Proper Gut Health, Means You’ve Got Health
So, why is Digestive Health important?
Have you ever felt a “gut-wrenching” sensation? Or experienced the flutter of “butterflies” in your stomach? These are key indicators that there is more to our digestive system than mere physical digestion. Gut health affects us mentally more than we realise.
Rebekah Gross, MD, a clinical gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Medical Center said, "The brain influences the digestive tract and vice versa," As a matter of fact, research shows in what we intake, and from the external stresses we are exposed to, that digestive health is intricately woven into the fabric of our function as living beings - heavily affecting our physical disposition and positive thinking.
Author of No Guts, No Glory, Steven Lamm, MD, also shares, "The gut is a critical group of organs that we need to start paying more attention to. Doing so may be the secret to improving our overall wellness.”
Your Mind is Like a Sea, and Your Body is the Land
Yogis from hundreds of years before saw our digestive system as a mirror to the mind, and sought out deeper understanding for this mind-body connection. Kristen Butera, Director of YogaLife Institute, writes in her short study of the topic...
“Think of it like this - the mind is like a sea, the body is the land and their sphere of interaction is the shore. When the mind is peaceful and relaxed, the sea is calm. When the mind is troubled or stressed the sea become turbulent and waves beat against the shore, tearing away large sections of the land. This is the psychosomatic process that can result in digestive distress and disease in the body.”
A “fight or flight” response is activated in our brain when we experience stress - this is an instinct we all receive to face something that is stressful either head-on, or to cower and run away. The activation of this response affects the healthy operation of our digestive system and causes a certain type of muscle contraction in our gut, negatively affecting the food that is traveling through our body as well as the production of needful enzymes to aid in breaking down the food.
Unfortunately, we now live in a world where stress is a very normal part of our daily routine. In fact, we are all somehow a little guilty of welcoming stress more than the recreational or restful activities that are available for us to unwind and realign our bodies and minds - I know that I am.
Common Signs that Your Gut Needs Some Attention
If you are suffering from an irritable bowl, indigestion, bloating, constipation… or if you have certain food intolerances that you wish to cope better with, your digestive system may be warning your body that it is experiencing too much stress.
If you are interested in learning more about gut health, and would like to pick-up some simple tools to improve yours, join us next Saturday, March 9th, as we explore how to use yoga for relaxing our nervous system, and stimulate our digestive system, and the interplay of both.
During this practical workshop you will engage your nervous system with breathing techniques to help settle, physical asanas to help stimulate, and restorative poses to calm and soothe.
Tune up your body, mind and nervous system… Ah, and no more excuses, lads.
Take this opportunity to really pause and listen to your body - it’s the only one that you have.