the science of our gut instincts (plus, a soft belly & supple psoas practice)
Gut instincts, listen to your gut — it turns out that research supports the sayings that allude to the connection between our gut and our intuition.
Many experts agree that we have three brains, not only in our head, but also in our heart and gut. All three have sensory neurons, motor neurons, ganglia, neurotransmitters that can take in information, process it, store it, and access it when needed.
Our gut brain, also called our enteric nervous system, is located in sheets of tissue lining the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon. Again, the network of neurons and neurotransmitters, and proteins that can act independently, learn, remember, and, as the saying goes, produce gut feelings.
According to Eastern anatomy and spiritual traditions, the gut is the seat of emotions, and it is responsible for metabolizing the foods that we eat… as well as everything we come contact with—take in—including our thoughts, emotions, environment, and media.
When it’s too much, or too difficult to process, our body responds to all the inputs—"food" so to speak—through building tension and tightness, particularly in the grip of our belly.
When our belly is tense, our brain gets the message to continue its stress response, which activates the psoas muscle, so that we can best fight, flight, or freeze.
Why does this matter?
In short, the psoas, which loops from the inner thigh through the back of the belly, is like a hammock for the organs in the belly. A tight psoas can restrict the movement of our diaphragm, which diminishes our gut health, impeding the function of our vagus nerve and other processes that allow us to tap into the neurological state of rest and digest. And of course, all of this perpetuates the stress response.
Our culture tells us that we should do core practices for six-pack abs, but the reality is that most of us need to practice softening our belly, in order to release tension, make room for the breath, and to shift the nervous system into the relaxation response.
mentorship moment: a little something extra for the teachers ✨
I know a lot of readers here are yoga teachers, yoga therapists, somatic workers, or working with students or clients in a healing capacity, so over the next few weeks as I prepare for my virtual Restorative Yoga Teacher Training, I’d like to add a few resources to support you.
If you are a space holder, you can nourish the gut-brain relationship in your students through a practice called soft belly breathing. In my tutorial with mindful, I share how to create a grounded sense of ease and safety by relaxing deeply from the center.
Interested in further exploring the nervous system and accessing practices that help you or your students tap into the relaxation response? Here are a few quick links:
If you’re interested in a deep dive of the science and application of these practices, so you can share them with your students or clients, my Restorative Yoga Teacher Training starts on January 24. Learn more here.
My Anatomy of Rest & Digest practice series (now available on demand) supports us in working through the brain-gut axis to improve GI function and initiate a state of neurological relaxation—rest and digest. This workshop-style series dives into the sceince of rest and digest and working with stress and relaxation through practices that focus on the psoas, diaphragm, and vagus nerve.
My new series, Presencing: Heart Practices for Hard Times, will continue this work with practices that support our nervous system, i service of allowing us to show up in our lives and connect with the world around us, particularly during these overwhelming times. Learn more here.