Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last five years, you would know that stress has a profound effect on the happiness and workings of your gut. And when we say the word gut we actually mean your biome, the trillions of bacteria, fungi, single organisms and viruses that make up the engine of your body. Your biome is your identity and contributes to your mental stability and immunity. Your stress response is a survival mechanism which, in the short term, is a highly efficient way of running away from the stressor. Where the stress response is not conducive to good health is when it becomes the default state of the body and you are left in a constant state of fight-or- flight (FORF). So how does your stress response go wrong, and how does this affect your biome?

Our automatic stress response fight-or-flight (FORF) served an important purpose. In caveman days, the FORF response helped our ancestors to avoid being a lion’s dinner. And the FORF response occurs during all sorts of current day to day stress: the traffic jam on the Pacific Motorway, the work presentation, the deluge of bad news pushed out by the media moguls – your unconscious body deems it threatening and ramps up its production of cortisol, which induces numerous changes throughout the body, including the gut.

These stress signals travel along the gut-brain axis, instructing the gut to direct energy elsewhere in the body; if you need to flee from a ravenous predator, digestion is a waste of energy. Blood is diverted away from the intestines towards your limbs, slowing digestion and potentially causing sudden evacuation (diarrhoea).

Increased cortisol production can decrease the number of prostaglandins, a compound which reduces acidity in the stomach, and stress also causes the gut to produce less mucus, a protective layer which coats the bowel wall. You now have an acidic system with a thinner mucous lining on your bowel wall, and if this stress is ongoing (chronic) you will likely develop increased intestinal permeability, commonly known as “leaky gut”. Bacteria and toxins can then pass through your intestinal wall into the bloodstream, causing inflammation in the body.

Yoga is a great movement modality used to combat stress and nourish the gut. The bending and twisting poses are wonderful for your digestive system and detoxification pathways. The breathwork calms the body and supports your parasympathetic system. Core work builds up the corset of muscles in your mid-section supporting the lower back and supports the peristalsis function. All aspects of yoga are good for the health and diversity of your biome. And a healthy biome means boosted immunity, better regulation of blood sugar, less inflammation and a calm, happy disposition. The ancient science of yoga is a very useful tool to combat modern day stress.

Margot Wagner
Yoga Under the Bodhi Tree

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