Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The laxative effect of Surya Namaskar B; Or, don't worry if you can't move your bowels before practice (the practice will move them for you)

Over the last few weeks, I've had at least a couple of evenings a week where I got home a little later than usual, and therefore had to prepare and eat dinner a little later than usual (i.e. after 8 p.m.). As many of you out there know, what this means in terms of the practice is that I wake up the next morning feeling a bit heavier than usual. What this also means is that it is a bit harder to make myself move my bowels before starting practice, because... because, well, probably because the food from last night hasn't had time to digest... honestly, I'm not entirely sure if the bowels that one moves on a given morning actually consists of waste matter from the food from the previous evening, or if they consist of waste matter from food eaten more than one evening ago (this is where my knowledge of biology is not so good); if the latter is the case, then the feeling of lightness that many Ashtangis reportedly get from moving their bowels may be more psychological than real, since if moving your bowels does not actually get rid of the waste matter from last night's food, and it is last night's food that is causing one to feel heavy, then moving the bowels won't probably do very much to relieve any feelings of heaviness. Simple logic, right? ;-)

But the question of what waste matter is actually being moved by which bowel movement is probably a purely academic question, as is the question of whether the resulting (unbearable?) lightness of being is psychological or real in nature. What matters, as far as the practice is concerned, is that one preferably gets to move one's bowels before practice, and that such movement results in a good feeling of lightness, leaving one ready to take on the rigors of practice without being distracted by the heaviness in one's innards.

But what if, as happened to me this morning, one finds oneself unable to move one's bowels before starting practice? You could, of course, keep sitting on the toilet till the bowels (or Kingdom) come. But this is very likely not a productive (no pun intended) way to go about things. As anybody who has ever experienced constipation knows, trying to take a shit is very much like trying to go to sleep; the more one tries to "will" it to come, the more it stays away. It comes when it comes. Period.

So what is a good Ashtangi to do in this situation? Well, here's something that has worked for me. I just get on the mat and start practicing. When I get to Surya B, there is something about doing Uttanasana immediately after Utkasana (a.k.a. Ekam and Dwe positions in Surya B) that gets the bowels moving for me. For the last few weeks, if I have been unable to move the bowels before practice, I would feel the bowels stirring in these two positions within the first or second Surya B. Every single time. Without fail. And then I would have to either hold in the poop (which might be good for extra bandha strength training, but not so good for the body in general, because what has to go, has to go) or walk/trot/run to the bathroom to get the stuff out of the system. I always pick the latter. Yeah, it breaks the rhythm of practice, but again, what has to go, has to go (a.k.a. there's more space outside than inside).

So yeah, I guess what I'm saying is that it seems that Surya B (more particularly, the first two positions of Surya B) seems to have a laxative effect on my system. Come to think of it, I actually suspect that everybody probably has a "laxative pose" or two out there (i.e. the pose that will get you to go to the bathroom when all else fails); they just have to discover what those poses are, since every body--and presumably, every bowel--is different.     

But all this is just me talking about my own very particular experience of the relationship between practice and moving the bowels. Does this resemble your own experience at all? Or is your experience very different? Feel free to share, if you are not averse to talking about such matters of the bowels.

13 comments:

  1. OK, I'll join you in the "TMI" zone:

    I always feel the need to pass gas in Prasarita C, of all things. Kind of awkward getting an assist there, frankly.

    And, empty or not, I usually have to burp in Marichiasana C.

    As for what you have found in your own practice, yes, Yoga Chikitsa is definitely an aid to pooping. After all, that's one of the reasons behind the Primary sequence....regularity, right?!

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    1. I think it is a common experience to feel the need to pass gas in deep forward bends or twists (say, Mari D or Pasasana); after all, the digestive organs are really being squeezed in these poses. It happens to me sometimes in Mari D, and sometimes in Pasasana. Fortunately, so far it has only happened in self-practice :-) Which makes me think that the need to pass gas may be at least partly psycho-somatic in nature. Maybe when there is a teacher around, one feels more compelled to "control" the passing?

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  2. Same with me! I was wondering: except the "asana xyz is purifiying your anus/stomach/..." is there any talk from Guruji or another teacher on the topic of the benefits for the digestive system?
    It seems like such an important topic for the Primary series, so do you know if anyone talked about it specificaly?

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    1. I don't know if Guruji has talked about this; it sounds like he would have (or maybe Sharath would have), since this is such a common occurrence. Somebody out there (maybe Grimmly?) needs to go dig out the relevant video from youtube...

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    2. Will have to dig up Yoga Mala and/or Light on Yoga, I believe there is writings on the benefits on internals of each asana... to be continued ;)

      S.

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    3. Cool! Look forward to hearing about what you find :-)

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    4. admittedly, I meant to write "'we'll' have to dig up Yoga Mala and/or Light on Yoga" expecting that other people would chime in, haha! however, just took a quick look to refresh my memory and indeed there is plenty of writing on internal benefits of each asana... good luck with the bowels to all ashtangis!

      S.

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  3. The "bloated" feeling can also come from actual bloating, in the form of stored carbohydrate. Your body needs about three grams of water to dissolve and store one gram of carbohydrate - what some people call "water weight."

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    1. Interesting. I did not know about this relationship between water and carbohydrate...

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    2. Right, this is why low-carb weight loss diets get such quick results. Your body is compensating for the missing intake by using carb stored in the liver and muscles, and this eliminates the associated water. (Conversely, replenish the stores and the water comes back.)

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  4. Nobel,

    A fellow ashtangi told me he has similar routine, where he feels ready to go after Surya B's... this topic of bowels seems to be common among ashtangis... there are suggestions of something warm to drink before such as warm water with lemon, coffee (such as "no coffee no prana"),... there's also suggestions of squatting before practicing ~ like people in Asia do when hanging out, while waiting for the bus, or while doing their business ;)

    S.

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    1. Ah yes, squatting. It probably also helps that they use squatting toilets (as opposed to sitting toilets) in Asia. Very good training for Pasasana too :-)

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  5. I sometimes have a difficulty having my morning bowel movement. I take triphala tea the night before, drink warm water with lemon right when I wake up, and do some breathing exercises. And still, about once a week - the bowel movement doesn't come. I can feel the difference in practice. I try to focus on the sensation of pulling my thighs together, because I can't feel my bandhas - they are obscured by the heaviness. Is it like terrible to not poop before practice, or just not ideal? I hate not being able to poop, and often wonder if doing the full practice is the right thing - am I just circulating bad stuff around my body because I still have waste product in my bowels? I do not have the same experience in Surya B unfortunately.

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