Indigenous Science · First Nations
Cedar, Sage, and the Vagus Nerve
10 min read
Smudging is more than ceremony. The aromatic terpenes touch the autonomic nervous system in measurable ways.
When the elders of Turtle Island light cedar, they are not merely 'cleansing energy.' They are activating the parasympathetic branch of the vagus nerve through olfactory pathways that route directly to the limbic brain...