Yoga can help manage your gut health, but that doesn’t mean you should ditch your other habits to try it. Instead, start incorporating these healthy practices into your daily routine. When done regularly, these practices can reduce your risk of developing several conditions that are commonly linked to unhealthy guts, including chronic intestinal infections and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). If you have a healthy diet and plenty of stress-reducing activities outside of yoga, like meditation or exercise, then incorporating it into your life could make a difference in your gut health. But even if you don’t have any of the above habits yet, consider adding them in. That way, you can start today and see the benefits soon enough. Here is everything you need to know about incorporating yoga into your daily routine so it can help manage your gut health instead of harming it.
What is gut health?
Gut health refers to the overall health of your digestive tract. This includes your esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, and colon—all of which are connected by the intestines. When talking about your gut health, the focus is mainly on your intestines. There are several reasons why you want to care about your gut health. It’s where you absorb your nutrients from food, so if it isn’t functioning efficiently, you could be missing out on essential vitamins and minerals. It’s also the place where toxins from your environment and your own body enter, so ensuring its well-being can help you avoid unnecessary health risks.
Yoga and its effect on gut health
The gut is the first part of your digestive tract to come into contact with potentially harmful substances, so it’s important to maintain good health in this area. Yoga can help by improving your digestion. This can help with issues such as IBS, leaky gut syndrome, and celiac disease, among others. In addition, many types of yoga have been shown to increase levels of beneficial gut bacteria, which can help with digestion and immunity.
Loving kindness practice
Studies have found that practicing loving kindness can boost the immune system, which can prevent you from getting diseases and infections. Loving kindness is the practice of wishing someone kindness, compassion, and happiness. You can practice it by wishing yourself the same. This practice has been shown to increase levels of cytokines, which are immune-boosting chemicals. To do this, you can repeat phrases like “I wish myself good health” or “I wish myself a strong immune system.” While it’s recommended to keep this practice short, you can also keep a journal so you can record your progress and see how it improves your health over time. You can also record your progress by adding loving kindness to a journal or app.
Eating fermented foods
Fermented foods are full of beneficial bacteria that can help with digestion. The types of bacteria found in fermented foods can help with feelings of bloating and gas, and may also boost the immune system. There are many types of fermented foods that contain probiotics, including sauerkraut, kimchi, and yogurt. Making your own fermented foods can be a fun way to add more probiotics to your diet. You can also find probiotic-rich ferments in pre-packaged bottles, like sauerkraut and kimchi.
Taking a probiotic supplement
While eating fermented foods is a great way to increase the variety of bacteria in your gut, a probiotic supplement can help if you don’t have time for the extra preparation. A probiotic can help you maintain a healthy gut and keep your immune system strong so that you don’t get sick as easily. There are different types of probiotics and each can be helpful for different people. To find the one that’s right for you, look at the reviews of the probiotics you can find in supplements and health foods stores.
Conclusion
You don’t have to ditch all your other healthy habits to incorporate yoga into your life. Instead, start by incorporating one daily practice and then build from there. The more you incorporate it, the better you’ll feel. And, the more you incorporate it, the more you’ll see the difference it makes. Yoga can help you improve your digestion, boost your immune system, and feel more energized overall. And, it doesn’t take long to do, so it’s easy to incorporate into your schedule. If you have any questions or would like to speak to someone about how yoga can help manage your gut health, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
DISCLAIMER
All the content on this blog, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, are solely to provide information only. Any information/statements on this blog are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should NOT be a substitute for health and medical advice that can be provided by your own physician/medical doctor. We at Nano Singapore Shop, encourage you to consult a doctor before making any health or diet changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition.