Today we have a guest article from Claudia Homberg for you. Claudia is a yoga teacher and LifeBalance coach and recently interviewed me for her STARK.SCHLANK.SCHÖN course. We talked about how I like to compare the gut to the root of a tree. And so we came to the conclusion that in yoga, the gut also has a lot to do with grounding and rooting. Of course, I was even more interested in this and so I asked Claudia to write a little more about it. And she even brought us a few yoga exercises.
Enjoy reading and practicing yoga!
Yoga and the gut
Yoga is healthy - this has been proven by countless studies that have investigated the effects of yoga on the entire body. With yoga, you can also specifically "fire up" your metabolism and support your bowels. Because yoga is much more than gentle relaxation and OMMM....
Yoga is an Indian health system that is thousands of years old and, from a yogic perspective, the gut is connected to the Manipura chakra. This is the energy center of the navel region.
Manipura chakra translates as "the jewel in the city" and is located at the level of our solar plexus, above the navel. The solar plexus is a plexus of nerves that regulates the functions of our internal organs.
The solar plexus is our "abdominal center", so to speak. If a situation gives you a stomach ache or you have "butterflies in your stomach", you will feel this in the Manipura chakra. From a yogic point of view, this is also where basic trust is located.
Your Manipura chakra is your "inner sun", so to speak, which provides you with energy and warmth, courage and self-confidence.
The Manipura chakra is connected to the digestive organs: Stomach, liver, intestines, spleen and pancreas, i.e. the organs that are also responsible for detoxifying the body.
Yoga for your metabolism
If you want to "fire up" your metabolism, your yoga practice can also be really sweaty. And yoga can also easily help you to losing weight help you lose weight. To do this, you focus particularly on strength exercises.
Building strength has another important aspect: by strengthening your inner core or center, you strengthen your inner core. And not just muscularly, but also energetically. In this way, you also strengthen your self-awareness, your willpower, your power and your stamina.
You will radiate more charisma and become more sure of yourself - in the truest sense of the word.
Certain yoga exercises (asanas) gently strengthen and train your muscles, stimulate your metabolism, strengthen your mind and thus your stamina. The perfect way to support your metabolism in a healthy way. And therefore also your gut.
If you want to try out for yourself what a yoga exercise can do for your well-being, I recommend the following fire breathing exercise called Kapalabhati.
Here I show you how to do it!
For example, you could practise 2-3 rounds of Kapalabhati every morning. The effects are incredibly great:
- Stimulates the metabolism.
- Invigorates the organs of the lower abdomen.
- Promotes digestion.
- Ensures a firm and toned abdomen.
The positive effects of fire breathing
Kapalabhati strengthens the diaphragm and the auxiliary breathing muscles. Kapalabhati cleanses the lungs. Massages the heart, liver and stomach. The oxygen content in the blood is greatly increased. This makes the blood alkaline, which improves certain metabolic processes and purification.
Holding the breath increases the carbon dioxide content in the blood, which in turn stimulates other metabolic processes and improves lung efficiency.
The time spent holding the breath is a training stimulus that leads to an increase in lung capacity and improves circulation and cardiac activity. Kapalabhati helps to clear the airways (bronchi, alveoli, trachea and nasal passages) and is a good preventative measure against hay fever, asthma and colds. Kapalabhati has a cleansing and purifying effect on the whole body.
Kapalabhati activates the solar plexus, activates and helps to clear the mind. It is very good for eliminating mental and emotional tension.
It helps to combat tiredness and depression and leads to inner joy and strength.
How did I get into yoga and what do I like about it?
When I started yoga, I actually only wanted to strengthen my back.
After a riding accident, my movement was severely restricted and I was a pain patient on the verge of depression.
At first, I only felt that I was becoming more physically stable. But as my yoga practice progressed, I also became more self-confident, braver, had more stamina and more confidence in my path. This was because I had strengthened my Manipura chakra with certain exercises.
I also lost the 8 kilos I had put on since my accident as a kind of side effect.
I completely changed my life and the journalist and dancer/choreographer of the past became the yoga teacher and life balance coach of today!
If you want to stay healthy in the long term, a 'boosted' metabolism makes your life easier. In the truest sense of the word. And when you have more muscle strength, you also feel more powerful in all other areas of your life. A good metabolism makes you feel better overall, freer and lighter and on top of that you can eat more...;-)
That's why my own yoga practice consists of a few exercises that do just that.
About Claudia Homberg
I am Claudia Homberg and as a yoga teacher and life balance coach I am an expert in relaxed success. I worked for 10 years as a manager in a large media company and for over 15 years as a stage actress, choreographer and director at various theaters.
A riding accident with a double vertebral fracture led me to yoga and changed my life completely.
Now I support you in reaching the next level in your professional and private life. If you would like to dedicate 30 days to your body:
In the online program STARK. SLIGHT. BEAUTIFUL. online program, you will learn how to lose weight with yoga and feel really good in your body again.
Click HERE for more information.
Have you also had positive experiences with yoga? Or do you have any questions for Claudia? Write us a comment, we look forward to any feedback! Let us know if you have done the exercises and how they worked for you!
