Mindfulness Meditation techniques helps with Digestion

A perfectly functioning digestive system is an indicator of good physical health. Our stressful lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits are the prime reasons for various digestive disorders. Although Mindfulness Meditation techniques can never make up for an unhealthy diet, they can offer long term relief through relaxation that promotes pain relief, good blood circulation, optimal organ functioning and relief from gastrointestinal problems.

When we are in the meditative space, our parasympathetic nervous system is activated, which can help optimise serotonin ‘happiness’ hormone, better digestion, memory and immunity. The parasympathetic nervous system increases the flow of digestive juices thereby enabling better digestion.

Sue Webster, colon hydro therapist and allergy therapist, believes that prolonged stress can have a damaging effect on digestive health. 

When the body experiences stress over a long period, the nervous system finds it increasingly difficult to turn off the activity for the day and allow sufficient rest overnight. The blood supply to the digestive organs is increasingly diminished making repair difficult, which in turn, leads to weak digestion. Along with it, the bacterial eco-system in our digestive tract, vital for nutrient absorption becomes unbalanced thus triggering pain and constipation.

Studies using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans have shown that activity in the part of the brain responsible for metabolism, digestion and heart rate increases significantly during Mindfulness Meditation practice.

The practice can help let go of unhealthy lifestyle… The Mindfulness Meditation techniques can also help us let go of our unhealthy eating habits. As with enhanced consciousness, which comes with the practice, we can make welcome changes to our diet and lifestyle and also manage our appetite. 

This simple process gives our body the time to regenerate and heal itself, giving us more energy to do the things we want. We are able to train our autonomic nervous system to let go of stress and heal the tightly wound nerves to relax and get back to their normal state. 

Mindfulness Meditation techniques can aid in treating the highly stressed brain to relax and find a harmonious state of being.