Paula's Herbals & Wellness
  • Pelvic Floor
    • 1:1 Private Training
  • Pilates
  • About

Exercise Your Systems: Digestion

9/10/2020

1 Comment

 
Can you really exercise your internal body systems? Yes! They're made of organs, which are also muscles, and are full of blood and lymph and movement. Go on, exercise your systems.
Digestion isn't just input and output. All the hollow spaces food goes (the mouth, esophagus,  stomach, and intestines) are called hollow organs and guess what- each one is muscular!

They can expand (think of your belly after a holiday meal) and they can shrink back to normal.

​This takes muscle control, so exercise #1 is: 
​

Let Your Digestion Empty Completely

This doesn't have to be fancy- for example, a light and easily digestible dinner that's over by 7pm like a hearty soup, then nothing till at least 7am the next day.
Picture
Not only does this allow your digestive organs to practice contracting down to their smallest size, the emptiness allows time for any needed repair and construction work to happen. 

​Give your digestive organs a break, and a chance to change sizes. Give the lymph fluid and connective tissue around your organs some space, and some fresh blood flow. And give all the tissues a chance to heal: the GI tract really has a lot of constant damage to repair, so a pause gives all this a chance to happen.
These internal systems we're talking about are mostly jam-packed into the abdomen, and thanks to the "core"- your pelvic floor, diaphragm, and abdominal wall- it's all held in place by intra-abdominal pressure.

​However, our lifestyle is good at messing with this pressure. Things like sitting so much, sucking in our bellies to "look" good, thrusting out our ribs in what's really fake good posture, and breathing shallowly all keep the abdominal pressures from fluctuating appropriately. 

Exercise #2 is something you hear all.the.time. but do you really practice it?
​

Deep Breathing

Picture
I'm thinking specifically about the expanding and relaxing in the ribs and belly today. We tend to always hold a bit of tension, a bit of stress, so maxing that out with a big deep breath then letting it out all the way to really empty everything, is the best way to find complete relaxation of all those muscles. 

Now, did you know that your other internal organs, the solid ones like the liver and the kidneys, move too? When you move in proper, unstressed alignment, they can move around several inches.

​When you're tense, tight, and sitting, your organs are too. Let's move them with Exercise #3:

Practice Gentle, Full ROM Bends and Twists

ROM= Range of Motion

This could be yoga moves. This could be spine twists on the floor. This could be backbends supported by a door frame. This could be toe touches, no bouncing!

​There are so many ways to deliberately and fully twist and bend to stretch our insides, just do it smoothly and without holding your breath. 

​
In addition to full Ranges of Motion, we also need full Ranges of Flavors! Tip #4 is:
​
Picture

Taste Your Bitters

Herbal remedy? Aperitif? Morning bowel stimulant? Yes! 

The bitter taste is an amazing actor in our bodies- not only do our tongues taste bitter, but we have those same bitter taste receptors in all kinds of other body tissues too (like our lungs and kidneys). When we TASTE bitter, all sorts of things happen all over the body.

Specifically regarding digestion::
  • Smooth muscles relaxes, so there's less tension in the gut
  • Digestive juices like saliva and bile are stimulated
  • Peristalsis (movement of the intestines) is stimulated
  • Sweet cravings are often diminished
  • Circulation is stimulated, improving digestion, metabolism, and healing of inflammation
  • and more!

You can find alcohol-based bitters 3 main ways.
  1. In little bottles at the liquor store, like Angostura, Peychaud's, and many small batch brands
  2. In big bottles at the liquor store, like Campari, Aperol, Fernet Branca, and again, many artisan brands
  3. In little bottles at the health food store, like Swedish Bitters, Urban Moonshine brand, and many small herbal makers brands
The rule of thumb is if it's in a big bottle you can sip it neat, if it's in a little bottle it's for flavoring or small dosages

Food based bitters include liquids like Coffee and greens like Dandelion, Escarole, and Radicchio, as well as Chocolate and Cacao nibs.

Dandelion root, Artichoke leaf, Bitter Orange peel, Gentian, Blue Vervain, Angelica, and Horehound are all bitter herbs you may see on some ingredient lists as well. 

Practice these 4 exercises for your Digestive System, and let me know how you're feeling! And Learn more about exercising your insides and outsides, for structural and systemic health, in my Foot to Forehead Fix program.
1 Comment
The Tract Talk link
8/4/2020 04:45:24 pm

Very nice details about digestion

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Fun Fact: I'm an herbalist and a movement coach. Not a doctor, or a pharmacist, and not pretending to be one on TV.

    This is a public space, so my writing reflects my experiences and I try to stay general enough so it might relate to you. This does not constitute medical advice, and I encourage you to  discuss concerns with your doctor. Remember, however, that the final say in your wellness decisions are always yours- you have the power to choose, you are the boss of you.

    And, some of my posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them I'll earn a few cents. Thank you for supporting my work. 

    This website is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical, mental health or healthcare advice.  The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition.  Working with us is not a guarantee of any results.  Paula Billig owns all copyrights to the materials presented here unless otherwise noted. 

    Categories

    All
    DIY
    Exercise Your Systems
    Food And Digestion
    Foot To Forehead
    From Paula
    Garden
    Herbcraft
    Immune
    Local
    Meet Your Herbs
    Meet Your Self
    Move
    News And Events
    Paula The Herbalist
    Pelvic Floor
    Pilates
    Release & Relief
    Seasonal
    Stress
    Your Wellness

    Archives

    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

Picture

info @paulaswellness.com 

Disclaimer

This website is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical, mental health or healthcare advice.  The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition.  Working with us is not a guarantee of any results.  Paula Billig owns all copyrights to the materials presented here unless otherwise noted.  
Photos used under Creative Commons from specialoperations, specialoperations
  • Pelvic Floor
    • 1:1 Private Training
  • Pilates
  • About