Yoga for Digestion (when you have eaten too much!)
Maybe you’re feeling incredibly uncomfortable from your last meal. It could be fullness, bloating, heartburn, indigestion, gas, or all of the above.
It often takes trial and error to discern what can help relieve your unique symptoms, but there are holistic ways to approach gut health that may be able to ease pain.
That’s where yoga for digestion can help.
Yoga can be great for the digestion because your brain and your gut are connected. The vagus nerve (a thick cable of neurons running between the base of the brain and the gut) allows the brain and the gut to communicate with each other. A person’s stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause OR the product of stress, anxiety, or depression. Through this system, your gut can directly react to psychological and physical stress with symptoms such as stomach aches, diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, and changes in appetite and digestion.
Meditation and yoga are all proven therapies to help you better deal with stress levels and improve mood, and consequently relieve symptoms of digestive discomfort. There’s scientific evidence that practising yoga can positively influence digestion for several reasons.
Research suggests it:
- improves gut motility – Yoga tradition asserts that certain yoga poses, especially those that include twisting, can help stimulate the digestive system.
- stimulates the Vagus Nerve – Certain yoga poses and breathwork activate the vagus nerve, which helps the brain and gut communicate and can help prevent the type of inflammation in the body that causes digestive issues.
- reduces stress levels – Participants with IBS may experience improved quality of life, more positive moods, and reduced symptom severity after regularly practising yoga and mindfulness techniques compared to participants who did not.
- uses breathwork to reduce stress – Research suggests breathwork helps improve the pain levels and psychological health of people with IBS.
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