10 minute yoga to ease IBS

Yoga & IBS

I have written about the benefits of mediation on IBS before but Yoga also has many benefits too. There is solid research behind it demonstrating these benefits over conventional IBS medical treatment.

A systematic review of 6 randomised controlled trails with 273 patients found that yoga significantly decreased bowel symptoms and severity along with reducing anxiety. It also showed significant improvements in quality of life and physical functioning after yoga, compared to no treatment (Kuttner L et al, 2006).

So why does yoga help so much?

Well IBS is a complex multi-factorial condition but a lack of movement and increased stress levels can exacerbate IBS and impact on the smooth running of our digestion. When we start to move more, we help our digestion and aid the process of elimination. So gentle movement every day in the form of yoga can be so beneficial, even 10 minutes a day.

Stress comes in many forms - from a build-up of emails in your inbox to a traffic jam. If we eat in a stressed state, we can drastically impair our digestion, a lot of us are in a constant stressed state without even realising - you don’t have to feel stressed to be stressed. Common symptoms of IBS like bloating or constipation/diahorrea will arise when our digestion has been impaired.

Stress also reduces good bacteria and magnesium, both needed to regulate our bowel movements. Yoga and deep breathing will regulate the nervous system to bring us into a parasympathetic state and reduce stress.

If you want to get started all you need is an iPhone/computer/tablet and a mat. I love ‘Yoga by Adrienne’ or ‘Shona Vertue Yoga’ both are found free on YouTube.

If you want help to get to the root cause of your IBS please book in for a free 15 minute discovery call today.