How Breathwork Can Alleviate Your IBS
What is breathwork?
Breathwork describes a group of exercises that teach you to manipulate your breathing rate and depth with the goal of bringing awareness to your breath and ultimately providing the same benefits you might get from a meditative practice. It can even influence a person's mental, emotional or physical state.
Various breathing practice have been around for centuries, and some can even help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, food cravings, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. And while there are many different breathwork exercises, there are just two ways we breathe.
Chest breathing vs abdominal breathing
There are two ways we breathe, either through the chest and through the abdomen.
Chest breathing is shallow, and the shoulders rise with each breath while only the chest expands. With shallower breaths, less oxygen enters the blood, and in turn then hurts the digestion process. Shallower breaths also tend to increase heart rate and cause your muscles to tense up. Chest breathing is most common when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or are in pain.
Abdominal breathing is natural breathing, like that of newborn babies and sleeping adults. It relaxes the belly while you are taking slow, deep breaths, and your stomach expands as the diaphragm moves downward to allow air to fill your lungs. When you breathe through the abdomen, it will feel like a balloon is gently expanding with each breath in and then contracting with each breath out.
What are the benefits of breathwork?
When you often think of breathwork, it’s typically associated with relaxation, nervous system regulation, and amplifying your lung health. And while these are all extremely important and valuable benefits of breathing, there is a more unknown benefit of breathwork; digestive health.
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Breathwork and digestion
In traditional Chinese medicine, the lungs and digestion are a yin-yong pair, with the lungs being the yin and the large intestine is the yong. When breathing was labored and shallow, it was seen as not being ‘clean’. So because the lungs and the large intestine were seen as a pair, this meant that the yong would then have a hard time becoming clean.
The issues of fluidity and cleansing that the large intestine would come across could cause you to experience:
Constipation
Diarrhea
Excessive gas
Urgency to go
And these issues, which are gastrointestinal symptoms that IBS could cause, often comes from your breathing not being as clean and clear as it should be.
Breathwork techniques to help IBS
There are several breathing techniques that have been shown to help restore the balance in your mood, hormones and digestion. Here are a few techniques for you to try if you find yourself struggling with IBS and/or anxiety, since the two are known to go hand-in-hand:
Alternative nostril breatwork
This method comes from yoga and is known for its ability to clear negative energy. It has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety and increase mental clarity. Keeping stress under control can help control cortisol levels, which can trigger food cravings.
In order to perform this breath, first sit comfortably with your legs crossed. The point of this breathing is to improve your metabolic functions. Here are the steps:
Exhale completely and then use your right thumb to close your right nostril.
Inhale through your left nostril, then before exhaling, close off the left nostril with your fingers.
Remove your thumb from the right nostril and exhale through the right side.
Inhale through the right side, then close off this nostril.
Exhale through the left nostril and inhale, then switch sides before exhaling again.
You can do this as many times as you want, but always finish by exhaling on the left side.
4-7-8 breathing
This is a great technique for balancing digestion, seeing as the body is best able to digest food when it is in a calm state. Being highly stressed while eating can lead to speeding through the meal, not chewing thoroughly enough, which causes digestive problems such as acid reflux. Try this technique either before or during your meals, especially if you are sitting down to eat after a long stressful day.
In order to perform this breath, you should be either sitting or lying down. The point of this breathing is to help your body relax. Here are the steps:
First, through parted lips, exhale completely through your mouth making a whooshing sound.
Next, close your mouth and inhale through your nose while silently counting to four.
Hold the breath for seven seconds.
Make a whooshing exhale through your mouth for eight seconds.
Repeat the process at least four times, working your way up to eight cycles.
Relax and eat or fall asleep.
Diaphragmatic breathwork
Abdominal breathing, also called diaphragmatic breathing, is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce muscle tension and stop stress from interfering with your digestion.
In order to perform this breath, you should lie in a flat or reclined position. The point of this breathing is to take slow, deep breathes that create a “relaxation response” to calm the mind and body. Here are the steps:
Place one hand on your abdomen and one hand on your chest.
Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose into your abdomen to push your hand up. Breathe only as deeply as feels comfortable. Your chest should remain still or move only slightly.
Exhale through your mouth, making a quiet, relaxing whooshing sound as you gently blow out.
Your abdomen should rise as you breathe in and fall as you breathe out.
When you feel comfortable with this technique, count “one” as you breathe in and say “relax” or “calm” as you breathe out.
Focus attention on the relaxing word and tune out any other thoughts or sounds.
Repeat the steps until you count up to 10.
All three of these techniques can be done at any time during the day, depending whether you need a boost or to ease your digestion and anxiety. Their ability to modify how your nervous system is reacting can in turn help improve your digestion and even balance your hormones.
Types of lifestyles more susceptible to IBS and anxiety
While anyone can be susceptible to IBS and anxiety, there are certain lifestyles that are more likely to attract their symptoms and digestive issues. Once you recognize that you fall within one of these lifestyles, you will be one step closer to conquering and taking control of your anxiety and digestion. However if you don’t relate with one of these lifestyles, it does not mean that you still can’t take control.
Too busy for regular meals
Those who believe their daily schedule is too busy for regular meal times are more likely to suffer from IBS and anxiety symptoms. These lifestyles are usually controlled by work or personal reasons and instead of having regular meals, results in eating one extra-large meal or grazing on food all day long, which may be triggering your symptoms.
how breathwork can help
The 4-7-8 Breathing technique is best suited for this lifestyle. It allows those who eat at a faster and more stressed pace to eat with a more calm state of mind. A regular meal schedule can also help decrease symptoms.
High stress environments
Those who live in environments of high stress, whether related to work or their personal life, are more likely to experience IBS and anxiety symptoms. Stress and IBS are two toxic partners that often go hand-in-hand. While it’s typically best to cut out all the things in your life that are causing you stress, sometimes removing yourself from a stressful environment is unfortunately not an option for you.
how breathwork can help
The Diaphragmatic Breathing technique is best suited for this lifestyle. Not only does it reduce muscle tension, allowing your body to relax, but it also alleviates stress so that it does not interfere with your digestion. Practicing mindfulness can also be helpful.
Eating disorders
Those who suffer from certain eating disorders like emotional eating, binge eating and compulsive eating are more likely to experience symptoms of IBS and anxiety. These eating disorders are typically run by emotions like stress and anxiety, and result in a vicious cycle of indulging in cravings, feeling guilty, and repeating the process.
how breathwork can help
Alternative Nostril Breathing is the technique best suited for this lifestyle. By keeping your stress under control with this breathing exercise, it can help control your levels of cortisol and help alleviate your food cravings.
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Mental health and physical symptoms are one in the same, and though healing yourself from IBS may be a long road, it is one worth traveling down. Just remember that everyone’s bodies are different, which means your experience and process with breathwork will be unique. You might find that only one works best for you, or you might even find that a combination of all three works best. Either way, breathing well will change your life.
Extra tips for digestion
Practice a breathing technique for 10 minutes one or two times a day. Do them in a quiet, private area where you will not be disturbed. But do it during a time in the day that you are alert because you don’t want to get so relaxed that you fall asleep.
If you are not already on the Low-FODMAP diet, try switching over to it. The Low-FODMAP diet will provide you with a variety of foods that can help lessen your IBS symptoms.
Try yin yoga techniques for digestive help.
