5 effective exercises to improve digestion

The digestive system is like an assembly line whose main function is to prepare the food eaten, transform them, absorb their nutrients and eliminate waste. If you become aware of its operation, its possible influence on your body posture and you practice some exercises to improve digestion, work on this assembly line will run smoothly. These tips from Xavier Julià Eggert will be very useful to achieve it.

By Xavier Julià Eggert

He digestion process it follows one another along a tube about seven meters long. It is regulated by the central, autonomic and enteric nervous systems (typical of the digestive system) and neurotransmitters, hormones and enzymes participate in it at the same time.

Each viscera of the digestive system has a passive movement thanks to the contraction of the diaphragm and the movements that we generate when we move. In addition, the digestive tract has a active movement wavy and a double direction so that the food bolus advances and mixes well.

There is also a intrinsic movement. According to the French osteopaths Jean-Pierre Barral and Alain Croibier, this movement is generated in relation to the central axis of the body, with a possible origin in embryonic evolution; or, according to other authors, it is the “primary respiratory movement”understood in a broad sense, which starts from a cranial impulse.

The relation of movement or in its case of restriction that is established between the “content” –the viscera– and the “continent” –the structures that delimit them– will be decisive for a proper postural balance.

prepare before eating

when you sit at the table be aware of your posture sitting. As if it were a leaf blown by the wind, move your body in all directions of space. Stop the movement and with an inhalation feel the elongation, from the palate to the anus, of the entire digestive tract.

Hold your breath slightly and release all residual tension in the body on exhalation Open and close the jaw several times to feel the tone of your muscles. Locate the most tense areas near your joint and rub them.

gesticulate with the mouth and yawn if you feel the need. move the tongue in a relaxed manner in all possible directions. It runs with the tip the internal and external part of the teeth.

swallow hard. You will notice that this action helps you produce saliva; hold it for a few moments in the mouth and swallow progressively. Become aware of the small movements that you generate and connect with these sensations during the meal.

listen to your body and try to perceive if certain foods or the combination thereof swell you, produce heaviness or deregulate the rhythm of your bowel movements or their quality.

Other aids for the digestive system

When you have the urge to go to the bathroom, allow your body to dispose of waste as soon as possible.

During the day, walk as much as possible with long steps to create a contralateral movement fluid between arms and legs. Imagine at the same time the center of your body, the abdominal area, like a towel that you squeeze thanks to the spiral movement that you can generate with this contralateral movement. This action will help you stimulate peristalsis.

Since at night we do not have as important an energy need as during the day, try eat a higher protein to carbohydrate ratio for dinner and you will digest better.