Gut Wisdom: Awakening the Intelligence of our Enteric Nervous System
The Yoga Conference Toronto
April 11, 2015
Integrative Yoga Therapeutics with Bo Forbes
Bo Forbes, Psy.D., E-RYT500
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Your Gut Has a Mind of Its Own.
Research on Immune System/Mood/Enteric Nervous System Interactions:
♦ Anxiety can make the stomach more acidic
♦ People with a history of trauma are more likely to develop disorders of the gut
♦ The converse is also true: people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have a higher incidence of
childhood trauma than people whose belly brains behave more normally
♦ Serotonin (a neurotransmitter long implicated in depression) is an enteric neurotransmitter
♦ The gut’s complex serotonin system includes no fewer than seven types of receptors
♦ Transmitters released by the terminals of enteric neurons in the mucosa influence immune-related
cells, such as mast cells
♦ Intestinal mucosa cells release active substances, including cytokines and mast cell tryptase, that
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act on enteric neurons
Two-thirds of the body’s defenses reside in the gastro-intestinal tract: your immune system first
kicks into alert mode in your digestive tract
This interplay means that functional bowel diseases are no longer “all in your head,” but as disorders of
the nervous, immune, and enteric nervous systems—in short, disorders of the mind-body network.
Enteric Nervous System (ENS):
♦ Our Belly Brain
♦ Housed in sheaths of tissue in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon
♦ the only part of the peripheral nervous system whose extensive neural circuits are capable of local,
autonomous function
♦ Extensive and reciprocal communication with nervous system
♦ Two-way communication between ENS and immune system, as well
Enteric Nervous System (ENS):
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contains 100 million neurons
more neurons than spinal cord
makes its own hormones, neurotransmitters, peptides
makes endorphins (natural opiates)
Functions of ENS:
♦ Control of motility
♦ Regulation of fluid exchange (water and electrolytes) in digestive tract
♦ Defense reactions of the gut
♦ Regulation of gastrointestinal endocrine cells (serotonin system)
Primary Interventions:
♦ Pratyahara
♦ Pranayama
♦ Self-Massage
♦ Bandha and Core work
♦ Slow Transitions with Micro-Alignment
♦ Lymphatic Drainage
♦ Fascial Reintegration
♦ Restorative Yoga Therapeutics
Enteric Nervous System, continued~
Prana in the Belly:
We want to cultivate a combination of four things in the core:
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Awareness (i.e. is there chronic holding? Laxity? Do we alternate between the two? What other
messages (read: gnosis) does the core have for us?
Strength (of the deep intrinsic abdominals and psoas- this should happen without shortening)
Flexibility (i.e. in backbends) that works in concert with strength
The capacity to release (voluntarily and through RYT)
Important Specific Interventions:
1. Meditation with a focus on the foundational aspects of core body strength: this creates the reflectand-redirect effect that calms the nervous system and thus helps calm the digestive system
2. Mindful Asana with core body engagement
3. Specific core-related postures: dolphin plank, moving plank, dandasana vinyasa, navasana
4. Bring mind into the core body as an anchor
5. Therapeutic Blockwork
6. Breathwork targeted to the speed of the mind
7. Restorative Yoga Therapeutics
One-Legged Downward Dog
Hanging Plank
Dolphin Plank
Dandasana Vinyasa
Dandasana Vinyasa Twist
Side Plank Challenge
Therapeutic: Core on the Block
Paryankasana & Scapula Hang