Simple Abdominal Massage for Healthy Elimination (aka poops!)
Want to have a healthy poop, first-thing in the morning, no coffee necessary? Try this 3-minute abdominal self-massage while still laying in bed.
By relaxing and toning your digestive tissues, this simple technique will:
Absolutely transform your digestion
Help you have a healthy poop every morning
Boost your mood
Increase your energy all day long
This massage has been so relaxing and helpful for me, and for many of my clients! Especially those with issues like constipation (Vata), or sluggish bowels (Kapha). If you are Pitta-predominant, the extra stimulation in your digestive tract might cause or aggravate loose-stools. So go easy, or skip this all together.
Having a health daily elimination (aka bowel movement, BM, or poop) is so important.
It is your body's natural way of cleansing and detoxifying itself, like your own personal garbage disposal.
A daily BM ushers out toxins from food, drink, and our environment, and in turn makes space for new, fresh nourishment. This gives us energy, boosts our moods, helps with glowing skin, and healthy hormones too.
But so many of us are backed-up, going only 2-3 times a week or less...
This can majorly slow your metabolism and cause:
weight gain, sluggishness, lethargy, trouble sleeping, hormones imbalances, and general discomfort.
Many western doctors say "going" 1-3 a week is sufficient: "It's enough…" "You're not constipated." But Ayurveda says "No! It can be so much better. Let's work on your digestion with herbs, boosting easy-to-digest fiber sources, dosha-specific nutrition, getting more movement or exercise, and finally: daily self-massage.”
Many of us, myself included, hold our stress in our abdomen. If you've ever heard the old term "nervous stomach," this is what they're talking about.
Holding stress in your abdomen causes tension, which:
Constricts your digestive organs
Slows digestion
Causes belly-pains
Impedes deep-breathing
Increases your stress and tension, which in turn starts that whole viscous cycle over again!
So, how can you stop this cycle? Here’s my simple technique that works every time.
EVERY MORNING ABDOMINAL MASSAGE
Here’s how it’s done:
First, lay comfortably, breathing slowly and deeply.
Begin massaging your abdomen in big circles, going clockwise, around your entire belly. This traces the path of your entire digestive tract.
To figure out which way is clockwise: begin with your fingers or thumbs together at the top, center of your abdomen: right under your breastbone, where your ribcage meets
Then slowly move down to your left (this is where your stomach is located)
Use as much pressure as feels good. I like a good bit of pressure, as I hold my tension here…
Trace all the way down the left side of your abdomen (this is where your descending colon is located)
Then move straight across to the lower right side and trace back up the right side, and around again.
Do this several times, maybe starting gently and getting a bit deeper each time, but so it’s always comfortable. Breathe slowly and deeply…
If you are constipated, spend extra time in the lower left quadrant. This will feel extra good and relax your sigmoid colon, which stores your feces before it’s released
So, do a few extra rubs/circles here.
Do this daily, right before bed and first thing where you wake up.
Just 2-3 minutes, while breathing deeply can transform your digestion and gut health! Try it yourself and see how much better you can feel.
