Heal:
The Adrenal Glands - Anxiety - High Cholesterol - The Gut - The Heart - Inflammation - The Kidneys - The Liver - The Lymphatic System - Malabsorption - The Medulla - The Nervous System - The Pancreas - The Pineal Gland - The Reproductive System - The Thyroid
The Adrenal Glands - Anxiety - High Cholesterol - The Gut - The Heart - Inflammation - The Kidneys - The Liver - The Lymphatic System - Malabsorption - The Medulla - The Nervous System - The Pancreas - The Pineal Gland - The Reproductive System - The Thyroid
The Medulla Oblongata
The medulla area of the brain lies at the base of the skull, atop the axis at the spine. The medulla has many jobs and functions, including influencing blood pressure, heart rate, metabolic rate and rate of glandular secretions. It also affects mineral utilization (thus pH factors), and controls oxygen supply and water retention. The medulla is also considered the equilibrium center. This area of the brain is greatly affected by congestion from dairy products and refined sugars. You especially see this when the tonsils (lymph nodes) have been removed. This causes poor lymphatic drainage of the cerebral areas, leading to poor circulation and elimination within these tissues and to a host of other conditions including dizziness, equilibrium problems and blood pressure issues. (Dr. Morse, Detox Miracle Sourcebook)
The medulla controls some intellectual and emotional processes, but its major job is to synchronize, co-ordinate, and transmit down the spine, signals to and from the brain dealing with physical happenings. (Dorothy Hall, Iridology)
The medulla oblongata is the lowermost portion of the brainstem, nestled between the spinal cord and the pons. Essential to life—it regulates the body’s core involuntary functions: breathing, heart rhythm, blood pressure, digestion, and reflexes such as swallowing, coughing, and sneezing.
It houses the cardiac center, which sets the heart’s tempo. The vasomotor center, which modulates the diameter of blood vessels. And the respiratory rhythmicity center, which orchestrates every breath we take.
Within its gray matter lie the origins of several cranial nerves, including the vagus, which connects brain to gut, and the hypoglossal, which shapes the tongue and our ability to speak. Its white matter carries vital signals between the body and higher consciousness—messages ascending and descending through the spine like electric prayer.
The medulla is our first responder and final witness.
It begins functioning before birth and continues until the very moment of death.
When the medulla ceases, no heartbeat follows. No breath.
And yet, it does more than keep us alive.
It keeps us in rhythm—with pulse, with breath, with the unseen intelligence that animates form.
In both biological and esoteric anatomy, the medulla is revered as the gateway of breath and will, the mouth of spirit where the nervous system surrenders to the sacred.
It houses the cardiac center, which sets the heart’s tempo. The vasomotor center, which modulates the diameter of blood vessels. And the respiratory rhythmicity center, which orchestrates every breath we take.
Within its gray matter lie the origins of several cranial nerves, including the vagus, which connects brain to gut, and the hypoglossal, which shapes the tongue and our ability to speak. Its white matter carries vital signals between the body and higher consciousness—messages ascending and descending through the spine like electric prayer.
The medulla is our first responder and final witness.
It begins functioning before birth and continues until the very moment of death.
When the medulla ceases, no heartbeat follows. No breath.
And yet, it does more than keep us alive.
It keeps us in rhythm—with pulse, with breath, with the unseen intelligence that animates form.
In both biological and esoteric anatomy, the medulla is revered as the gateway of breath and will, the mouth of spirit where the nervous system surrenders to the sacred.
🧠 Anatomy & Physiology of the Medulla Oblongata
Bridge Between Brain and Body, Root of the Sacred Stem
The medulla oblongata is the bridge between the brain and the body—a slender, vital channel through which thought becomes breath, and intention becomes pulse. It forms the root of the brainstem, resting where the spinal cord ascends through the foramen magnum—the great opening at the base of the skull, where the material body opens to receive the intelligence of the higher mind.
🌿 Inner ArchitectureThe medulla is composed of two mirrored regions:
🕊️ Autonomic and Cranial Nerve Relationships
The medulla houses the origin points of twelve cranial nerves, including the vagus nerve—the longest and most influential of them all. These nerves control the lungs, heart, digestion, throat, shoulders, and facial movements.
The 11th cranial nerve, the accessory nerve, connects directly to neck and shoulder function. The medulla also governs:
🧬 Function and Flow
The medulla governs:
Respiration and breath rhythm
Cardiac function and vascular tone
Basic survival reflexes (gagging, sneezing, vomiting)
Autonomic transmission between internal organs and the brain
Motor control and muscle tone
States of wakefulness and rest
It is a passageway and a pattern-maker. The white matter carries impulses up and down, while the gray matter generates and integrates the signals that keep us alive—often without our awareness.
☁️ When the Bridge Is Blocked
Damage or disruption to the medulla can have profound consequences. Depending on the region affected, symptoms may include:
Medial medullary syndrome: partial paralysis, tongue deviation, loss of fine touch or position sense
Lateral medullary syndrome: vertigo, dysphagia, loss of gag reflex, impaired temperature or pain sensation
But even without injury, toxicity, stagnation, or structural misalignment can cause this center to falter—especially when congestion rises from the gut to the brainstem, or when the cervical spine is compressed near the foramen magnum.
To heal the medulla is to restore the bridge—between breath and body, between head and heart, between survival and grace.
The medulla oblongata is the bridge between the brain and the body—a slender, vital channel through which thought becomes breath, and intention becomes pulse. It forms the root of the brainstem, resting where the spinal cord ascends through the foramen magnum—the great opening at the base of the skull, where the material body opens to receive the intelligence of the higher mind.
🌿 Inner ArchitectureThe medulla is composed of two mirrored regions:
- The ventral medulla (frontal surface) holds the pyramids, which house the corticospinal and corticobulbar tracts—nerve fibers that transmit motor commands from the brain to the limbs and facial muscles.
Just before merging with the spinal cord, these fibers cross sides in a graceful intersection called the decussation of the pyramids, enabling each hemisphere of the brain to govern the opposite side of the body. - Beside these lie the olivary bodies, subtle lateral structures involved in motor coordination, timing, and feedback loops between the cerebrum and cerebellum.
- The dorsal medulla forms the floor of the fourth ventricle, a chamber of cerebrospinal fluid where white and gray matter weave together like neural lace, forming part of the reticular formation—a network responsible for alertness, integration, and autonomic regulation.
🕊️ Autonomic and Cranial Nerve Relationships
The medulla houses the origin points of twelve cranial nerves, including the vagus nerve—the longest and most influential of them all. These nerves control the lungs, heart, digestion, throat, shoulders, and facial movements.
The 11th cranial nerve, the accessory nerve, connects directly to neck and shoulder function. The medulla also governs:
- Diaphragmatic breath
- Blood oxygenation
- Gag reflex
- Balance and equilibrium
- Heart rate and blood pressure regulation
🧬 Function and Flow
The medulla governs:
Respiration and breath rhythm
Cardiac function and vascular tone
Basic survival reflexes (gagging, sneezing, vomiting)
Autonomic transmission between internal organs and the brain
Motor control and muscle tone
States of wakefulness and rest
It is a passageway and a pattern-maker. The white matter carries impulses up and down, while the gray matter generates and integrates the signals that keep us alive—often without our awareness.
☁️ When the Bridge Is Blocked
Damage or disruption to the medulla can have profound consequences. Depending on the region affected, symptoms may include:
Medial medullary syndrome: partial paralysis, tongue deviation, loss of fine touch or position sense
Lateral medullary syndrome: vertigo, dysphagia, loss of gag reflex, impaired temperature or pain sensation
But even without injury, toxicity, stagnation, or structural misalignment can cause this center to falter—especially when congestion rises from the gut to the brainstem, or when the cervical spine is compressed near the foramen magnum.
To heal the medulla is to restore the bridge—between breath and body, between head and heart, between survival and grace.
Iridology Brain Zones: The Medulla – Conductor of Heart, Blood & Breath
The Medulla Brain Zone
In iridology, the medulla is seen as a transmission hub, a bridge between the gut and brain. The zone often reflects digestive toxicity radiating upward through radii solaris—radial lines emerging from the colon and traveling into the brain zones, especially the medulla.
The medulla’s proximity to the splenic and hepatic flexures (colon corners where waste accumulates) deepens the diagnostic importance: markings in this brain zone often trace back to digestive stagnation.
Common iris signs in the medulla zone:
The medulla’s proximity to the splenic and hepatic flexures (colon corners where waste accumulates) deepens the diagnostic importance: markings in this brain zone often trace back to digestive stagnation.
Common iris signs in the medulla zone:
- Radii Solaris: Gut-brain toxic radiance
- Darkened tissue: Chronic neurological stress or brainstem trauma
- Lacunae/Crypts: Genetic weakness in respiratory, cardiac, or cranial nerve function
- White fibers: Overactivity, tension, or spastic nerve responses
- Pigmentation: Emotional residue, inherited stress, or metabolic memory
🌀 Sacred Anatomy
The medulla is often referred to as the “Mouth of God” in yogic and esoteric anatomy. It is the seat of will and preservation—and the first structure to operate at birth and the last to fall silent at death. The medulla is not just a brain center.
It is a portal—a threshold between spirit and matter.
It is the breath before thought.
The heartbeat before identity.
The rhythm that continues, whether or not we are aware.
In esoteric anatomy, the medulla is known as the Bindu Chakra—the drop, the seed, the point where life enters. It is the crystalline doorway of will, the power of the soul to animate flesh, the physical translatiohen we fast, breathe, and quiet the mind, the medulla glows. When we are ill or obstructed, its rhythm falters. And in the iris, we see this zone as sacred space.
The medulla is the place where destiny becomes form, and where form remembers how to return to source.
Emotionally, the medulla reflects:
It is a portal—a threshold between spirit and matter.
It is the breath before thought.
The heartbeat before identity.
The rhythm that continues, whether or not we are aware.
In esoteric anatomy, the medulla is known as the Bindu Chakra—the drop, the seed, the point where life enters. It is the crystalline doorway of will, the power of the soul to animate flesh, the physical translatiohen we fast, breathe, and quiet the mind, the medulla glows. When we are ill or obstructed, its rhythm falters. And in the iris, we see this zone as sacred space.
The medulla is the place where destiny becomes form, and where form remembers how to return to source.
Emotionally, the medulla reflects:
- Survival instincts
- Emotional trauma stored in the autonomic system
- Breath patterns as records of lived experience
“The medulla begins operating before birth and continues until the time of death... When the medulla dies, the heart stops, and no human invention can get it going again.” (Bernard Jensen)
Not only structure, also sanctuary. The medulla is where life is kept without asking.
It breathes you when you forget to breathe. It pulses for you in sleep and in sorrow.
It is the chakra beneath the chakras, the portal between soul and soma, the threshold between mortality and memory.
To tend to the medulla is to return to rhythm—through purification, alignment, breath, and quiet. (Caycee)
It breathes you when you forget to breathe. It pulses for you in sleep and in sorrow.
It is the chakra beneath the chakras, the portal between soul and soma, the threshold between mortality and memory.
To tend to the medulla is to return to rhythm—through purification, alignment, breath, and quiet. (Caycee)
🌬️ Detox, Healing, and Reclaiming the Medulla
Iridology shows us the map, but it is detoxification that clears the road. Healing the medulla begins by healing the colon.
- Cleanse the transverse colon, focusing on splenic and hepatic flexures
- Address gut permeability, mucoid plaque, and lymphatic stagnation
- Support kidney filtration to reduce lymph pressure on the brain
- Juice fasting (especially green and fruit juices)
- Lymphatic drainage herbs (Dr. Morse’s protocol)
- Neural trophorestoratives (like skullcap, lion’s mane, bacopa)
Resources & Recommended
