How does the mind naturally improve digestive health? According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), digestive disease affects 60 to 70 million people a year. From inflammation and ulcers to constipation and cancer, how you “feel” on the inside affects your life. So, let’s get to the belly of the matter and begin to use our minds to balance our digestive system.
Ron W. Rathbun, author and meditation teacher, says, “Your digestive system has an intimate connection with the mind. The world is filled with stress and when this stress affects your digestive system, problems occur. When the mind is in harmony, the physical body follows suit. When the mind is relaxed, the digestive system is at its optimal function.”
Below are three ways that describe how your mind improves your gut health.
The mind can soothe stress
Stress affects the stomach, leading to ulcers, unbalanced bacteria, and when chronic, even cancer. The mind balances the body and subdues stress. This eases tension in the stomach and intestines allowing for natural function to occur, which raises your overall digestive health. The mind can be accessed through meditation. Kelee® meditation is a five-minute meditation with specific instructions and a map to the mind.
The mind can alleviate anxiety
Everyone has felt anxiety well up from within. It is our emotional response to stressful situations. Anxiety can have an immediate effect on the stomach. (We all know what that feels like). Learning to operate from the mind balances our emotions; anxiety abates, and this eases the fight-or-flight reaction going on in your gut. The mind calms anxiety. The anatomy of the Kelee is a way to access the mind.
The mind dumps depression
Depression can affect your eating. You can eat too much if you are depressed, or you can eat too little — neither is healthy. The mind balances the emotion of depression. When your emotions are calm, you eat a moderate amount. This is known as the middle road. The Kelee will show you the way to balance the emotions of depression and this allows for proper eating to happen.
Backed by science
A study at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center, by Dr. Daniel Lee, shows Kelee meditation balances the body by reducing stress, anxiety and depression.
Dr. Daniel Lee says, “No one is immune to stress, but over time, stress can accumulate and lead to increased anxiety and/or depression, which can adversely affect one’s quality of life. As a physician, I commonly see how stress, anxiety, and depression affect digestive health. Everyone has had the experience of a negative interaction with another person leading to an upset stomach or stomachache. This is a clear example of how negative emotion can affect physical health. Other effects of stress may include nausea, diarrhea, or constipation, depending on the individual. Kelee meditation will help with relaxing the mind, which in turn, will relax the physical body and help to improve and resolve these issues.”
Kelee meditation showed a decrease in stress, anxiety and depression. In the study, patients practiced Kelee meditation for 12 weeks. The result: a statistically significant decrease in stress, anxiety and depression from analysis of six standardized psychological questionnaires. Reducing these three common life stressors leads to a more balanced life.
Kelee meditation is a five-minute meditation practice
If you would like to access your mind, Kelee meditation will show you the way. (Who wouldn’t want to balance their body systems?) As you do this practice over time, it will help with digestive disorders, and you will begin to just feel better overall. In the long term, this practice will serve as a protection to your digestive health. Wouldn’t you like to troubleshoot your own mind and boost your gut health?
This meditation is easy to learn on your own. It takes five minutes to practice (and we recommend twice daily!). You can learn Kelee meditation through this simple manual, Kelee Meditation: Free Your Mind.
—Nikki Walsh
Nikki Walsh is a freelance writer and mom of two kids living in Southern California. She holds an MBA in marketing from University of California, Irvine and a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from UCSD. She has been practicing Kelee meditation for 19 years. When she is not writing she can be found out and about having fun with her kids.
©2016 with permission of the Kelee® Foundation
Sources:
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/Pages/digestive-diseases-statistics-for-the-united-states.aspx
http://www.thekelee.org/science-and-meditation/study
http://www.thekelee.org
http://www.amazon.com/Troubleshooting-Mind-Understanding-Principles-Student/dp/0984160809
