It’s not what you eat, it’s what you absorb. If you have IBS, an Ulcer, acid reflux, GERD, an allergy or intolerance, if you have removed your appendix or taken lots of antibiotics, pain-killers, or other medicine, if you have candida overgrowth or if you simply feel bloated after a meal…you might belong to the group of people who have some sort of digestive issue. Do you know anyone who doesn’t have one or more of those symptoms now and then? I don’t. Even children have those issues.
It can vary from being an immune system deficiency to destroyed flora, a bug or stress. It can be caused by heavy metals such as mercury fillings or lead in the fish. It can be the exhaust fumes from a car we passed or it can be putrefaction from eating meat. Or maybe breathing fumes from barbecue burnt fats, or deep fried oils, or vanilla smelling fresheners. Whatever it is it might be impossible to find, and it can even be a combination of them all.
Artist: Emilia A. Hane
What we do know pretty well is that some things make it much better. Plant-based diets are one, rich in amino-acides to build enzymes, more on that topic here. Another one is meditation. Strange? Not at all. Who hasn’t felt a gut feeling as a first sign. It’s a stress reaction. Meditation is the best medicine against getting the high stress hormones produced from living in a stressful environment. If you are stressed you don’t digest, and the vicious circle has started. Of course it is good to change your environment to lower your stress, but if you can’t, meditation is absolutely worth trying.
A team of researchers from Harvard, conducted a new study at the Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. It is the very first study where the use of the “relaxation response” was examined in digestive disorders, and the first to actually show that the grey matter of the brain is literately rebuilt after only 8 weeks of regular meditation.
Now you understand why we say that a healthy lifestyle has to include some form of meditation. There are many ways to meditate. Apart from all the technics we also teach the concept of meditation, as we believe it is crucial to get to a mediative state of mind. Tell you more about that at the retreat classes.
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Hello! I’ve had some serious issues with “IBS” (or whatever is actually wrong with my body) for the last year now, and the only way I can control the symptoms is to cut out wheat, dairy, processed foods, and high fructose foods (low FODMAP diet). Although I bet a mainly plant based diet would be better, I have a problem feeling full. How do you fulfill your hunger on a plant based diet?
Also, the best I’ve ever felt was during and after yoga/ meditation classes. Stress really does play a huge role in triggering digestive issues. Great Article!
Hi, thanks for your comment and Im glad you liked the article. Yes, stress is crucial for non-digestion. If you want to treat your bowl you have to think about what causes stress in your life and deal with the parts you can’t change through calming down with meditation and yoga.
If you combine whole rice-grains, rice-beans or beans-grains, or all three, in a meal you get enough amino-acids for your body to form protein and then you never feel peckish in between meals. You can also add seeds and nuts (natural) all you want, I’m sure you feel full on that. Let me know 🙂