it's accessible. You can you can tend to it on a regular basis.

SPEAKER_03:

The great thing is that most of us have access to a shower.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct.

SPEAKER_03:

And so, you know, you also save a little bit of money when it's cold.

SPEAKER_00:

You can also, you know, do a face plunge in ice water. It doesn't have full body.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, I love doing that. I did that a lot in the winter where I would just get like some fresh snow from outside and I would just plunge my face. I love that. And that was really helping me get my my toning, my vagal toning back. Okay, so how about number five? Humming calms anxiety by stimulating the vagus nerve.

SPEAKER_00:

I love that. And of course, it it does so because the vagus nerve literally goes on the side of your neck right next to your vocal cords. So again, your body is designed to heal itself. All you have to do is pick up a few practices.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. And so if you don't like to sing, you can hum. You know, but if you do like to sing, this is like a way where you can reset yourself. And you know, you can do it in the car when no one's with you. You can do it in the shower.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh it's also a uh let yourself sing.

SPEAKER_03:

Even if you don't like what sound, what's coming out, it's a way for you to get some voicel toning.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh that's why chanting ohm uh is such a powerful practice because it does a great job of resetting your vagus nerve.

SPEAKER_03:

Totally. Number six, poor vagal tone equals higher inflammation, autoimmune issues, and anxiety.

SPEAKER_00:

That makes sense because your gut is telling your brain something's wrong, and your brain is producing a bunch of cortisol and adrenaline. So exactly again, your body is outfitted to care for itself. And when it's not being cared for, it'll let you know.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and inflammation is just a way for the body to protect itself. So if the body is, like we said earlier, your body's constantly telling your brain if it feels safe enough to heal, to connect, to receive, and if it's feeling unsafe, it's going to create some insulation to protect it, to protect your organs. And this is why we get that stress belly.

SPEAKER_00:

The muffin top, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. The muffin top. Is that a muffin top? Number seven is the gut brain axis is connected to the vagus nerve.

SPEAKER_04:

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. So massive, massive. I think it's pretty shocking that we don't talk enough about the vagus nerve, considering how important it is. Number eight is deep breathing directly increases vagal tone.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh-oh. More free medicine. Breathe deep.

SPEAKER_03:

Breathe with me, baby. Yeah. A healthy vagus nerve predicts better emotional resilience and health. That's number nine.

SPEAKER_00:

Totally. And I feel like there's, you know, anyone who's really interested in longevity should really start paying attention to that vagal nerve because the health, like you said, the healthier that is, the healthier your body is going to be able to handle stress in the future.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep. And finally, number 10, a regulated nervous system is your true superpower in life, business, and relationships. Oh, most certainly. That's important. Your vagus nerve is your body's direct line to calm, clarity, and creativity. So let's talk about why vagal tone matters.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, first of all, high vagal tone allows your body to have faster stress recovery, right? Which is super important because you actually have the opportunity to allow your body to handle more volumes of stress. Right. And in doing though, in doing so, you actually have, like what you said before, access to more of your superpowers. Another high vagal tone benefit is that it, of course, gives you better immunity and digestion, right? So it's going to make you feel stronger, it's going to give you some more clarity. It'll also help you with emotional resilience. So if you're dealing with some, you know, some emotional stress, attending to that to the vagal nerve will definitely allow that to subside. And the last, which is my favorite, is that it will increase your capacity to hold abundance.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

If you think about that, the better you feel, the more you can accept, right? So the minute that you start attending to that vagal nerve, your abundance, your love life, your health, and all that stuff will start to improve.

SPEAKER_03:

So the opposite is true that if you are rattled and you have, you know, high anxiety and nervousness, then it's not safe for abundance to, you know, you're not trustworthy in that way.

SPEAKER_00:

So in most cases, you are in resistance mode.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Let's talk about low vagal tone. So low vagal tone can cause chronic stress, anxiety. It also can cause emotional reactivity. This is where you experience a lot of dysregulation.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

It also can cause inflammation, health issues, and difficulty receiving. Again, so kind of the opposite is that you won't have the ability to receive or expand. And there's this 2010 biological psychology study that showed higher vagal tone predicts greater positive emotions, social connection, and health.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. You can't fake a calm nervous system. That's the crazy thing. And you can't build an empowered life from a nervous system that is rattled.

SPEAKER_00:

No, no. What you're going to start creating with a rattled nervous system is chaos. Is chaos. You are you are literally opening the door for more chaos to rush in and and dance with you. It's not it's not going to be a fun dance either. No, no.

SPEAKER_03:

This is where we talked about like uh would you dance with someone who would step on your feet? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Or would you would you board a plane with a captain who's having a meltdown? Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_03:

So let's talk about the benefits of vagus nerve activation.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, let's get into that science. Okay. So one thing is that uh the one of the benefits, of course, is is stress reduction. And a bit of science on that is that the vagal tone correlates with decreased cortisol levels and reduced sympathetic flight or flight activity. So there is, again, scientific-based evidence that shows the more you take care of your vagal nerve, the better you feel.

SPEAKER_03:

Another benefit, science fact benefit, vagus nerve activation is improved HRV. So that's your heart rate variability. High vagal tone equals better heart rate variability. And it also equals improved resilience and emotional regulation. So this is where you can not have a dramatic reaction to anything.

SPEAKER_00:

Step it on a Lego.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, you can you can really be like, oh, I'm gonna breathe that out. And you can really take time to kind of figure out how you're gonna wax on and wax off. Or parkour or firebend. Another benefit is better digestion. So vagal toning stimulates peristalsis and enzyme secretion, supporting gut brain health.

SPEAKER_00:

That's some good signs right there. And finally, with your mood and anxiety, right? So once you deal with your vagus nerve, your mood and anxiety will have a little bit of relief. It's linked to GABA production and reduced amygdala hyperactivity, which calms anxiety and supports depression recovery.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Amazing. There's supporting research and facts that we also want to share with you. For example, Harvard Health notes that vagus nerve stimulation can help treat treatment resistant depression and epilepsy. Crazy. Yes. And a study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience in 2018 found that non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation reduces symptoms of PTSD and chronic pain. Wow. Yes, it's crazy. So the vagus nerve is like your body's internal brake pedal. It slows things down so healing can begin. If you regulate your vagus, then you can regulate your life.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that is so true. Your nervous system doesn't lie, but you can teach it to feel safe again. And that's where the point of this podcast is.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep. That's where the medicine is. So let's give them some medicine. How about that?

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_03:

So here's your free vagus nerve medicine. It's your prescription. There's 10 free practices that we are going to talk about. Some of them will be repeat so that you can really know how important they are and embody them.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

So if you've ever laid on the floor and you've taken a deep breath, likely and put your hands on your belly, or when you're laying in a bed at night, your belly naturally raises when you breathe in. So it fills up and it raises up. And then as you exhale, it it goes down. And so what we often think of a deep breath when we're standing up, for some reason we switch it, right? We start lifting our shoulders and filling up our chest and acting all weird and we don't focus on our belly. But the deepest breath that you can pull into your body is through deep, slow belly breathing. And you can go back and listen to breath work medicine. But anybody listening, when you lay down to sleep at night, just lay there and put rest your hands on your belly and feel the air come in and out of your body.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's a great time to do that.

SPEAKER_03:

And then also find a way to add even more air. So you can feel like your intercostal muscles, you know, expanding. You can feel your chest expanding. You can feel like your body actually gets wider when you take a deep, slow belly breath.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, number two is easy. We had discussed that before: humming, chanting, singing, anything that helps you vibrate those vocal cords, which will have resonance with that vagal nerve and runs very closely to it.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. And so it's summertime if you're listening to this, and it's hot in most places in the US, and it's a great time for you to get some cold exposure. Not everyone likes taking a cold shower or doing these like ice baths and you know the extreme things, but you likely like to jump into a pool or jump into a body of water, or you like to maybe run a sprinkler and play in it with your kids or whatever. Like there's fun ways to get cold exposure, and it's that cold exposure can do wonders for your body. But we also talked about like putting your face in an ice bath or just you know, cold water or snow. But that's a really powerful way to get some cold exposure for your vagal nerve toning.

SPEAKER_00:

Another one that's kind of odd is gargling.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Right? So, of course, you have some water in your throat, you put your head back and you gargle. And again, the the motions of it, the the water in there, it all uh allows that vagus nerve to relax a little bit.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it's kind of like a you know, massage for your your vagal, your vagus nerve. The other thing about that is don't gargle with something that is really toxic, like Listerine, for example, because then you will be killing all of your microbiome and doing a lot of damage to your body. So you definitely don't want to do that.

SPEAKER_00:

I would go for warm water and salt.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Nice and easy.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Another that is just great in free medicine for your vagus nerve is laughter and play. You know, we are big proponents of playing and laughter and getting as much silliness in in your day. And so that's something that everybody can do. But if you are not in a relationship right now, you can put on some comedy, you can watch cat videos on social media, something that, you know, really makes you laugh. Mikey likes fails, for example, but get yourself into a laughter state because the more that you laugh, the more your vagus nerve gets toning.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, exactly. Another one is having safe social connections and eye contact with people, also known as intimacy that does wonders for the whole system, also your vagal nerve.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. And so if you don't feel safe in your relationship, for example, it's ideal if you find somebody that you feel safe with. But this is also why people have a deep connection with pets. Because if you have a dog or a cat, like they will look deep into your eyes for a long time and you will connect in a way that feels like, oh, this animal just loves me so much. Like I'm so connected to their spirit, and you know, it's like such a joy. Number seven would be meditation and mindfulness.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, yeah, most certainly.

SPEAKER_03:

So we talk a lot about meditation and mindfulness, but if you're new to meditation, there's lots of resources on previous podcasts, but also we have a lot of meditations available, and you're welcome to click the link in our show notes and we will link you to those.

SPEAKER_00:

Number eight is yoga in gentle movement. I have said this for as long as I've been doing yoga. Yoga really does a great job of balancing out the body to include your vagus nerve.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. And another one is massage. So especially your neck and your feet. Those two areas can create a lot of medicine and movement and fluidity for your vagus nerve and toning. So if you don't have a partner, again, there's amazing foot massagers and neck massagers that you can buy and you know use, but definitely look to get your feet and your neck massaged as often as possible.

SPEAKER_00:

And number 10 is practicing gratitude. Practicing gratitude raises your body's vibration, puts you into a thrive mode. And of course, then your vagus nerve and your brain are communicating quite nicely together.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. So vagus nerve medicine costs nothing, but it pays you back with peace, presence, and possibility.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, and who doesn't want peace, presence, and possibility?

SPEAKER_03:

So and it's free, so you have you have no excuse.

SPEAKER_00:

You don't and you don't want to leave you don't want to leave money on the table ever, right? Especially when it comes to your health.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly. Vegas nerve is so important. Let's talk a little bit about how it's important in business and relationships.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Some quick dirty facts here. So Vegas nerve regulation helps with consistency by reducing overwhelm.

SPEAKER_00:

Ooh, overwhelm is a beast. It also supports money manifestation by creating safety to receive.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah. We've been talking about that. Which is major, but we're gonna keep saying it, honey. It also deepens intimacy by enabling co-regulation.

SPEAKER_00:

Co-regulation.

SPEAKER_03:

Which is major.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh, it also helps uh emotional regulation during conflict, right? Which allows you to stay cool, calm, and collective under fire.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep. And also then to co-regulate. So when you're co-regulated, you don't have disagreements that feel like you are power struggling. It also allows creativity by shifting out of survival mode.

SPEAKER_00:

And with survival mode, your list of options tend to be very narrow.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

When you're in Thrive, the world is your oyster.

SPEAKER_03:

The world is expansive.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, the best business and relationship strategy is a regulated nervous system.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

If you are if you're about to go on a, you know, a vacation or start a business, start with regulating your vagus nerve. And then everything else is going to get far easier.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. I think it's time to play a game. You want to play a game?

SPEAKER_00:

I love playing games.

SPEAKER_03:

All right. We're going to just see if you um, you know how much you've learned together. So play along with us, Empowered Posse.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_03:

And Mike, I'm going to ask you is this Vegas, as in your Vegas nerve, or Vegas, Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Las Vegas. Oh, got it. I love that. Okay.

SPEAKER_03:

So I'm going to tell you, um, I'm just going to describe like a situation, and you're going to tell me Vegas or Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Got it.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay? So Vegas nerve or Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Got it. Okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Ready? Okay, so how about deep breathing?

SPEAKER_00:

Deep breathing is most certainly Vegas nerve.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, honey. How about inhaling secondhand smoke in every inch of the city?

SPEAKER_00:

Ooh, that is Las Vegas. Lost Vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, screaming at traffic.

SPEAKER_00:

Ooh. Uh that's mostly most certainly Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Or also Boston.

SPEAKER_03:

Or like any city, basically. But you can also tell yourself if you are like freaking out and you're having like road rage, you can be like, okay, to support my vegas nerve, I can deep breathe.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Or I can hum. Or I can be like, you know, motherfucking fuck this vision, you know. Like you could chant some stuff.

SPEAKER_00:

I like I like playing jazz and breathing deeply as I cut through traffic because it makes it nice and easy. Right. Nice and cool.

SPEAKER_03:

But if you scream in traffic, then you are going to be hurting your vegan. Alright, how about naked girls on the side of a bus?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh that is las vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

Um how about singing in the shower?

SPEAKER_00:

Singing in the shower is definitely vegas. Vegas nerve. Yeah, that's a good point.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep. Okay, how about binge watching junk TV while eating junk food?

SPEAKER_00:

That's junk on junk. Junk on junk is always Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

Always vegan. Um cold face plunge.

SPEAKER_00:

Vegas nerve all the way.

SPEAKER_03:

I gave you some easy ones because you know we just gotta make sure. We gotta lock it in. Um, how about gambling your last$10 on slots?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, dude, that is like a whole wrecking ball on your Vegas nerve, so that is Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly. So I feel like we could go on. I could I could ask you like 300 more. Why don't you quiz me?

SPEAKER_00:

Quiz. Oh, here we go. Taxes.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh, Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Going to a concert tonight.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, Vegas nerve, baby.

SPEAKER_00:

Vegas nerve. All right. Going paddle boarding uh under a full moon, which we're gonna do on Saturday.

SPEAKER_03:

Vegas nerve. I didn't know we were doing that. This is my is there a special date?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh it's Saturday. Saturday's a full moon. We're gonna handle it.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh my gosh. I cannot wait to do that. I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_00:

Um and then and with that, you're in the middle of the lake and the thunderstorm comes in. Is that Vegas or Las Vegas?

SPEAKER_03:

Um, as long as there's a place to take cover, it's it could be both. But having experienced a thunderstorm, lightning storm in Las Vegas, I'm gonna say it's Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, I have a mixed melt, a mixed one for you. Ready?

SPEAKER_03:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Last one. Going on a nice long walk in the woods with me and seeing some wild animals.

SPEAKER_03:

What kind of wild animals?

SPEAKER_00:

Bears. Things with teeth.

SPEAKER_03:

Things with teeth. I think uh for me it would be Vegas nerve until something's chasing me. Then it would be uh Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Las Vegas all day long.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, seriously. So don't confuse your Vegas thrills with Vegas chills.

SPEAKER_00:

Ooh, Zuri. Okay. That was nice.

SPEAKER_03:

I know, right? Um, your vegas nerve is really the key to living in peace, connection, and abundance. It's the medicine your body's been waiting for. If this is new information for you, we give you a little highlight. And if you want to dig deeper, there's always links in our show notes for you to dig deeper. If you want to work with us, if you want to get a reset, we got you. So we're always here for you, Empowered Posse. You can, you know, tune in every week and get free medicine from us, but you can also go deeper and you're always invited to be a part of our family in that way as well.

SPEAKER_00:

And if this is brand new information to you, which is gonna be brand new to a lot of people, and you're eager to figure out what the Vegas nerve is, it is spelt differently from Vegas.

SPEAKER_04:

Right?

SPEAKER_00:

So don't waste your time spelling Vegas. The Vegas nerve is V-A-G-U-S.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, so enjoy the the newfound information.

SPEAKER_03:

Mm-hmm. And here's a journal prompt for you that will help you get maybe a little bit deeper into your understanding of if you could ask your vegas nerve what it has to say, what would you write?

SPEAKER_00:

Ooh, that one's that one's deep, sorry.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. What does your vegas nerve have to say?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my god. I am I'm already getting a laundry list.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, guess what? We could take a moment and you can write it all down.

SPEAKER_00:

Mine would say more yoga, more grounding, more dancing with you, and less watching TV that you know goes nowhere. And that's just comedy. Comedy all day long. Comedy is medicine.

SPEAKER_03:

Comedy is medicine, which is funny because if you notice, like there's not a lot of good comedy. Like it's harder to find a good comedy, but it's very easy to find a vegas thing that is like violence.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

You know, like like low vibe stuff, super easy to find, high vibe stuff, super hard to find.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Because it the programming is not supportive of you having a regulated vagus nerve or a regulated nervous system, period.

SPEAKER_00:

Let me tell you if if you're watching a movie and the first Two seconds of the trailer, there's a gunshot. That's a Vegas, right? That's that's Las Vegas, right?

SPEAKER_03:

That's Las Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Your Vegas nerd being like, oh, this again. Right? But romantic comedies, that's a win-win.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, really? You like romantic? Okay, so this is what we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. Well, it it has us laughing, and then it opens the door for, you know, a little Bow Chica.

SPEAKER_03:

Wow wow.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, some some co-regulation in the in the sheets, you know what I'm saying? Some intimacy. Yep.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I'm gonna. This is recorded. So you said basically that you like watching romantic comedies. So rom rom-com all day long.

SPEAKER_00:

My my favorite romantic comedy? Wanderlust.

SPEAKER_03:

Wanderlust?

SPEAKER_00:

All day long.

SPEAKER_03:

It's kind of a romantic comedy. It's romantic.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. There's some tension between the two of them. They work out some details and they eventually live happily ever after. And it is quite funny.

SPEAKER_03:

That's a good one. Okay, we're sending you the highest vibrations.

SPEAKER_00:

You are held.

SPEAKER_03:

You are loved.

SPEAKER_00:

That is so true. That is so true. And uh because of which, uh, your vagus nerve most certainly needs to be clean and uh um and attended to on a regular basis.

SPEAKER_01:

What is that? Are you taking a bong hit in the middle of your sentences or what?

SPEAKER_00:

What is breathing?

SPEAKER_01:

Tending to your vagal nerve?

SPEAKER_00:

Your vagal op.

SPEAKER_01:

Your vagal op. What is this?

SPEAKER_04:

Uh oh.

SPEAKER_02:

So wanna say it again? Your your Vegas nerve. You know? Maybe not. Let's keep going.

SPEAKER_00:

I look at uh anytime you go to Vegas um as a budgeted deficit. But you know you're not, you know you're gonna you're gonna come back either heavier in weight and and lighter in money. But you know, there are people who you know who literally come up in Vegas.

SPEAKER_03:

We were talking about this. Like I always win. If I gamble, I win every time. It's that the people that I go with often don't win. So then I find myself like, oh, okay. So here's some more, here, you know, take some of mine, or here, let me let me pay for this. Yeah, let me take care of this. Let me take that's the only time I lose it, is when the people who are around me have lost all their money.

SPEAKER_00:

I have yet to come up in Vegas, which is why I, you know, and I always leave Vegas, you know, with a secondhand smoke headache and all that stuff. But let me tell you, if I won big in Vegas, I'd probably have a different view of the video. Oh, I love Vegas. But my Vegas nerve is like, you fucking hate Vegas. Nothing, nothing goes well in Vegas for you, Mikey.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, you've you have some hard, hard knocks in in Vegas.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

I have won in Vegas quite a few times and I have had a good time. Yeah, but you got cold. What's that? You got cooled. Yeah, I've been I get I usually get cooled. At some point I win too much and somebody comes and cools me.

SPEAKER_00:

Touches you and takes your your vibe.

SPEAKER_03:

But I also went there to record one time, and I have like, you know, to record like a single and I went to sleep early, you know, because I was like, oh, I'm gonna have to sing all day tomorrow, so I gotta go to sleep early. And I mean, I did every precaution you could imagine. Like, I gotta make sure I get good sleep, I ate a good dinner, I like I didn't rage all night, and then the next day I still feel like crap. And I was like, why do I feel like this? And I think like it was just like the air and the combination of just like the energies. Like I went into the studio and I was like, I feel like I haven't suffered for like six days, and I've been like chain smoking. Like, I feel like crap. It made for interesting vocals, I will say that, but yeah, it wasn't that the vibe.

SPEAKER_00:

I can I can summarize the Vegas experience with the one of the last experiences I had with Vegas where we went to Vegas to see our friend get married, and it was like, you know, a whole group of us were having a Vegas, you know, we're all going to Vegas, and some of us drove and some of us flew and we get there. And the chapel that they that they chose had burnt down. Had burnt down to the ground. So they got married in an adjacent business that they owned, I guess, which was right smack in the middle of a strip mall.

SPEAKER_03:

And you open up and it was like a you know, like an old shop with it look like like an old like 99 cent store or like Dollar Tree or something like that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it looks like a desperation shop.

SPEAKER_03:

It looked like what the fuck happened in here? But it looked, it was closed down, and so like where you would you know, where you would walk down the aisle. It was just it was rough. I was like, oh man.

SPEAKER_00:

Everything was dusty and the officiant, it was the official, what's it called?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

They uh messed up the dates and their names.

SPEAKER_02:

And their names.

SPEAKER_00:

And subsequently, that marriage didn't work. Subsequently, and I and I'm pretty sure that it began bad.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it it you know, sometimes they s they end how they start.

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Mikey Star

Co-host
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Zuri Star

Co-host