When we say that we are making a decision because our “gut” tells us to do so, we imply that our instincts are speaking up. Yes, when we intuit something, it wells up viscerally from within. We sense an inner impulse and we know it’s real. Most of the time we double check the gut feeling through the rational lens of the mind. Only to find out – we were wrong. Our first impression, first instinctual pull was in most cases the most accurate one. As life moves on we embrace this strategy and when we let the brain dictate, we only blame ourselves out loud “Why didn’t we listen to our gut?”

How can we actually cultivate the gut, both literally and figuratively? We dedicate our life to a routine: we train hard, eat right, supplement right, and try to get enough sleep. But what if all that hard work and supplementation was being sabotaged by poor gut health? Anatomically, the gut also known as the gastrointestinal tract is the long tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the anus. The digestive system is really the corner stone of our wellbeing, as it is involved in so many processes. If our digestive system is in order, we feel great, we can perform at the level we want. If our gut health is poor, we can end up with an impaired wretched immune and, and it can also wreak havoc with our hormonal balance. This is because our gastrointestinal tract is loaded with neurons that release the same neurotransmitters found in the brain. This is why figuratively we have “gut feelings” and any upset to this equilibrium can throw your body and mood into chaos.

The gut that constitutes the digestive system is in fact responsible for breaking down the foods we eat, extracting the nutrients needed, and then eliminating the waste. The problem is that poor food choices, viruses, parasites, caffeine, alcohol consumption, antibiotics, and bad bacteria can cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract, which leads to increased permeability or “leaky gut.”

This leaky gut means that instead of foods being broken down, absorbed, and eliminated, partially digested foods can now cross through the damaged area of the intestinal lining and enter the blood stream directly. This leak can cause intolerances that then initiate an inflammatory response in the body and the release of stress hormones. One of these stress hormones is cortisol, which further taxes the body and starts to impair the body’s immune system. This can then lead to a host of issues that may not seem related to the impaired gastrointestinal tract, like allergies, skin conditions, impaired performance, and even stubborn weight gain.

Healing the gut lining and flora will allow your body to build a strong immune system again and produce the right amount of neurotransmitters so that you will feel well again. Energetically, the gut spans the chakras of the perineum, navel, solar plexus, heart and throat. When we suffer from poor intestinal flora our energetic balance is inhibited and one or all of these energetic transmitters are blocked. This leads to lack of direction and sense of purpose, impaired vitality, suppressed libido, poor self-esteem, difficulty relating to others and inability to express our self. Before we offer a yogic approach of how to pacify these chakras and get rid of the derangement we will adopt the yogic reduction based approach to life. This approach, also known as “via negativa” requires us to get rid of all the unnecessary stuff – mental – impressions, physical – toxins, emotional – afflictions and spiritual – illusions.

From a spiritual perspective this process of unpeeling requires regular asana and pranayama practice, meditation, creative visualization and affirmation. From a physical perspective it asks us to adopt a new approach to the foods we consume daily. In the art of healthy nutrition this process is labeled as the “Four Rs” – remove, repair, restore, and replace.

In this first step we remove the offending foods and toxins from your diet that could be acting as stressors on your system. This means caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, bad fats, and any other foods you think may be causing issues, like gluten and some cases dairy (fresh milk). All of these irritate the gut in some form and create an inflammatory response.

The next step is to begin to repair the gut and promote a healthy gastro-intestinal lining. You do this by consuming an unprocessed diet and giving your body time to rest by providing it with substances that are known to heal the gut, like L-glutamine, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, antioxidants (in the form of vitamins A, C, D, aloe vera, ginger or turmeric.

Once you have repaired the damaged gut you need to restore your gut’s bacterial flora. This is done with the introduction of probiotics like Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis. A probiotic is a good bacteria and is ingested to help reinforce and maintain a healthy gastrointestinal tract and to help fight illness. Good natural probiotics like organic yoghurt will help you combat any overgrowth of bad bacteria.

The last step involves replacing the bile salts, digestive enzymes, and hydrochloric acid levels with optimal levels to maintain and promote healthy digestion. This can be done by supplementing with digestive enzymes and organic salt to help make sure you have enough hydrochloric acid in your body to balance your PH.

Once you have removed, repaired, restored and replaced it’s time for some targeted yoga practice to boost intestinal health. The practice involves specific abdominal massage, spinal twists and pelvic contractions, coupled with forward bends and backbends to heal the gut. And then you will be sure that every decision you make from the gut is real and true.

Intestinal health Yoga Routine: Healthy Gut (open level)

This Yogea sequence integrates special breathing to balance the PH levels in the body with targeted asanas for promoting intestinal health. The iconic yogic “nauli” breath massages the gastrointestinal tract and improves detoxification and digestion. Contracted twists on all fours open up the spine and kneeling bound lunges stretch the hips, while massaging the stomach walls. Standing twists and externally rotated twisted poses further massage the intestines and squeeze toxins out from the ascending colon to speed up digestion and elimination. Leg wraps and various arm binds binds are coupled with gluteus stretches and seated spinal twists and forward leans to further rinse the gut and restore alkalinity of the flora. Supine poses followed by stomach pressing and twisted reclining backbends purify the liver, spleen and kidneys and stretch the rectus abdominals so that the gut is cleansed and replenished. An active rocking restores the qi-flow through the whole body and ushers you in a state of relaxation and guided visualization that focuses on clearing and restoring balance.