Most people choose to meditate in order to achieve a higher state of spiritual conscience or help them lead a more peaceful life. However, modern science has discovered a series of meditation techniques that can help you relieve or overcome several undesirable conditions. For example, did you know that mediation can be useful in relieving digestive issues, such as cramps, bloating an gas? As a Kundalini Yoga and meditation instructor, I can confirm that applying various meditation techniques has greatly contributed to resolving my anxiety-related digestive issues.

Here are three important things to understand before beginning a meditation regimen:

1. Meditation directly relieves stress and anxiety issues, which can have an impact on biological processes, especially digestion. When stressed, our body is no longer focusing on its regular functions, which incudes digestion. Everything takes a back seat to our body’s survival instinct in response to the urgency of our source of stress. This can lead to serious issues throughout our digestive tract, such as inflammation, acid reflux, ulcers and even food allergies. By calming our body and mind, meditation helps us escape our stressed state, thereby enabling deep relaxation so that our whole body, including our digestion, can improve.

2. Meditation helps digestion directly, as any regimen features deep breathing and spiritual concentration techniques that provide substantial benefits. Indeed, oxygen levels in the blood and circulatory system, a vital factor throughout the digestive tract, especially in the stomach and intestines, are enhanced during meditation, thereby facilitating digestion. Moreover, the most extraordinary part of this process is that the digestive system will become increasingly efficient over multiple sessions, which will not only provide immediate relief, but also a long-term solution.

3. Meditation can alter the state of mind that leads us to overeat or make bad dietary choices. If your own digestive issues are linked to a poor diet or overeating, meditation will surely be of great assistance. Have you ever asked yourself why people eat too much? Anxiety and stress are often caused by deep-seated emotional conflicts that are repressed or left unresolved. We all have them. Food is often our go-to solution, a way for us to numb our worries and forget our issues, if only temporarily. Specifically, eating too much food with a high fat and sugar content “desensitizes” us when life gets too stressful. All of this ends up harming our digestive system. Thankfully, meditation helps peel away these issues gradually, until you feel a powerful urge to stop hurting your digestive tract.

Here’s a simple technique to help you start meditating:

Meditation can be as simple as finding your pulse. This infallible tool drawn from my Kundalini Yoga teachings is easy for beginners and just as good for more experienced practitioners. This technique helps improve your focus and calms wandering minds.

Sit down comfortably on the ground with your legs crossed, or on a chair with your back as straight as possible. Close your eyes slightly and focus on the space between your eyebrows (your third eye). The mantra (repeated phrase) you should remember is “Sat Nam” (meaning “truth is my name”). Hand positioning (called a “mudra”) is simple. Place the fingers of your right hand on your left wrist and find your pulse. Keep these fingers straight, lightly pressing down on your wrist so that you can feel your pulse through each of them. At each heartbeat, repeat the “Sat Nam” mantra in your mind. You can perform this meditation technique anywhere and at any time; it only takes a minute to feel its positive effects. Beginners can maintain it for about three minutes, while practitioners can go up to 11 minutes at the intermediate level and even 31 minutes at expert level. Practicing this technique every day will help you develop your intuition and calm your spirit. You’ll also see great results throughout your body’s various physical functions and your digestion will be much improved.

Happy meditating!

Annie xx