A Guided Meditation To Improve Your Microbiome
A Guided Meditation To Improve Your Microbiome
Kate Wilke
Stress. We all have it, and we all need ways to reduce it. Chronic stress can kill off the good bacteria in your gut, cause you to crave sugar foods and carbohydrates, and lead to an increase in inflammation.
When we take action steps to reduce the stress in our lives, we decrease inflammation in the body and help our microbiome flourish with beneficial bacteria.
In addition to getting eight hours of sleep every night, minimizing stress is one of the easiest ways you can live your healthiest, happiest life.
Here is a meditation you can try at home to reduce your overall stress. Practice this guided meditation daily and notice the changes within your body. If it helps, record your voice reading these directions so you can close your eyes and fully experience it.
Stress-Relieving, Gut-Healing Meditation
Begin in a comfortable seated position with a cushion or pillow, or sit in a chair. Close your eyes and draw your shoulders down and back so they are over your hips. Begin to soften the top of your head, your forehead, and your eyelids. Relax your cheeks, soften your tongue, and unclench the jaw. Soften the tops of the shoulders and relax your belly. Allow every muscle to be soft except the ones you need to keep yourself upright.
Begin to notice the breath moving in and out of the nostrils, the chest rising and falling, and the belly expanding and softening. Bring all of the breath down into the belly. Inhale, allow the belly to expand all the way, and as you exhale, soften the belly.
Place your thumbs on top of your belly button. Allow the hands to fold underneath, holding your low belly. See if you can just breath in the part underneath your hands. Expanding and softening the low belly with each breath.
After you get the hang of this, see if you can extend the exhale longer than the inhale. Inhale for four counts, exhale for six or eight counts.
Return to an easy, effortless breath. Now take a big inhale all the way to the low belly and exhale through the nose. Take a second big inhale to the low belly, and this time exhale out the mouth, relieving any tension in the low belly. On your next deep inhale, send the breath to the upper belly and exhale through the nose. Inhale again to the low belly and exhale out the mouth, relieving any tension in the upper belly.
Repeat this as many times as you need to, relieving tension in the belly and throughout the digestive tract. This is an easy breathing meditation that can help reduce stress while also making your belly feel better.
About the author:
Kate is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach with a concentration of stress reduction and the plantbased lifestyle. She is also a 200-RYT certified yoga teacher in Nashville, Tennessee. As a certified meditation teacher, Kate loves helping people reduce stress to improve their digestive health and overall happiness.
Instagram: @meditatekate / website is meditatekate.com
