Archives: IBD

Every time I’m having an uncomfortable stomachache, I find myself wondering what type of movement my body needs in that particular moment. Being a yoga teacher this question often comes to mind but is most important when I’m not feeling well.

I’ve noticed that when my stomach feels off, or I’m having a flare up with my ulcerative colitis I want to literally be turned upside down. The feeling is both mental and physical. I don’t like having a stomachache and wish that the situation could be reversed, so I literally take action with those thoughts and turn myself upside down.

I’ve been practicing yoga for quite some time now and therefore my inversion practice is advanced. The reason I stress this is because not everyone can just get in the middle of their living room and come into their headstand. If that’s something that is doable, please go ahead and try it – I guarantee that turning things upside down in your body will be restorative for your organs and will literally force you to clear your head since you will literally be upside down and there won’t be much else to think about.

I know that when I have a stomachache I stress about it, which really doesn’t help my situation because the main reason that I probably have UC is stress related – so you can imagine that the extra stress of having the ache puts me over the edge. WOAH that was tiring even explaining it!

The two inversions that I would recommend trying would be full headstand and shoulder stand. Feel free to the use the wall for support. See the pictures below to get an example of what I’m talking about.

Headstand (photo sourced from yoga-made-ez.com)

Shoulder stand (photo sourced from yoga-made-ez.com)

Another pose that I enjoy coming into for a nice relaxation is legs up the wall pose. Even though it’s not a full inversion, it’s still reversing the blood flow from your legs, which is also very calming and restorative. Since we are constantly turned right side up, any movement or pose that reverses the flow will be a nice shock for the body.

Legs up the Wall (Sourced from Heidiyoga.co.uk)

If you’d like to try this but just aren’t sure how to get started with it – contact me and we can talk about the steps to get you there. I’m always open to bounce ideas off of.

Have fun with your inversion but remember that if you are pregnant, have neck pain, high or low blood pressure, neck injuries, or are menstruating then you should be taking a modification to these inversions which will still be just as beneficial.

Cheers to a beautiful, new, upside down view!

Hi All!

I know it’s officially Winter now and we’re all bracing ourselves for the time when the temp hits below 20 degrees! Brrrrrrrrr! Hopefully that won’t be for a little while though.

On the topic of winter, it seems that our bodies are constantly fighting off colds, bugs and any other germs that might make us sick.

I have recently started adding organic apple cider vinegar into my daily routine because I’ve read that its got super powers! No, but really, apple cider vinegar is a powerful cleansing and healing elixir. From the Bragg’s website it’s “a naturally occurring antibiotic and antiseptic that fights germs and bacteria.”

To help heal your cold or cough, they say to drink 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar mixed with one tablespoon honey in a tall glass of water approx 1-2 cups.

This is meant to cut the mucus. With that exact statement I started wondering if drinking this vinegar might be beneficial to one with ulcerative colitis. I’ve done some research and found that yes, for many it has helped and for some it hasn’t. Now that seems like a frustrating answer, but the only way to really find out if it might help you with any digestive problems is to try it for yourself. It shouldn’t hurt you, but if it doesn’t sit well with you then you know it’s not the right remedy.

Everyone who has a digestive disorder has it differently. That’s why it’s hard to say that one remedy will definitely work – we are all different and the only way to tell is trial and error.

The apple cider vinegar that I’m referring to is raw, unfiltered, unheated, unpasteurized and has 5% acidity. It contains the amazing Mother of Vinegar which occurs naturally as strand-like enzymes of connected protein molecules.

Braggs makes an organic raw apple cider vinegar that you can find in the health food store. Make sure your vinegar is brown in color and not clear.

I hope you get through this Winter season with all the right remedies on hand to attack any and all unwanted bugs and germs.

Stay healthy!!

After a pretty crazy couple of weeks of preparing for me and my fiance’s engagement party – I’m finally ready to sit down and write a blog! All of our hard work in planning and preparing produced a wonderful, heartfelt party and I’m so glad that everything went as planned.

Moving right along… I’d like to talk about Omega-3 fish oil. It’s been known that fish oil helps our bodies in many ways but it especially aids with inflammation – especially for people with IBD (irritable bowel disease). I’ve taken many different forms of fish oil and have hated it for so long because it always comes back on me (meaning that I taste it throughout the day…gross!)

In passing, I was talking to a woman who was explaining the benefits of enteric-coated vitamins. This is the most amazing invention – let me explain. Enteric-coating resists attack by stomach acid, so the capsules pass into the intestines intact and release their contents there. This is truly wonderful! The fish taste doesn’t come back up anymore and I can finally benefit from this wonderful healing oil.

Fish oil definitely can’t harm you unless you have an allergy to it – so, personally, I think everyone can benefit from this and should at least try taking it. It aids in your cardiovascular health, (which is enough reason to take it right there) as well as your mental and physical health in general. Fish oil is easy to take, especially the enteric-coated form.

I just started taking Fisol from Nature’s Way and that is the brand that I’m recommending. I hope this works for you and please share your experience if you can.

I hope your stomach feels great today and if it doesn’t, pay attention to it and give it some love – in other words, give yourself some love. It’s a gorgeous day today and I hope you can take a few minutes to soak up the sun and it’s vitamin D.