A yoga practice combined with diet and lifestyle changes can strengthen and harmonize digestion and elimination to heal and reduce many GI complaints.

If you have chronic digestive problems, a short regular yoga practice, continued over a few months will certainly help to resolve the problem and keep your digestive system healthy and functioning smoothly. You will need a yoga instructor to ensure you receive the utmost benefits.

For lower abdominal problems like constipation or diarrhea, set up in the Supported Bridge Pose with the following items: a yoga bolster, a yoga block and a blanket (or some firm cushions) and a pile of books.

1. Set a yoga block or a 12-inch-high pile of books against a wall.
2. Place a bolster or firm cushions at right angles to the wall. The far end of the bolster should be about five feet away from the wall.
3. Begin by sitting in the middle of the bolster facing the wall. Then, lie back over the end of the bolster.
4. Now for the adjustment change the position of the bolster, or change your position on it so that your feet firmly contact the wall and your shoulders rest lightly on the floor.
5. Stay in the position and relax for 5-10 minutes, eyes closed.

Notice the shape of the posture, especially how the chest coils over the end of the bolster and how the shoulders rest only lightly on the floor. This restorative pose is restful and rejuvenates the whole system, including digestion.

Within the Chinese traditional medicine view, the gut is the center–the organizational nexus–of bodily life and social relations. The Chinese greeting, “Ni hao ma?” translates literally as “Have you eaten yet today?”. The industrialization of food production, along with the mechanization and acceleration of cooking and eating, have profoundly altered a primal pattern of behavior, interrupting ritual preparation and ceremonial meal times.

As is commonly assumed, but rarely acknowledged, good feeling, both toward oneself and others, as well as a sense of optimism and clarity, are affected by and dependent upon good digestion, with its consequent feelings of hardiness, contentment, and conviviality. The opposite, indigestion, induces a plethora of discomforts: bloating, heartburn, cramps, irritability, lethargy, and melancholy.

The source of indigestion lies in the disruption of the Digestive Network, governed by the Stomach and Spleen. This network is responsible for the processing of food and nutrients that form the basis of the body constituents — Qi, Moisture and Blood. It is also responsible for distributing these constituents, upward and downward through the abdominal region, and outwardly to the four limbs. When these essential activities are impeded by over-consumption of food, or weakened by under-nutrition, the vigorous, rhythmic, contractile waves of the gut become deranged. This leads to inefficient transformation, diminished absorption, the formation of gas, and the retention of undigested material.

These conditions lead to the syndrome of Qi Stagnation and Food Accumulation, producing symptoms of lingering hunger and uneasiness after eating, distention and aching of the abdomen, belching and flatulence, heartburn and reflux, irregular bowel movements, and a loss of the ability to discriminate between unreasonable cravings and true hunger. Indulging cravings, as well as eating too quickly or too much, leads to fleeting relief and persistent discontent, while satisfying true hunger produces deep feelings of pleasure, affirming the soundness of the body’s instinctual intelligence. Chinese herbs as well as acupuncture can increase the efficiency of the digestive system, which in turn enriches vitality and resilience.

The 4R Program to promote gastrointestinal health, developed by Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D., and his associates at the Functional Medicine Institute, is an extremely effective way to address and treat gastrointestinal dysfunctions and promote gastrointestinal health. It is a simple four-step program, and it is what I use with my patients:

The program simplifies the complex interactions in gastrointestinal health by asking four questions:

1. What needs to be REMOVED?
2. What needs to be REPLACED?
3. Does one need to RE-INOCULATE with probiotics?
4. Does the intestinal lining need to be REPAIRED?

Step 1: Remove

• Toxins in food
• Gastric irritants (e.g., caffeine, alcohol, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
• Food allergies, sensitivities, or reactions
• Chronic low-grade infections in the gut (e.g., yeast and parasites)

Step 2: Replace

• Stomach acid (or stimulate stomach acid with bitters)
• Digestive enzymes

Step 3: Reinoculate

• Restore beneficial bacteria to reestablish a healthy balance of microflora in the gut.

Step 4: Repair

• Provide nutrients to heal the gut wall or lining.
• Support the immune functioning of the gut.

Digestive problems are probably the commonest problems I see in my practice. In addition, many of the patients who presented to me with other symptoms, from fatigue to allergies to arthritis, often the primary issue is faulty digestion. Most of these patients didn’t even realize that they had a faulty digestive system. They had become used to having mild indigestion or bloating or gas and thought it was a normal part of aging.

I believe that digestion is one of the most important functions for health. A well functioning digestive system will energize you, help your immune system and generally prevent all sorts of diseases. It will make you feel more vital.

So in almost all of my patients I always look to see if the digestive system is working well. It makes sense, because if you’re not digesting and or absorbing the food you eat, your nutritional needs will not be met.

I see many patients who are taking hundreds of dollars worth of supplements, which probably aren’t being absorbed properly because of a poorly functioning digestive system.

In Chinese medicine as well, the digestive function or the spleen function or earth element is at the center. When this is off balance, the whole system becomes imbalanced.

Here are 10 simple tips to help with digestion:

1. Chew your food well.
2. Sit down and relax while you eat. Eating in a rush and under stress is not healthy and may lead to digestive problems.
3. Make eating a mindful experience
4. Eat natural, whole, unrefined, unprocessed, high quality foods.
5. Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you are 80% full.
6. Eat organic and preferably local foods whenever possible.
7. Try resting your digestive system for at least 10 hours at night. eg if you eat breakfast a 7:00 am, try not to eat anything after 9:00 PM.
8. Try doing an Elimination diet for 1-2 weeks from time to time, where you eliminate all refined sugar, processed foods, alcohol, gluten and dairy. Notice how your digestion usually improves.
9. If possible have something bitter before your meal, it stimulates your body’s own digestive juices and therefore helps digestion. Eg arugula or dandelion root.
10. Try taking a good probiotic formula

Here is a great lecture from UCSF’s Robert Lustig who specializes in child obesity. He basically discusses/shows how fructose is just like alcohol with its toxicity. It is long but a brilliant explanation of why sugar and high fructose corn syrup is such a problem!