5 Things You Can do to Improve your Digestion!

IBS, gas, bloating, constipation, colitis, diverticulitis, diarrhea, Crohn's, indigestion, heart burn, abdominal cramping, and the list goes on and on for digestive disorders and disease.

It's almost "normal" to encounter these chief complaints in the patients I see in my daily practice. I would say 8 out of every 10 people I see will report a digestive malady of some sort. Some are as minor as mild food intolerances to others being in the throws of a very progressed disease state such as diverticulitis or colon cancer.

The 3 main things to address when preventing and treating digestive disorders are the following:

1. Diet/Lifestyle- What you eat, how you eat it ( do you continuously eat on the run?) , how much exercise and which type, habits like smoking, excessive drinking, drugs, not sleeping enough, and overworking all contribute to digestive health or lack there of.
2. Stress- From work stress, to relationship conflicts, to environmental toxins , the body is constantly bombarded with increasing demands to regenerate, and detoxify and handle it all. Stress comes in the form of mental, emotional and physical. Left unchecked it is a primary contributor to digestive problems.
3. Spiritual Connection- Loss of a connection to your Higher Self or power can leave you depleted and ungrounded. When you are not Core Connected you are acting out of the EGO and not your truth. The abdomen is the center of "will power" and personal truth and strength. Denying this denies you the security to feel in power of your reality. The gut is the center of courage and self confidence. Digestive disorders often are symptoms that you are not living your truth and instead are living in a fear or survival mode.

However there are SOULutions!!

1. CUT OUT ALL PROCESSED FOOD: clean up the diet and you help your body by giving it less crap to deal with (excuse the pun). This means no junk food, and no products in packages or cartons.

2. Eliminate DAIRY: at least for the initial period of cleansing and getting the body balanced. Dairy is very mucous forming and just clogs up the whole system. Switch to rice or almond milk as alternatives.

3. Lemon Water and ginger! : First thing upon rising begin your day with a warm glass of water with grated ginger and fresh lemon juice. This helps wake up the system and gets the metabolism in gear for the day's digestive demands. This is one of the best ways to encourage your liver to function optimally!

4. Exercise! Find something you enjoy. Thats really the bottom line. I could sit here and tell you how amazing kettle bells are or how much I love power yoga, but really doing what your body mind and soul enjoy is the key. Walking, hiking and anything outdoors though needs to be emphasized here. Whatever gets you in contact with the natural environment really is important for core connection. When you engage with the natural world, you come back to your natural self which came from the earth. Just sitting on grass and feeling the ground beneath you is therapeutic because we resonate so well with it.

5. MEDITATE or practice some form of mind/ body/soul practice DAILY : Ie tai chi, qui gong, prayer, mantra chanting, pranayama (breath work). Connecting to your inner core is essential to heal and relieve the body from the massive amount of thinking and mind activity we do. The mind will continually do its thing and if we don't become aware that we are more than that we will get sucked right into its illusive game. So meditate to go inwards and find the connection to the real, inner truth you hold. The real you :)

I wish you great blessings and health, and happy happy digestion :)

Namaste