Self massage and tips for constipation

Constipation and what you can do about it

Take Time On The Toilet!

I have had patients who suffer from constipation, and after taking their history, I find they do not take time to relax, even when on the toilet. If they didn’t have a bowel movement fast enough, they would give up to take care of more pressing matters.

I explain to them the importance of having a bowel movement on a regular basis. and I advise that they put “having a bowel movement” higher on their priority list. Once they learn to relax on the toilet and allow more time for the bowel movement to occur, they find they can have a bowel movement. Then they no longer suffer from severe constipation!

Try Putting Your Feet Up On A Stool While Going Number Two

If you still have trouble, try putting a stool at the base of your toilet and placing your feet on it so your knees are higher than your hips. Our bodies void fecal material easier in a squatting position. Toilets do not exist in nature, so it is unnatural to have a bowel movement in a seated position.

Putting your feet on a stool while sitting on the toilet will put you in a position closer to a squat and may make it easier to go with less pressure. This also helps prevent hemorrhoids from forming; hemorrhoids are a result of straining while voiding, and this pressure causes the veins around the anus to enlarge and eventually inflame.

Self massage for constipation:

You can also try massaging your abdomen to help move the fecal material through the GI tract.

STRESS IS THE NUMBER-ONE CAUSE of dis-ease that leads to disease. IBS is one example of a dis-eased state. You need to rest to digest, and if you are not relaxed, you can be become constipated.

Relax with Yoga

Yoga helps me relax, and it might help you too. Doing yoga is like doing meditation in motion. Plus, several of the poses I do involve inversions (being upside down). Inversions assist with the movement of fecal material that normally has to work against gravity.

When you’re upside down, gravity works with the ascending colon instead of against it. (More on this in Chapter 25.) So it can’t hurt to take pressure off the ascending colon, especially because the appendix is at the bottom of it. Having the abdomen upside down helps the appendix drain too.

Regardless, taking the time to relax and rest and digest will positively affect the health of your digestive system.

You don't have suffer with IBS. Why wait?