Isn’t constipation the most horrible feeling?

You need to do a poo, but when you sit down on the toilet nothing comes out.

Perhaps you read a book, push and strain because you have an important meeting to get too, or maybe you just go about your day feeling constipated.

None of these are ideal scenarios.

Hence why I decided to blog about poo today!

Of late, I have received a lot of emails, from women in particular, who are experiencing early stage prolapse of their sexual organs.

And one of the key contributing factors for many of the women, is overstraining from constipation.

When we push too hard to poo, it causes weakness of the organs, fascia and muscles within the pelvis and this can lead to prolapse; where your sexual organs begin to dislodge and head south.

Some women even experience their sexual organs falling right on out through their vagina!

Not so pretty (or nice to experience!).

What has this all got to do with poo?

If we’re able to poo in a healthy way, then we don’t need to strain.

No strain equals less pressure on your precious lady parts.

Whether you’re a guy or a gal you want to experience easy pooping, because hey, it’s much more comfortable and convenient, and it will help eliminate your chances of long-term damage.

In a healthy body, waste travels through the digestive tract in six to 24 hours.

When it passes through the large intestine too slowly, this is called constipation.

Up to 15% of the population experience constipation and in the United States it’s the top gastrointestinal disorder.

When it comes to pooing easily, there are a few things we need to take into account to get our bowels functioning as they were designed.

And if you’ve been diagnosed with such ailments as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, these tips are equally effective.

So where do we start?

Your hydration

If you’re not drinking enough water (and the water in coffee doesn’t count, in fact it leads to further dehydration) then you’re increasing your chances of experiencing constipation.

You see, our blood circulates around the body each day dropping water off at the sweat glands, in the kidney and in the lungs.

It collects new water supplies from the bowel.

Few people realise that the body stores its water in the bowel.

If there’s no water in the bowel, there’s nothing to soften your stools to aid in an easy exit.

How much do we need to drink?

According to Naturopathic recommendations we should consume 1 litre of filtered water for every 25 kilos of body weight per day.

More if you exercise.

Hence to say, drinking LOTS of water is your first step to easing constipation and easier poos!

Next, we need to look at what else you’re putting in your body…

Your sustenance

I won’t lie.

Eating fatty, sugary foods and drinking alcohol and coffee regularly, isn’t going to help you easily go about your business.

So yes, you do want to clean up your diet, by introducing lots of fresh veggies and fibre-rich foods.

If you’ve eaten poorly for a while, or experienced constipation for many years, then it can take a little time to heal your bowels.

Thankfully, there are a couple of things you can add to your diet, as you’re making these changes to support your gut health.

The first one is psyllium husks.

Psyllium husks are a dietary fibre.

We need fibre in our diet for our bowels to function optimally.

Psyllium husks have been used to effectively treat constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, haemorrhoids and other intestinal problems.

They work by soaking up more than their body weight in fluid, so that once in the bowel, they’re able to soften the stool and make it larger, which allows it to move down the intestinal tract and out of the body.

Because they do need water to function in this way, if you choose to take psyllium husks, make sure you drink plenty of water too!

If you don’t, then they will actually add to the constipation.

When fibres and fluids are lacking, the large intestine misses out on regular stimulation to generate contracting motions, and waste cannot be propelled through the intestinal tract.

Prune juice is another great option because not only is it a liquid, it’s also high in fibre and comes along with a heap of great health benefits.

Plenty of studies have shown its effectiveness, finding it works much better than medicinal laxatives (and is much gentler on the body).

You really want to avoid laxative-style teas (or any laxatives) as they mess with the natural functioning of your bowels and, can lead to your bowels forgetting how to work.

Once you bowels forget how to do their primary function, you you need to rely on these kinds of laxatives long-term.

Like anything, we don’t want to be reliant on any external substance when our body can take care of it for us, as this really isn’t healthy for the body.

If you’re going to use something to help you poo more easily, you want it to help encourage the body to function properly, not cause the body to disfunction.

You may also like to take a probiotic to fuel the good bacteria in your gut, because for a healthy digestive tract you need lots of good bacteria.

Your eating habits affect your pooping.

Something else I should mention, is that if you have a history of an eating disorder – binge eating, anorexia or bulimia – you will have, to some extent, confused your system and caused it not to function properly.

This can take a little time to correct.

I myself was a binge eater and used laxative teas to flush out all the food, which led to bowel issues.

Thankfully, due to the tips I’m sharing with you, I’ve been able to completely heal my digestive system so they function beautifully.

One final point on what you eat; Make sure you don’t eat on the run.

If the body is too busy giving you energy for something else (fuelling activity), then there’s no energy supplies left to help the digestive process.

If food isn’t digested properly when we eat it, it has trouble moving down through our system.

Hence, sitting down to eat in a calm, relaxed state, will also help facilitate the digestive process.

Your emotions

Our emotions play a huge role in how our body functions and particularly how well we poop!

If you get constipated, there will always be something emotional or mental that you’re holding onto; refusing to let go of.

Hurts from the past may be at play, or maybe you have some internal beat-up going on.

It might be that you’re refusing to let go of something that happened to you.

Or perhaps you have some unhealthy habits that you’re not willing to give up.

This can manifest in the body, by way of constipation.

And it does this, to get our attention, so we’ll look at whatever it is we need to let go of.

If you don’t know what it is you’re holding onto emotionally, then do a little journalling on it, or perhaps meditate on it, to help you connect with the thing you’re holding onto.

You could even write a list of all the the things you need to let go of, and then start releasing them from your life.

Some of them might even be material possessions!

Once you know what it is you need to let go of, find a ritual that resonates with you, where you can release that thing from your life.

I teach particular techniques on how to do this in the Remarkable Relationships ‘Become your own healer’ course I run, or you may have practices yourself that you can use for this.

Even when you’re sitting on the toilet, instead of straining, ask yourself: What do I need to let go of today?

Relax, breathe slowly right down into your body, and give your body permission to release.

Worry, anxiety, overwhelm; these kinds of negative emotions will only impede your attempts to release your poos.

So find ways in which you can introduce stress-relieving techniques such as meditation into your day.

Which brings me to discuss…

Your pooing technique

Yes, there is proper technique!

And unfortunately modern toilets are designed in such a way, that this natural technique is hindered.

You see, when we sit on a toilet with our knees at a right angle, the puborectalis muscle – the muscle  responsible for continence – only partially relaxes.

Yet when we sit in a squat, where our booty is below our knees (how humans did it way back when), this muscle relaxes completely.

Standing upright creates a bend in our digestive tract between the rectum and the anus that stops us from pooping.

When we squat down we open up the pipes which frees up the flow, much like unkinking a garden hose!

Now this doesn’t mean you have to take your pooing outside into nature!

It simply means you need to slightly adapt your toilet setting to imitate a squat.

And that is as easy as having a small footstool that you place at the base of the toilet to lift your knees above your hips.

Trying to poop on a modern toilet really is like trying to poop through perpendicular plumbing!

You simply don’t have gravity on your side.

The other thing to consider is that if you feel stressed or anxious about pooing, it will cause contraction that will make it even more difficult to poo.

So take a few long slow deep breaths, come into the moment, invite your anus to relax, and simply be.

Something else you may like to try is giving your stomach a gentle meditative belly massage, moving clockwise from your lower right abdomen up the right side, over the expanse of the torso, under the diaphragm, and down the left side.

This can also help stimulate a release.

I also include a 3-minute Mini Digestion sequence of simple postures you can do at the dinner table to help aid digestion, and thus pooping, in the Yoga for the Vagina online series.

What if I have already done damage to my lady parts through overstraining?

First of all, don’t fret!

Worrying and going into fear is counter-productive to the healing process.

Simply acknowledge where you’re at, and take proactive steps to heal it.

As many of you know I created Yoga for the Vagina for this exact purpose; to help women heal their sexual organs and keep them ripe and resilient well into her twilight years.

The course itself contains practices that replenish, tone and strengthen your vagina, pelvic organs, fascia, tissues and pelvic floor, in a way that is gentle and nurturing.

There are also plenty of education sheets sharing more about a woman’s reproductive system and how to keep the sexual organs in place – both in your yoga practice, and in your daily life.

The most important thing is, that you don’t strain when pooing.

Even if you’re constipated, you can seriously do yourself long-term damage, and that simply isn’t worth it.

Play with all I have shared and enjoy easy pooping ladies!

Oh, and don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know how you go 🙂