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 boforbes.com (website) boforbesyoga.com (home of our online course) youtube.com/yoginibf (YouTube Channel) facebook.com/boforbesyoga (Facebook Educational Site) instagram.com/boforbesyoga (Instagram Channel) twitter.com/boforbes (Twitter Feed) 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 ♦ 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): ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 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: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 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
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