Breathing your way to better Digestion.

When it comes to food, it is not just taking into account what we eat but how we eat. The American College of Gastroenterology estimates that 60 million people – 1 in 4 Americans – suffer at least once a month from heartburn. Better breathing improves digestion and a healthy digestive system is a very important part of our physical and mental well-being.

The science of yoga offers us effective techniques designed specifically to improve both.  Breathing is a big part of the digestive process and can help alleviate many common digestive disorders, like indigestion, heartburn, etc.…. One of the best compliments I received many years ago was from a 78 yr. old student. Frieda was a fit woman, tennis player and golfer. She was coming to my classes 2 to 3 times a week.  “I have to tell you,” she said “that since I’ve been taking your classes I feel better than I ever have AND I haven’t been constipated.”

Understanding our digestive system can help us appreciate the hard work our body has to do and how we can help, starting with chewing. It is so important to take time to chew properly because saliva gets mixed with the food to begin digestion. Eating in a rush, “washing food down” to save time and eating too fast, is the most common cause of indigestion. From the stomach, food continues to break down and the better the food is chewed the easier it is for the stomach. Then it travels to the small intestine. This area is responsible for the absorption and assimilation of the digested matter into the blood stream. Then in the lower tract area, if the food is broken down enough at this stage, the ileocecal valve automatically opens for food to travel to the large intestine. From the intestines the food juices go to the liver, waste passes over to the large intestine where the water is absorbed and the waste is thrown out by defecation. The liver sends the nutrients to the heart. The excess liquid waste is sent to the kidneys. The kidneys purify it & send the uric acid to the bladder, then out in the form of urine. If we are stressed, upset, or tense these organs don’t perform well and be the cause of problems like constipation, diarrhea, colitis etc.  One of the things breathing can do is create a more relaxed environment to improve the functionality of all organs and ease the digestion, so we can avoid the need for antacids.

It takes a lot of energy for our body to accomplish this process, especially when we eat too much or hard to digest foods, like fatty meats, heavy carbs, saturated fat and processed food with preservatives, because these are hard to break down. That is why we get sleepy after a big meal. Our mental performance also often decreases after we eat but Digestive breathing can help.

Digestive Breathing also improves brain function after eating.

One way to create a relaxed abdominal area is to practice long deep belly breathing before and after we eat. Here is a great exercise for after eating:

DIGESTIVE BREATHING:  great for any time especially bedtime:

  • To start, lie down….relax the whole body… place your hands on your belly, let your inhale push your hands into the belly, allowing the interior of the stomach to relax.. do about 11 breaths. Make friends with your belly. Let go of judgments. Accept yourself as you are in this moment. (this can be done sitting as an exercise on its own.)
  • Turn to the left side gently…fold the knees… place your left hand under the head…right hand on the right leg… adjust your posture to be comfortable.
  • Lying in this position, inhale & exhale 21 times consciously & count the numbers mentally…. When on the left side, the stomach gets compressed to the floor & internal massage is happening inside the abdomen helping digestion because of the ‘C’ shape of the stomach.
  • Come onto your back with legs stretched out… place your hands on your belly again, inhale your hands up and exhale, relax the hands back down by your side, mentally count 21 breaths
  • Turn to the right side with knees in as you did on the left & repeat the breathing 21 times…
  • Gently turn back to the left side & breathe 7 times.
  • Slowly sit up.

Making healthy food choices combined with a relaxed environment is the best way to help our bodies do their job efficiently. June 23 we are kicking off our first JoyFull Living diner with Chef Kristen Lyon. Learning how to prepare and enjoy food everyday in a more Joy-Full way.

Remember, breathe in joy, live in gratitude. www.joyfull-yoga.com; 899-0707. © 2001-2012 Louise is an international inspirational speaker, author, creator of JoyFull Yoga and JoyFull living coaching. She owns JoyFull Yoga LLC in Jacksonville where she offers private sessions and group classes. Email us your questions at info@joyfull-yoga.com