Three reasons why practicing mindfulness gives you a happy tummy!

Tummy complaints like bloating, cramping, going to the toilet too often (or not often enough!) are rife now days.  As are the plethora of dietary requirements driven by people looking to soothe tummy complaints.

Want to know how mindfulness can help?

Read on or watch my video below for the three reasons why practising mindfulness is good for your gut!

1: Practising mindfulness leads to less stress and better digestion!

Practising mindfulness makes the area of your brain responsible for stress (your amygdala) less reactive and lowers your stress hormone cortisol.  So when you practice mindfulness you get less stressed!

When you’re stressed the food you consume sits in your belly until you’ve calmed down enough to initiate digestion.

And when you relax, your rest, digest and repair systems kick in, so you digest your food better! This means your body absorbs all the good stuff you put into it, and you’re less likely to notice those pesky symptoms of sub-par digestion.

2: Mindful breathing massages and stimulates your digestive system

Mindful breathing techniques (like I teach in my Mindfully You program) massage your belly.  This stimulates your digestive organs and your vagus nerve which further stimulates your rest, digest and repair response.   

So by mindfully breathing you’re also promoting better digestion and all the goodies that come with it: bye bye bloating and hello increased energy and wellness!
 

3: Mindfulness helps you make wise food choices

When you practice mindfulness you become better equipped at noticing your natural habit patterns and tendencies around food.  

Perhaps you tend to eat out of habit? Boredom? Loneliness? Procrastination? You feel like it would be rude to say no?

And the more your practice, the less controlled you are by your habitual tendencies, and the more control you have over your actions, when it comes to how and what you eat.

This puts you back in the driver's seat, so you’re more likely to make wise food choices rather than devouring the entire block of chocolate in one sitting and regretting it later!