{"id":8051,"date":"2017-03-06T07:23:22","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T13:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=8051"},"modified":"2022-03-21T15:33:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:33:05","slug":"yoga-therapy-digestive-health-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/06\/yoga-therapy-digestive-health-2-2","title":{"rendered":"Yoga Therapy for Digestive Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019m no yoga expert, so this week\u2019s Health Tip comes from Renee Zambo, WholeHealth Chicago\u2019s yoga therapist. Dr E<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/strong>The belly is one of the most sensitive areas of our bodies. Situated at the center of our being, literally forming our core, it\u2019s lined with hundreds of millions of nerve endings and affects everything from immune system to mood. So it\u2019s no surprise that bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and other stomach issues accompany just about every ailment. To add further stress, we place an enormous amount of external pressure on what our stomachs should look like and feel like and how they should process and function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gut-brain connection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Scientists are deep into the study of the gut-brain relationship, going so far as to call our stomachs a second brain. Last year, Dr. E wrote a Health Tip on bacterial happiness and health that focused on the differences in gut flora between people who have fibromyalgia and those who don\u2019t have fibro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years now, scientists and medical experts have been working at describing the link between gut and brain in projects affiliated with the Human Microbiome Project<\/a>.  Here\u2019s a 2013 piece from NPR that describes part of the project<\/a>. Out of this research, we\u2019re able to see a relationship among foods we eat, the health of our gut, and diagnoses such as Alzheimer\u2019s, depression, autism, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue<\/a>, bipolar disorder, and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this is partly due to the millions of nerve endings, immune cells, neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides that line of the GI system (which runs from mouth to rectum) and directly communicate with the brain. So the old adage \u201cyou are what you eat\u201d can be taken quite literally. What you eat can lift your spirits or bog you down, make you sick or strengthen your immune system. These environmental and biological factors play an enormous role in digestive health, as do food quality, balanced nutrition, eating for your lifestyle, and knowing your sensitivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slippery slope<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Psychology plays a part too. Despite a tsunami of information on the gut-brain connection, for many there\u2019s a growing disconnect between body and mind. Some of us want to eat anything we like and take a pill to reduce the side effects. Or we make living healthfully a chore, something on the to-do list and therefore unenjoyable, even stressful. An article published in Molecular Psychology<\/em> and later reported on by NPR<\/a> describes how stress can override the benefits of healthy eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other times we punish ourselves with extreme dieting, workouts that promise flat abs, calorie restriction, or obsessing over how-to-eat blogs. Eventually most of us stray and the negative self-talk begins. We\u2019ve all been there: fighting against ourselves to \u201cbe\u201d a certain way, creating a disconnect between body and mind.  It\u2019s this disconnect that\u2019s at the root of what yoga therapy defines as \u201cdis-ease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s difficult to tell what comes first: did an outside stressor affect the health of your gut or was the health concern itself the main cause of stress? Either way, chronic stress creates a cyclical pattern of dis-ease and disconnection in the body, impeding true wellness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress and your belly<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since digestion is a regenerative, restorative function activated by the parasympathetic nervous system<\/a>, we must be in a restful place for digestion to occur. When we enter fight-or-flight mode or in any way activate the sympathetic nervous system<\/a>, the smooth muscles of the digestive tract tighten and contract, shunting blood away from digestion to supply muscles and brain with every available resource so we can move quickly and make snap judgments. On top of this, some of us lose our appetites during periods of high stress, while others \u201cstress eat,\u201d causing additional burden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acute stress is different from chronic stress, but even with the day-to-day pressure of chronic stress we\u2019re constantly on guard for the next \u201cattack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

External messages tell us our stomach should look a certain way, what to eat so it performs at peak function, and, worse, shame us when we stray from eating ideal foods. Many people live with this chronic stress without even being aware of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How yoga therapy can help<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yoga therapy\u2019s foundation is stress reduction. When we reduce stress, we active our parasympathetic nervous system and create a comfortable, safe space within ourselves. Yoga therapy does this via breathing exercises, movements, or meditation depending on what\u2019s most appropriate for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rest-and-digest mode not only supports the digestive system as a whole, but helps us approach outside stressors and internal dialogue with a greater awareness. This is one of the many benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction, the practice of pure awareness in the present moment<\/a>. Yoga therapy draws on mindfulness practices as it helps create deeper connections, steering us away from feeling lost in thought, action, or stress and ultimately reinforcing decisions that better support our entire being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many ways to practice mindfulness. These speak directly to gut issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n