Yoga is either a love it or hate it type of exercise. Some people may not even view it as exercise (I used to be guilty of this). There's often a resistance to yoga because it can be slower paced, “just stretching”, or down right “boring” to some.
That said, yoga can be beneficial in strengthening your mind to muscle connection, can serve as a challenging workout, and interestingly, may help improve your digestive health!
So… How Might It Help?
Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years and consists of three main practices:
- Gentle Movement: asanas
- Breathwork: pranayama
- Meditation: dyana
All three of these practices work to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) which can help to manage stress and improve blood flow - which we know has a positive impact on digestion.
Soothe the Nervous System
The gut-brain axis is comprised of biochemical signals that communicate through the Vagus Nerve. Through many of the practices involved in yoga we can work to reduce stress through breath-work, mindfulness techniques and rest. Yoga can encourage you to be more aware of your breath and work to control it.
Another favorite yoga practice of mine is Yoga Nidra, this is a type of Non Sleep Deep Rest, which can help to relieve stress, improve cognitive function, improve sleep quality, help with pain management, and enhance focus, clarity and creativity.
Non Sleep Deep Rest
We are working to regulate that rest and digest response and control our fight or flight response. The more we are in our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) the less stomach acid we produce, the less mindful we are when we eat, and the more compromised the lining of our digestive tract can become.
Stimulation & Stretching
Yoga asanas can apply pressure, compression, or a stretch to digestive organs. We often think to stretch muscles like the quads and hamstrings - but not our digestive tract. The changes in pressure across various movements can improve circulation, increase blood flow to digestive organs and help to move/work food more efficiently through the digestive tract.
More specifically, twisting poses may help to relieve constipation and gas.
Mindfulness
Yoga encourages mindfulness practices not only around movement but other healthy habits in our lives. From the Ayurvedic practices of nutrition, awareness and intelligence, to the spiritual nature of yoga as a development practice to train the body and mind to observe and become aware of one's own nature.
We can become more mindful of our breath, stress management techniques and our movement but we can also become more mindful of our nutrition, how we eat, when we eat and the many other choices we make around food that impact digestion.
You don’t have to have digestive issues to try yoga, but it is a form of exercise and movement that can gently stimulate and offer some relief if you are!
Ready to start thriving again? Let us help by putting an expert in your corner to get you there faster and maintain that progress for life! Learn more about our online health coaching by clicking here!
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