Digestion is a very fascinating subject. You may be surprised, but the quality of your digestion is directly related to the quality of your life. We digest food, emotions, ideas, thoughts, experiences, etc. The better we are able to digest, the more balance and peace we have in our daily life. Good digestion helps us create a strong body, a clear mind and live a life full of purpose and meaning. Poor digestion contributes to ill health, mental cloudiness, and an inability to focus on things that really matter in our lives.
A lot of people come to yoga because they have problems with digestion (food intolerances, IBS, absorption problems and more). That was my story too...
My story with digestion.
When I was in my early twenties, I had a typical student lifestyle, I was drinking, partying and eating whatever was at hand. Luckily, my body didn’t like it and started breaking down. I was ill all the time, didn’t have any energy and everyday life became difficult. Everything in my life was toxic, my food, all the other ‘things’ I was putting into my body and my environment (I was working and pretty much living in a bar). I wanted at least one healthy thing in my life, and this is how I found myself in a yoga class. The rest is history:-). Needless to say, my digestion improved, and my life transformed on so many levels in the last 17 years too. So there are many life lessons to be learned when we examine our digestion.
Your digestion will teach you a lot about yourself.
I believe problems with digestion can be symptoms of deeper issues in our body and mind. Often, indigestion is caused by stress, worries, unresolved trauma, anger, inability to give and receive love and more… I say that because I see a lot of people at yoga who are intolerant to gluten, lactose, or have other problems with digestion but after some time of regular practice their condition improves. Side effects of regular yoga and meditation practice are: peace, acceptance, healing, opening of the heart and ability to deal with challenges of every day life. This is why I think your body is trying to tell you something through indigestion. When the digestive system is functioning well we are able to have a balanced life, taking in as much as we need to and letting go of as much as it’s necessary too.
However, if this is a bit too deep and spiritual for you, don’t worry. You don’t need to think of any emotional or mental matters and just focus on improving your digestion and eating a more healthy and balanced diet and you will see other aspects of your life improving too.
This is why I have created the Digestion Programme in the High On Yoga membership. It contains daily meditations, short yoga practice to circulate energy in your digestive system and make it function better, and a big yoga class to help you master your digestion, learn to let go of toxins and impurities, and it’s a great anti-aging set too.