Dear , 

Life can throw some hard balls at us sometimes. And the past few months I’ve been dealing with my husband’s ill health so I haven’t connected as often as I’d like to. Things are starting to normalize now and I feel I can breathe easier. 

The stress of life can have a direct effect on our body and mind. The pressure, rush and anxiety of stress can imbalance our Vata dosha. Vata controls the wind and space elements in our physiology and everything having to do with movement such as blood and lymph circulation, menstruation, and bowel movements. When Vata is out of balance from too much stress it creates dryness in the body. And dryness creates constipation. There is a  lot we can do to help alleviate stress in our life, but today I’d like to talk about how to address constipation. 

Did you know that if we don’t evacuate our bowels completely each morning, the leftover stays in the rectum and dries up? This can lead to constipation because the new stool builds up behind the old and gets blocked in by the older dry stool and then it becomes hard to eliminate.

So here are five tips to help evacuate the bowels fully:

1. According to Ayurveda, the body’s rhythm for elimination ends naturally by 10:00 am. Elimination is less efficient after that time. If we make a habit of sitting on the throne/toilet first thing in the morning every day, the body will become habituated to having a bowel movement at that time. 

2. Be intentional about our time on the throne in the morning. Have the intention and take the time to have a full bowel. Leave the cell phone, music, books and magazines in another room and put our full attention on pooping without straining. 

3. Dry stool (a Vata condition) can be alleviated by including oils in the daily diet, especially ghee which nourishes all the cells. Here’s a recipe to make yummy ghee that can be used in all your cooking or applied to food at the table. 

4. Take a squatting position to evacuate the bowels. This can be accomplished by using a stool under the feet when sitting on the throne. The knees should come up to the level of the armpits, so if the toilet is high then a higher stool might be needed.  

5. Include an adequate amount of soluble fibre in your diet to produce full elimination. Soluble fibre is found only in plant based foods. It combines with liquid to create a jelly-like substance which creates bulk for the stool and attracts water so the stool is less dry. Often it is challenging to get enough fibre in our diet so a supplement can be extremely helpful. One of the best sources of soluble fibre is psyllium. My clients and I have had tremendous results with a brand called Herbal Fiberblend, which is a blend of psyllium plus soothing and cleaning herbs. It’s helpful for both constipation and loose stool. Check out my store website https://myaimstore.com/sandraann/ . Take a look around, click the Product tab on the website and it will bring you through to the main site where you can search for Herbal Fibreblend and place an order. Don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions. 

May your days be blessed with easy elimination :)  

PS Did you know that our diet and lifestyle practices need to change according to the season? And that your individual Ayurvedic bodily constitution defines how those practices can be implemented best? I can help you understand your unique constitution and what best steps to take to move your health forward. Learn more about your personalized protocol on my website. And connect with me fto arrange a preliminary chat.