Archives: heal ulcerative colitis

side saddle meditation copy

Side Saddle Meditation

In this exciting, time in my life – my belly doesn’t know the difference between excitement and anxiety. You can understand how that might pose a problem for someone like me who has ulcerative colitis. It’s our 4th week open at Soul Flyte – a boutique AntiGravity® yoga/fitness studio in Nyack, NY that I’ve opened – things are going really well… much better then we had anticipated and I’m beyond grateful every single day. That doesn’t mean that my belly understands that though. My emotions have always gone straight to my belly leaving me feeling anxious not about my business, but about my belly! I’ve had trouble sleeping and have to work really hard on quieting my thoughts – somewhat business related but also belly related.

What I’ve come to realize during this time is how important it is to show up at my meditation corner. Even if I sit for 5 minutes and maybe my mind was racing the whole time, at least I sat… At least I gave it a try. Routine has always been my best friend and sticking to one is very important during this time for me. I know you can most likely relate in one way or another. Whenever you feel like you don’t want to meditate, that’s the most important time to get back to your cushion, or corner.

Don’t make any excuses, just do it.

Peace

How do you know you’re in a flare up? Here are 5 signs that I know when I’m in a colitis flare. Read more »

IBD Meetup Group

IBD Meetup Group

Last week was my monthly IBD Meetup group. 5 of us came together to tell our stories, stretch, laugh, breathe, meditate and most importantly share knowledge together. I feel blessed that this group of people can come together each month and feel comfortable enough to talk about their bowels… that’s something that takes most people quite some time to open up about but not IBD folks! We’re ready, willing and able to talk about it any time of the day – in fact, we want you to ask us about our bowels, especially if it’s been a good day! We’re proud when it’s good – however when it’s a bad, flare up kind of day that’s not the time to be asking. A note to IBD significant others – make sure to be really excited for us when it’s a good bathroom day because they might not be so often and we need you to be happy for us! My next Meetup group is on March 26th will I see you there? Class is limited to 6 students so please make sure to RSVP HERE if you’d like to join us.

Be well!

Love Over Fear

Love over fear bumper sticker

Through the seven years that I’ve been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, I’ve learned some pretty valuable information. One thing that I’ve learned is: in order to feel my very best I’ve got to break the pattern.  When you’re struggling with any particular disease, it’s because your body has gotten into a certain pattern that’s not working – yep, you heard me – it’s time to change it up. Sometimes I’ll start taking a certain supplement that I feel is helping me for a while, but then all of a sudden it’s not working anymore and I’m standing there scratching my head wondering what I’m doing wrong. You have to take a stand back and look at everything that you’re doing to see if something can be changed.

If you’re in a flare up that’s your body’s way of telling you that something’s got to change.  If you’ve been practicing a certain set of breathing exercises, stop and try something different. If you’re drinking raw green juice everyday, stop and try something else. Some of the efforts that you’re doing, even though they are healthy for some, might just be toxic for you. Every body is different so make sure to listen loud and clear to hear what yours has to say – eventually, you’ll break the pattern.

 

Click me to watch a video on how to practice nauli

Throughout my process of learning how to heal ulcerative colitis, I learned a wonderful yogic cleansing technique that I use when my belly doesn’t feel right. I highly recommend it as I find it massages my organs and helps pass anything that’s “stuck” in my system. It also helps with anxiety and I tend to feel pretty calm afterwards. The practice is called nauli and I’ll demonstrate it for you in the video that’s attached to this post. Let me know if you have any questions regarding this – otherwise give it a try and see how you feel. Click here to watch.

Good luck!

Shira