When the Muddy Water Settles: The Science and Wisdom of Stillness

As a kid, my favorite place to wander was what everyone called “The Field.” It was a mixture of open field, wetlands, and wooded areas — just a big chunk of undeveloped land where the local kids rode their bikes and dirt bikes and built forts. I did all that too, but I was also drawn to the wild berries, the wildlife, and the solitude. I could stay in one spot for hours, just observing — the wind, the colors, the patterns, the quiet. Sometimes after school I’d walk a different route home, or even purposely take the wrong bus so I’d have a longer walk to wander and explore.

Somewhere along the way, the world got louder.
Busier.
More cluttered.

I stopped watching TV in the early ’80s to dial down the junk coming in… but now the internet brings more noise than ever. I used to listen to loud music; these days I drive mostly in silence. Even as a musician, silence feels more helpful than sound.

And yet, something surprising has happened.
The older I get — and the more I’ve learned about my own health — the more I realize that stillness isn’t just a spiritual luxury.
It’s not just a moment to “clear your mind.”

Stillness is biology.
Stillness is restoration.
Stillness is communication.

And your body is wired to come alive in it.

What Happens Inside the Body When You Get Still

We often talk about being “stressed,” but most people don’t realize that stress isn’t just a feeling — it’s a physiological state. Your nervous system, hormones, immune cells, and even your mitochondria all shift into overdrive when you’re constantly reacting to noise, information, and demands.

Your body has two basic modes:

Survival mode (sympathetic): fight, flight, tension, vigilance
Restoration mode (parasympathetic): repair, digestion, communication, healing

Most people live in survival mode without realizing it.

Stillness — even just a few minutes — flips the switch.

Your nervous system downshifts

Breathing slows. The vagus nerve engages. Heart rate variability improves. This signals the entire body:
“You’re safe. You can repair now.”

Your immune system recalibrates

Inflammatory markers drop. Your immune cells shift from attack mode into balance and cleanup.

Cellular communication improves

When your body isn’t flooded with stress chemistry, the redox signaling network becomes more efficient. Those tiny messenger molecules can finally deliver repairs, coordinate responses, and help cells do their job.

Your brain opens up

The prefrontal cortex — the seat of discernment, focus, awareness, and common sense — becomes more active when you’re quiet and still.
The muddy water settles.
Clarity rises to the surface.

Your energy changes

Stillness lowers allostatic load — the “wear and tear” on your body from chronic stress. When this load lightens, your body can redirect resources back to digestion, recovery, hormone balance, muscle repair, and long-term health.

This is the state your body wants to be in.
This is homeostasis.

Deeper Science (click to read)

The Vagus Nerve: More Than “The Calming Nerve”

Most people hear “vagus nerve” and think calming. But that’s only a small part of what this remarkable system does.

The vagus is a two-way communication superhighway running between your brain and body. About 85% of its fibers are sensory, carrying chemical and mechanical information from your organs up to the brain. The remaining fibers are motor fibers, sending instructions down from the brain to organs — controlling heart rate, breathing, digestion, and even aspects of inflammation and learning.

Although it’s classified as part of the parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) system, some branches of the vagus actually increase alertness, not decrease it. Other branches slow the heart, steady your breathing, sharpen focus, support digestion, help regulate immune function, influence the gut–brain axis, and shape mood and emotional resilience.

The vagus nerve is not a single function — it’s a whole ecosystem of sensory and motor pathways, working moment by moment to keep your internal environment balanced, responsive, and adaptable.

What Is Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and Why Does It Matter?

HRV is simply the variation in time between heartbeats. It sounds like something you don’t want — but higher HRV is strongly associated with better health, brain function, emotional resilience, and longevity.

Why? Because HRV reflects the flexibility of your autonomic nervous system — how easily your body can shift between alertness and calm. A rigid, unchanging heartbeat pattern means your system is stuck in one gear. A dynamic beat-to-beat rhythm means your vagus nerve is actively applying its “brake” on the heart when needed, then releasing it again.

Even more amazing: HRV is tightly linked to breathing.

Inhales speed the heart up
Exhales slow it down

This inhale/exhale rhythm is created through vagal control of the heart’s pacemaker cells. Every deliberate slow exhale you take strengthens that pathway and improves HRV — even during sleep later that night.

HRV is your body’s signal that the nervous system is adaptable, responsive, and healthy.

Redox Signaling & Vagal Function (What We Know So Far)

While research connecting redox signaling molecules specifically to the vagus nerve is still emerging, current science suggests several meaningful intersections:

Cellular communication & vagal pathways

The vagus nerve relies on rapid electrical and chemical communication between neurons. Redox signaling molecules (like those in ASEA Redox) are known to help maintain cellular communication efficiency, mitochondrial function, and the balance between oxidative stress and healing processes. Better communication at the cellular level supports the tissues the vagus depends on.

Inflammation & the “Inflammatory Reflex”

One of the vagus nerve’s most important roles is immune regulation — especially lowering excessive inflammation via the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Redox molecules help regulate inflammatory signaling inside cells. Supporting healthy redox balance may help the vagus nerve perform its anti-inflammatory duties more effectively.

Stress resilience

The vagus nerve is central to the body’s ability to return to baseline after stress. Redox signaling is deeply tied to cellular repair, mitochondrial recovery, and restoring physiological balance after stress. The better your cells recover, the more easily the vagus nerve maintains healthy autonomic balance.

Mitochondria & vagal signaling

Vagal tone (your baseline vagus nerve function) is partially influenced by mitochondrial energy availability. Redox signaling molecules support mitochondrial ATP production and efficiency, which supports neuronal function and sustained vagal signaling.

In short:
Healthy redox signaling helps create the cellular environment the vagus nerve needs to do its job — balancing inflammation, regulating stress, supporting repair, and maintaining communication between brain and body.

The Same State That Helps You Hear God’s Whisper Helps Your Body Heal

I’ve realized something over the years:

The same state that helps you hear God’s whisper
is the state that allows your cells to repair.

Stillness isn’t just mental.
It’s spiritual.
And it’s physical.

When you slow down:

Your immune system listens better.
Your cells communicate better.
Your thinking sharpens.
Discernment grows.
The noise fades.
What’s real rises.

This is why silence has always been part of spiritual practice — across faith traditions, across centuries. The body and the spirit were never meant to be separated.

Shop Redox

Better Cellular Communication

Save a bunch with the Trio of Redox subscription bundle!

Plus get 10% off your first order with the promo code: HealingYourBody

Modern Life Works Against Stillness

Today’s world is full of:

nonstop information
alerts and notifications
rushing
noise
comparison
chronic stress
poor sleep
processed food
constant stimulation

All of this keeps the nervous system “switched on.”
It keeps the muddy water stirred up.

Most people have no idea what true stillness feels like anymore.
No wonder so many feel anxious, foggy, exhausted, or disconnected from themselves.

But here’s the good news:

Your body remembers.
Your spirit remembers.
Stillness is a skill you can relearn.

How to Begin Reclaiming Stillness

You don’t need to sit on a mountaintop or meditate for an hour. Start simple.

A 3-minute practice anyone can do

Sit somewhere comfortable — backyard, porch, car, park bench.
Take one slow breath in and out.
Let your eyes soften and widen.
Listen:
- birds
- distant traffic
- wind
- your thoughts
- your breathing
Don’t force anything. Just notice.

Most people feel a shift almost immediately:
Breathing deeper.
Mind widening.
Eyes relaxing.
Body settling.

That shift is your nervous system saying,
“Thank you.”

Try This (click to read)

The Physiological Sigh: A Two-Second Reset

The fastest known way to calm the nervous system is something your body already does in sleep: the physiological sigh.

It’s a simple pattern:

Inhale deeply through the nose
Take a second quick inhale (to fully inflate the tiny air sacs in the lungs)
Long, slow exhale through the mouth until lungs are empty

This resets oxygen and carbon dioxide balance, activates vagal motor pathways that slow the heart, and creates an immediate sense of calm.

You can use it anytime: in the car, in conversation, before sleep, or whenever you feel stress rising. Just one or two cycles noticeably shifts the nervous system.

This is the breath-based equivalent of tapping the “reset” button. And it’s built in.

Your Body Will Tell You What It Needs — If You Give It Space

The more time you spend in stillness, the more your body teaches you:

what foods it does well with
when you need rest
when you’re pushing too hard
when you’re dehydrated
when you need movement
when stress is building
when your immune system is overwhelmed
when noise is stealing your peace

Discernment grows — both spiritually and biologically.

Stillness makes you more aware of what’s real, and less pulled into the craziness around you.

Why I’m Sharing This

I used to think stillness was just something I enjoyed.
Now I see it differently.

After walking through a major health crisis — when my body’s communication systems essentially broke down — I’ve become fascinated by how we’re designed.

Stillness is one of the simplest tools we have for supporting that design.

It costs nothing.
It’s accessible to anyone.
It improves biology.
It strengthens faith.
And it helps us navigate a noisy, distracted world with more clarity and more peace.

If you’ve been feeling worn down, overstimulated, or disconnected from yourself, start here:

Be still for a few minutes each day.
Let the muddy water settle.
Clarity is waiting.
Your body will thank you.