Hi everyone!I have a question.It is this?Well-I don't know how to word this.I ate 2 plates of raw salads yesterday-no dressing,just lemon juice.that was alot of food for me actualy.But it was so good.Always-it seems to take a long time for digest stuff in my system.When me and hubby go to eat at a buffet or anywhere-even at home,he will eat and come home and have a b.m. I on the otherhand will not have one till say the next day.We ate our salads yesterday at 3p.m. and it is now 8:30a.m.I can not even eat breakfast-i am still full from yesterday.Is this what Gabriel Cousens means by some people have slower oxidation systems than others?I have always been this way.sorry if this is too descriptive.taylor

I'm the same way, everyone else will eat then have a bowel movement and I'll have to wait till the next day or even two days!

???

My experience is - drink more water. Even if you think that you already drink a lot of water - try increasing it by one or better yet two glasses per day and see if "things" change. When eating raw, we usually don't need to increase our fiber - just the water. Especially if you include ANY dehydrated foods in your diet or nut butters.

LIfe Is Good!

alive!

thanks so much for your response.I drink 3-32 oz jugs of water every day.and exercise. I wondered if maybe i hold things in my system and absorb more nourishment and the good and the bad that i have taken into my body.My hubby goes 2 or 3 times a day.he has always had the clearest skin.na(raw)dia-that is exactly what i am talking about.that describes it perfectly.I will say maybe volume of food...like hubby eats alot.but if i do or don't.the same results.ok...more water.thanks so very much for the input.taylor

My experience is this...for 6 months I ate very low fat (maybe half and avocado per week) lots of fruits and greens, more greens probably. I drank a lot of water like 2-3 liters per day!!! I was going to the bathroom like 2 per day, 3 if lucky. But I also felt bloated most of the time because I got so much water from the fruit and greens. I didn't like that, obviously it was way too much water...

Then life got complicated/stressed and I started eating lots of fat, way too much 60% and this lasted for about 3 months. I didn't drink much water and I was backed up for days sometime. I got zits etc.

Now I'm back to low fat with no overt fats and a little less protein. I've had a bowel movement every day but I would like to be at 2 or 3 per day. I drink about half a liter of water but I also exercise every day.

I will try and increase my water intake as well since there's so much fiber in the diet but I don't want to feel bloated either. I guess finding that balance is key.

Taylor,
let me know what results you get!!! Good luck, isn't it just frasturating..!?

Sometimes I have a feeling that my liver just doesn't do its job, do you get that feeling?

I also feel frustrated with my diet and slow digestion. One important thing is to be okay with frustration!! Seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it. It isn't.

I also drink lots of water, usually about two liters a day. And get lots of fiber. I walk a lot, and do yoga fairly often.

I've read that sitting on the toilet in the conventional way isn't ideal. We should squat. I usually put my feet on the toilet bowl, seat up. (Taylor, I for one, don't mind going into such detail. Guess you don't either.)

I've lived in various Asian countries over the past 20 years and squatting is much more common here than in the US.

I have a yoga book that says that, and I'll carefully paraphrase! The basic squat can work wonders. Westerners have lost this art of squatting. Just as white bread became what upper classes ate while brown bread was what peasants ate, upper classes sat in chairs while peasants squatted. This is how our spines began to deteriorate. The book says that everyone, even the oldest of people, used to squat while cooking, eating, sweeping, chatting, and eliminating. The author says that doing squats would do more to to help with digestion, elimination, and our spines than remedies and stuff you buy at drug stores.

The book is by Gurmukh and is called "The Eight Human Talents". I took this from pag 15.

I have my laptop on the floor and am squatting as I type. I just got back from the bathroom a little while ago, thank you! I sometimes squat while I eat and while doing other things at home. I don't have much furniture in my apartment though so I do lots of things on the floor.

Like lying on the floor while reading books or doing stuff on the computer. I find this also helps with elimination. I don't suppose it's a very good posture though. And putting the laptop on a short table is probably better for my spine than puttin it on the floor.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

That is most intriguing, Troy...

Yeah, I found a website selling boards you attach to the seat of your toilet to make it squat-friendly, lol!

I'm going to have to get used to that idea. That's a little much--even for me.

when my hubby went to china a few yrs ago.he had to go to the bathroom at this factory he was visiting and they directed him to this room.a hole in the floor.he decided to hold it till he got back to the hotel he was staying in.sometimes when i eat like too much salad-i feel it bunched up in my intestines.so i guess moderation may help.

There are a number of things from Yoga that address better elimination. Squatting has already been mentioned which helps counteract the effect of our fear-based, tidy-hidey society to "pucker up" and hold our bowels in. We have been taught for the sake of modern so called "efficient" schedules to regulate our bowels and supress the urge to eliminate, rather than eliminate the waste when we first feel the urge.

In primitive cultures folks aren't so prissy about eliminating when the urge is first felt.

There is a Yoga purification I have been taught that is a series of lymphatic massages which end with a circling belly massage that starts at the lower left abdomen pressing in with the hands, fingers, or a closed fist crossing over above the pubic bone and coming up the right side of the belly while slowly and deeply inhaling the breath. Then crossing over below the rib cage and going down the left side on the slow exhalation. If you're laying on your back extend the hands and feet up into the air and "shake them out" in between each round and do 3 to 6 rounds. The circling direction is essential since it follows the large intestine's natural movement pathway and assists the movement of excreta. When I do this I can often feel where I may be tight in my intestine and will give that area a bit more attention. Often times in our class someone will need to take a bathroom break right after this purification. It works.

There are several other things in Yoga that bring more life into the belly, but they are best shown rather than described here.

A couple of things regarding toliet appliances. The squatting platforms like Nature's Platform in the photo below support the natural posture for best elimination. When squatting the pelvic girdle closes in front and opens in the rear creating more space for the sphincter muscles to relax and the thighs press in on the sides of the abdomen providing a little extra push power to the colon.



If you can't do a full squat like me (yet) there is another transitional device, which is a frame with 2 foot rests that come up about half the height of the toliet seat. It slides out to rest your feet on for doing the deed and then it slides back around the sides of the bowl for storage. There are several brands sold. I got mine, pictured below, used without a name label.



Regarding water intake. I noticed that Bryan has shared that he doesn't drink very much water, he gets what he needs from his food. That's my experience too. I drink less than a half liter a day unless I am doing heavy physical labor in warm weather and sweating a lot. That's usually watermelon season, so even then I don't drink a lot. I normally urinate 5 to 8 times a day. I try to urinate when I first feel the urge and not hold it in.

I'm wondering if anyone has run across references or other people's experiences with the digestive juices being diluted too much from drinking water to allow for efficient digestion. I've seen references many times about not drinking water or cold liquids before eating a meal, but what about other times?

Love From Uti,

uti-thanks so much for the yoga large intestine massage instructions.i will try this.it was great and also to show those squatting devices.so interesting.well-i drink 3-32 oz. bottle of water a day and then have by jug of water by my bed for nitetime if i get thirsty.the thing is...i drink before i eat.i drink one jug before every meal.I drink the water to fill me up.then about 1/2/ to 1 hour later,I eat.i never drank water-i drank pots of coffee.i think i ate to fil up my need for water,trying to get it out of my food.But i ate bad foods and drank no water and coffee was my drink.now since i have been drinking water...my skin is way better.Is there a certain amount of time we should not drink water before our meals?thanks so much for the information.taylor

Taylor, I've often read that we shouldn't drink anything 15 or 20 minutes before a meal. And then to wait afterwards anywhere's from an hour to several hours depending on what we've eaten.

So I sort of wonder then, why is it okay to mix water with blended foods? Is there any difference between drinking water, then eating, and blending foods and water? Of course, my stomach says yes, but my head wonders why it should be so!

One more thing related to yoga and eating and drinking. I once met a guy with lots of yoga experience. A bunch of us were all standing around. This guy poured a glass of water, then sqautted to drink it. I asked why he did this. He said there is a muscle that he couldn't tell me the name of (he's not a native English speaker) that doesn't relax when we stand and consume something. So it's better, he says to not stand while eating and drinking. I asked this of another yogi and she confirmed.

Uti, what do you say to this?

David Wolfe says in the Sunfood Diet Success System that it's better to stand while eating because when we sit things get sort of scrunched up. I read this before I met that yogi. It made sense to me. But after talking with the yogi, I now feel that it's better to take the word of an experienced yogi than David Wolfe! At least on this matter.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

Uti, I also thank you for the abdomen massage instructions. But it's not quite clear to me. Can you give the name of the massage? I'd like to look around for some more detail on this.

Thanks.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

abour water intake, my experience is the same as Brian's. I don't need any with 100% fresh, living food. I don't get thirsty at all (except when working outside in the summer). And I remember Ayur Veda says one should never force oneself into drinking when not thirsty. It is supposed to be harmful.
It is best to follow the body's needs rather than the mind.

Cynthia

When you drink water before a meal, you actually are dilluting your digestive juices in your body. I think you should try to avoid this before eating and see if that helps. Before my wife cured herself of Crohn's disease, she also had this problem. If none of the advice given helps, then maybe your colon may be a little blocked up from fats of cooked foods. (If you even eat cooked foods, of course.) Maybe colon hydro-therapy would be very beneficial to you. Followed by a big helping of probiotics. This usually allows the intestines to get a fresh start when it comes to digesting your food. My wife's condition improved (this was before we started eating raw) when she took lots of enzymes and probiotics. Hope some of this info helps. Good luck and take care!

Another thing that may help is a good yeast and parasite detox. That was a biggy when my wife had your problem. Sorry that I forgot to mention it earlier. Many people after eating a Standard American Diet (SAD, very SAD) don't realize the amount of yeast and parasites that have overgrown and overrun the body. My wife was on antibiotics and steroids for almost 20 years. It nearly killed her several times. Yet today she has one of the healthiest internal and external bodies I know. She detoxed strongly for a year and a half with amazing results. Sorry if I'm going off on a tangent. I get carried away sometimes. Again, good luck to you on your life's journey and to taking control of your body!

TroySantos Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Uti, I also thank you for the abdomen massage
> instructions. But it's not quite clear to me. Can
> you give the name of the massage? I'd like to look
> around for some more detail on this.
>
> Thanks.

The person who first shared the purifications with me doesn't have a sanskrit name for the abdominal massage. I don't have any text references, but I'm fairly certain they exist.

Just remember that the direction of the massage is the most important thing. Up on the right side - cross over - down on the left side - cross over - repeat. Then add the breath inhale while coming up on the right and exhale while going down on the left. How you hold your hands is a place to play until you find something that seems to get in there. I make a fist with one hand and cup the other hand over it so I can push the fist inwards or wiggle it around if I want to work a certain spot that needs more attention.

Have fun. This is one that's hard to go wrong with.

Love from Uti