Let's Talk About Stress & IBS

Abdominal pain, bloating, discomfort, constipation, and diarrhea. Sounds like a Pepto-Bismol ad—but it’s not! Welcome to the world of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a disorder that deeply affects millions of people, specifically 13-20% of Canadians. Many factors appear to lurk behind IBS, such as genetic predisposition, environment, allergy, infection and inflammation, bacterial overgrowth, hormones, neurotransmitter disorders and stress. Let’s dive deeper into stress.

Stress can actually be an enormous contributor as there are very deep and complex connections between your brain and your enteric (gut related) nervous system. In other words, what happens in one area can deeply affect the other. So, how can you de-stress in order to manage your IBS symptoms? Personally, for me, this is yoga! So, I sat down with my Thursday and Sunday community yoga instructor Meighlin to learn more about the power of yoga as a de-stressor.

1. "Nourish your body, mind, and spirit," I love this! Tell everyone a little bit about Meighlin Yoga?

For me, yoga is a place of grace, where we have the opportunity to reconnect with our authentic self and bring this quality of being into our daily life.

As the body, mind and spirit are interconnected, each affects the other. We nourish the body through the asana practice, the mind through pranayama and meditation and our spirit by connecting to the divine, which we come to experience as not separate from self.

2. As you know April is IBS Awareness Month and for a lot of people stress can be an IBS trigger. So, in my practice, I spend a significant amount of time brainstorming with clients what their personal stress reliever is, and for many, yoga comes up often! What is the science behind yoga and its ability to de-stress us?

When we move through the physical practice we release tension, build endurance, develop concentration and strengthen our body and mind. We learn ways of breathing that activate our parasympathetic nervous system state, our ‘rest & digest’. We learn to breathe deeper, longer breaths which provides more oxygen to the body. We also learn to become aware of our thoughts in the yoga asana practice and through meditation. This is helpful in relieving stress, as we become more aware of our own thoughts patterns and how they create a physiological response in the body. We learn to shift our thoughts to those that support our wellbeing.

3. Exercise and movement can help de-bloat us as it stimulates lymphatic drainage and proper gas movement in the gut but are there specific yoga poses that someone can do if they are experiencing an IBS flare? Typical flares include: constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas or abdominal pain?

Yes, Malasana is helpful in relieving gas. There’s also a specific pose called ‘wind releasing pose’ that helps to do just that. For Apanasana place one leg onto the floor, the other leg with a bent knee is drawn in toward the chest. This helps to massage the internal organs and release gas. Janu Sirsasana is helpful for diarrhea. Parighasana for stretching the side body. Gentle twists are also very helpful for bloating and abdominal pain, within the appropriate depth. Ardha matsendrasana is one of these. The inversion Viparita Karani is beneficial for the nervous system.

4. Stress is one of the biggest, and often overlooked, health problem facing people today, so if someone were unable to attend a yoga class what yoga breathing exercises could they do at home to help bring down their stress?

Sama Vritti is a simple and wonderful pranayama to help ease tension in the body and mind. First, take a few deep inhales through the nose and exhales our the mouth. Once you’ve done so, notice the length of your inhale and your exhale. Count the length of the shorter breath. Then, inhale through your nostrils counting that breath length in your mind, and exhale for the same breath length out your nostrils. Do this for six to eight breaths. You will begin to notice how much calmer you feel. Then, although a separate technique, it is a very helpful one; draw the corners of your mouth slightly upwards. Take another deep inhale through your nostrils and a long exhale out your nostrils. Note how you feel. Come back to this pranayama and technique anytime you feel anxious, worried or stressed.

5. Is there anything else we should know about the power of yoga?

We may begin yoga with the asana practice, and start to observe our tendencies. Yet, soon, we begin to observe how these same patterns are reflected in our life.

When we notice our patterns, as mentioned, we see we have the ability through yogic techniques to shift them. If we are inflexible in our body, we may also be inflexible in our mind and in life. If we struggle to challenge ourselves by remaining in an asana we may need to strengthen personal will power, for example. It may stem from a lack of self-belief.

Yoga asks each person to be a witness to themselves. It asks you observe yourself without judgement and apply techniques to support shifts that support and nourish you. From this place, we connect with ourselves at a deeper and more truthful place. We become whole, and harmonious, in body, mind & spirit.

Thank you so much Meighlin!!

To learn more about Meighlin Yoga check out her website or any of her social channels. Otherwise, hopefully I will see you all on Sunday for Meighlin's online class.

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