The ancient teachings of Ayurveda tell us that our emotional state has a dramatic impact on our physical health; they reflect an understanding that human beings are emotional creatures and that there is an intricate connection between our emotions and what is happening in our physical body. There’s a particularly deep relationship between our emotions and thoughts—both conscious and unconscious—and our digestion.
In Ayurveda, there is a particular type of energy called Samana Vayu—which is the integrating/digestive capacity of the human mind-body system. The energy of Samana Vayu is what enables us to digest and absorb the nutrition from the food we eat. It’s also the force responsible for digesting our life experiences. In other words, the same force that enables you to extract nourishment from food, allows you to extract sustenance from life. When this force is dampened due to emotional upheaval, or just the modern stressors of daily life, it can have a direct effect on our capacity to digest food, as well as our feelings.
Scientific research supports the Ayurvedic understanding of the belly-brain emotional connection
The digestive system is very sensitive to emotional and psychological stress. Stress busters like deep breathing, yoga and meditation can play an important role in alleviating GI disorders triggered or exacerbated by tension, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), whose symptoms include cramping, bloating and often alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea.
A recent study found that women who practiced mindfulness meditation for eight weeks had greater reductions in IBS symptoms than women who were assigned to a support group.
3 Ways to Purify Emotions and Boost Digestion
Sometimes emotions must be provoked before they can be surrendered. Watching a sad movie, working with a trained therapist, or letting tears flow while recounting a life event are good methods for getting the emotions moving. Here are three other methods to try:
Get a deep tissue or Ayurvedic massage to help move the emotions that can get stuck in the tissues.
Try a yoga class where poses are held for longer periods of time. This allows us to explore emotions, allowing them to come to a natural completion.
Meditate: Bringing your awareness inward while meditating allows you to feel any unprocessed feelings stored in the body. Staying with your feelings with total loving awareness allows emotions to rise, digest, and fall away.
Skipping meals or popping antacid tablet are not advisable. While it is difficult to bring a radical change in our day-to-day lifestyle, certain measures can be adopted to rejuvenate the digestive system and strengthen it.
Yoga is a time-tested technique for effectively restoring the body to optimum condition – naturally, and without making any major alterations in lifestyle. Simply practicing these basic yoga postures which can relax your abdominal organs and following these simple habits can help improve the functioning of the digestive system and restore your system back to an optimum level!
Benefits of Yoga
A light and supple body
A body that is alert and active
Strong bones and muscles
Reduction of fat
Increased physical strength
Improved appetite
Increased capability to cope with fatigue
Yoga poses to improve digestion :
Trikonasana – Improves digestion, stimulates appetite and alleviates constipation.
Paschimottanasana – Relieves digestive problems like constipation.
Pawanmuktasana – Improves gastrointestinal problems.
Ardha Matsyendrasana – Massages the abdominal organs, thus alleviating digestive problems.
Ustrasana – Stretches the stomach and intestines, alleviating constipation.
A good digestive system is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Physical ailments like constipation, stomach ache, ulcers, acnes, pimples and bloating can be kept at bay if one’s digestive system is in a good condition.
Here are some important tips and long-term remedies that will aid digestion:
Avoid drinking water half an hour before and after the meal
Avoid eating heavy meals at night and overeating as well
Do not lie down immediately after having your meal
Avoid eating junk food or oily food
Consume fibrous food
Avoid irregular food timings
Be happy and stay away from a stressful lifestyle
Practice yoga regularly !!
#DoYogaNojyyyLife!! #AadinathYoga!!