Indigestion Meditation

Meditation and breathing for indigestion.

The gut-brain connection is real.

It links anxiety to stomach problems and vice versa.

The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines.

For example,

The very thought of eating can release the stomach's juices before food gets there.

This connection goes both ways.

A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut.

Therefore a person's stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety,

Stress or depression.

That's because the brain and the gastrointestinal system are intimately connected.

It makes sense to at least take the time to calm the nervous system,

Calm the stomach and calm the mind and let go of that anxiety or stress or over-busy,

Chattery mind that may be contributing to your indigestion.

So just sit up nice and tall and we're just going to breathe and focus the mind in a way that will create a calmness and a soothingness to the body,

Mind and stomach.

So just begin by noticing the air as it comes in and out of your nostrils.

Quite cool as you breathe in and warm as you breathe out.

Following this gentle rhythm of breath,

Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose.

Notice the breath going all the way down the back of the throat and imagine it all the way down into the stomach.

Keep noticing the sensation of air around the edges of your nostrils as you breathe.

As you breathe in,

Warm.

As you breathe out,

Really focus on what it feels like to breathe and where the air or the movement of breath is occurring in your body.

As you breathe in and out,

Can you feel your shoulders and chest rising and falling?

Can you feel your belly rising and falling?

Can you slow the breath down a little,

Breathing in through the nostrils,

Out through the nostrils.

Slow,

Soft,

Easy breath,

Feeling the air around the edges of the nostrils slightly cool.

Feeling them coming out slightly warm.

At the same time seeing if you can really relax your neck and shoulders and chest so that when you breathe in and out,

This area stays relatively still.

You can try placing one hand just at the top of your chest,

The fingers touching your collarbones and the other hand at the bottom of your ribs touching your solar plexus,

Your belly area where we have a lot of the symptoms or pain of indigestion.

So the top hand is up on the top of your chest with the fingers and the thumb resting on your collarbones and the bottom hand is touching the bottom of your ribs and the rest of the hand is on your diaphragm area,

The soft belly area.

So this makes it easier for you to notice whether this top hand is rising and falling more than the bottom hand.

Are you raising the shoulders and breathing into the chest?

If so,

That's okay.

Just slow the breathing down and bring your attention more to the bottom hand as you breathe in.

Let the bottom hand rise out a little bit and as you breathe out,

Feel the hand sink back in towards you.

Breathe in,

The bottom hand moves as the body and the belly push the hand out and away,

Maybe very subtly.

And as you breathe out,

It relaxes and the hand gently sinks in a little.

Breathing in and breathing out,

Aware of the top and the bottom hand,

The movement of both hands.

As you breathe in,

Feel the top hand and the bottom hand gently move out and then sink back down as you breathe out.

So then gently move out as you breathe in and gently relax and sink as you breathe out.

This may take a little bit of practice.

There may be a lot of chest and shoulder breathing and that's okay.

Sometimes the first step is just awareness,

Awareness of this upper body breathing.

And rather than telling yourself that this is incorrect breathing and that you don't want to breathe this way,

Just relax and focus on the bottom hand.

I would like to breathe more into this bottom hand,

This bottom area,

Feeling the air as it comes in through the nostrils.

Slightly cool and warmer as you breathe out through the nostrils.

Breathing in and breathing out,

Feeling the presence of your hands on your body as you gently breathe in and out.

Trying to slow the breath down a little,

Soften the breath,

Make it feel very subtle and easy.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Trying to relax all around your eyes and your jaw,

Relaxing your neck and your shoulders,

Feeling the rise and fall of your hands.

Slow,

Smooth,

Easy breath.

So just bring your attention to behind your eyes.

This is almost the first part of digestion.

Our eyes visualize the food or see the food that we're about to eat.

They appreciate the colors and the texture.

And they tell the brain that we're about to eat and to get the digestive juices flowing.

When we mindlessly eat,

Sometimes we skip this stage and food goes straight into our mouth and the stomach is not ready.

So just visualizing behind your eyes,

Maybe your favorite food,

Preferably favorite healthy food.

Notice how that makes you feel,

Staying with the rise and fall of your hands.

Focusing more on that bottom hand and the belly area,

Breathing in and breathing out,

Relaxing the eyes and the jaw and the neck and the shoulders.

And again,

As you're noticing that air coming in and out of the nostrils,

Imagine the scent,

The smell of food.

Another sense that tells the brain to send digestive juices into action.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Your favorite food,

The smell of your favorite food.

And then bring your attention to your mouth,

To your lips and your tongue,

Where food enters.

And when you're ready,

There should be a nice amount of saliva in your mouth,

Ready for eating.

The saliva is the first stage of breaking down that food.

Imagine that as you eat,

It's not just the chewing and the chopping of your teeth,

It's the saliva that is beginning to break down that food and create an ease and a readiness in the stomach.

Keep breathing in and out.

See if you can imagine brilliant light of blue,

Brilliant blue ball of light in your mouth and in your throat.

Imagine a bright color of blue,

Feeling a soft breathing in and breathing out.

Cool around the edges of the nostrils as you breathe in,

Warm as you breathe out,

The warmth or the coolness of the hands on your body.

And the focus more on that bottom hand.

And the brilliant color of blue light in your mouth and now working it down your throat.

And imagining a big ball of brilliant light sitting in your mouth and in your throat.

The color of the throat chakra,

A tube that connects your mouth to the stomach,

The esophagus.

As a natural movement as you chew and swallow and the saliva is created to help carry the well chewed food down into your stomach.

Now bring your attention down to that bottom hand area.

You can visualize this whole area but the stomach is off to the left,

Just tucked up under your ribs there,

The actual stomach organ itself.

Here and connected to this stomach via the duodenum and the liver gallbladder is the small intestine.

And the greatest amount of digestion takes place here.

Roughly four hours it takes to get through the small intestine along the way it's helped by bile and other digestive enzymes from the liver,

The gallbladder,

The pancreas.

So if you could just imagine here this area to the left of the hand and all around under the hand,

Brilliant yellow light,

The light of the solar plexus,

The solar plexus chakra,

The third chakra,

The place of physical digestion.

And just breathe softly and slowly.

Imagine this area is glowing with yellow light.

Continuing to slow the breath,

Relax the face,

Relax the neck and shoulders.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Imagining this brilliant ball of yellow light is soothing and healing and encouraging this area to work efficiently and effectively.

Balance,

Not too much acidity but also enough acidity.

Imagine that the lining of the stomach and the small intestinal wall are pink and healthy and fleshy.

Smooth,

Soothed by this golden yellow light.

Slow,

Easy breathing.

Breathing in and out the nostrils,

Feeling the air around the edges of the nostrils.

As you breathe in and warmer as you breathe out.

And now on your next exhale as you breathe out,

Before you breathe in,

Just try holding your breath for about 3 to 5 seconds.

And breathe in and you'll breathe out and then hold for 3 to 5 seconds and gently breathe normally again.

Just feeling the air around the edges of the nostrils.

Feeling the rise and fall of your hands.

And again you'll breathe in and out and hold the breath out for 3 to 5 seconds no longer.

Return to normal breathing,

Visualising this blue light in your mouth and your throat and this brilliant golden yellow light in your solar plexus area.

And even a brilliant ball of purple behind your eyes and around the edges of the nostrils as you breathe in and out.

Again as you finish your exhale,

Hold the breath out for 3 to 5 seconds.

Continue breathing naturally,

Softly,

Smoothly.

Relaxing the eyes and the jaw and the neck and the shoulders.

Again after you breathe out now,

Hold the breath for 3 to 5 seconds.

Return the breath to normal breathing.

Noticing is the breath becoming a little lighter and slower and softer and smoother each time you hold your breath out.

It doesn't matter if it isn't.

Just seeing is the breath calm,

Soft and smooth now.

Sensation of soothing,

Comforting feeling in the whole solar plexus area.

A cooling blue light in the mouth and the throat.

Even all the way down the esophagus,

That cooling blue light before it meets the stomach.

Two more times you're going to hold the breath out.

After you breathe out for 3 to 5 seconds,

Return to normal breathing without holding.

Relaxing the face,

Feeling a little bit of an inner smile behind your eyes,

In your mouth and even in your belly and your stomach.

A little smile in your stomach.

And the last one,

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

Hold the breath for 3 to 5 seconds.

Return to normal breathing.

And just lower your hands,

Relax the hands.

Feel that presence,

That warmth or coolness of where your hands were.

Continue to breathe slowly,

Smoothly,

Easily.

Imagine that you have been soothed with your breath,

With your visualization,

With your stillness.

Here not only have you calmed your nervous system for a short moment,

You're encouraging your digestive system and the matter that we need to digest,

That comes in a form of stress and overthinking and experiences.

In this short practice you're helping your body and mind to also digest that matter,

That stress,

Those experiences that also play a role in indigestion.

Just become aware of your bottom on the seat or if you're lying down,

Just the whole back of your body.

And just move a little bit.

If you're seated,

Roll the shoulders back a little.

Let's take a deep breath in.

And then breathe out the mouth.

If you're letting go of anything else,

Any pain,

Any discomfort,

Any undigest thoughts and stress,

Out of the mouth.

One more time,

Breathe in.

Long breath out the mouth.

Letting it all out.

Last one.

And out.

Take one or two hands to your breastbone,

One on top of the other.

Just feel the rise and fall of the chest.

The weight of your hands.

And that little smile,

The little feeling of a smile behind your eyes and at the corners of your eyes and at the corners of your mouth and behind your hands and your heart center.

And just asking yourself,

What am I grateful for today?

And gratitude for your eyes,

Your nose,

Your mouth,

Your esophagus and your stomach,

Small intestine and all the organs that support that.

Sending love and thanks here.

Doing any kind of wiggles and movements that you need to get back on with your day,

Your morning or your eve.

Thank you.

And I sincerely hope this helped you with any indigestion,

Pain or stress.

Thank you.

Have a good eve and it would be lovely to hear if this helped you in any way.

Ciao for now.