The digestive system

Join me and practice this sequence and more of my monthly sequences on Stronger You. Enjoy a FREE 2 WEEK TRIAL with the code YOGARU2W.

THE SECOND BRAIN
The digestive system – often called the enteric nervous system or the second brain – does far more than just process food. It breaks down what we eat, absorbs essential nutrients, eliminates waste, and plays a central role in overall health and emotional well-being.

A remarkable 80% of the immune system resides in the gut, and about 95% of the body’s serotonin – commonly known as the “happy hormone” – is produced in the bowels. This deep connection between the gut and the brain explains why stress can disrupt digestion, and why gut imbalances can contribute to anxiety, depression, and mood disorders.

Emerging research is exploring how optimising gut health may support mental health and how therapies focused on the digestive system could complement treatment for emotional and psychological conditions. A healthy digestive system is not just about physical wellness – it’s also key to emotional balance and resilience.

TWISTS, FORWARD BENDS, BACKBENDS & THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
While many forms of movement support digestion, yoga is especially effective – particularly twists, forward bends and backbends, which stimulate the abdominal organs, boost circulation, and enhance both digestion and detoxification.

Twisting and forward bend poses gently compress the abdominal area, stimulating the digestive tract and encouraging peristalsis – the wave-like muscle movement that moves food and waste through the intestines. Upon releasing a twist or forward bend, a surge of oxygenated blood revitalises the organs, enhancing their function. Backbends lengthen and open the front of the body, including the abdomen and chest. This expansion stimulates internal organs, improves posture, and creates space for fuller breathing. While they don’t compress the digestive organs as much as twists or forward bends, backbends still improve circulation and promote digestive vitality. Twists, forward bends and backbends help support digestion by:

• Nutrient Absorption - activate the gut to improve the absorption of nutrients.

• Constipation Relief - compression and release help move waste through the colon, easing bloating and sluggishness.

• Detoxification - restricted blood flow during a twist followed by a flush of circulation supports the natural detox process.

• Stress relief - reduced stress related gut issues and constipation.

BREATH & THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
The diaphragm, a muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen, moves down during inhalation, creating negative pressure in the chest and positive pressure in the abdomen. This pressure change helps massage the digestive organs, aiding in the movement of food through the digestive tract. Restricted diaphragm movement, due to tight muscles or improper breathing, can disrupt this process and contribute to digestive issues like constipation, bloating, and acid reflux. Proper breathing, particularly diaphragmatic breathing, can also help regulate the nervous system and reduce stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the ‘rest and digest’ response, which can positively impact digestion.

By caring for your “second brain,” you support both your physical vitality and emotional balance – leaving you feeling lighter, clearer, and more energized from the inside out.

EXPLORING THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM IN YOUR PRACTICE
This sequence mirrors the natural flow of digestion and encourages regular elimination. When practicing we twist to the right first to stimulate the ascending colon and then to the left to stimulate the descending colon. There are lots of opportunities to maximise the effects of twists, forward bends and backbends. With a gentle reminder to breathe throughout with the ‘+’ and ‘-’ breath cues throughout.

The first row starts with some supine squeezing of the digestive system, followed by a childs pose version of cat cow and tabletop crunches which continues to rhythmically press the abdominal region, using the breath to maximise its effect. The second and third row are your two standing flows which are continuous flows linked with the breath. Pause and breath for two or three breaths as indicated at the start and the end of each flow. You can extend your practice by repeating these two standing flows two or three times per side. To enhance the twist, forward bend and backbend effects on digestion pause at any of these poses and take a few more breaths than indicated in the sequence. Happy baby in the last row is the ultimate pose for moving digestion and wind along. Come into a gentle twist after and then move into your two restorative poses to finish your practice following the restorative pose guide below.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Below are the restorative techniques used in this sequence. The props you’ll need are:
1 x bolster - or 2 towels, wrapped around a horizontally rolled pillow and tied to secure.
1 x yoga bricks - or 1 thick similar sized dictionaries.
2 x yoga blankets - or any wool, thick cotton or fleece blanket with density.

No.1 - Reclined bound angle
Place a rolled up blanket in the centre of your mat and a folded blanket at the top of your mat. Lie down over the rolled up blanket with the roll under your belly and your head on the rolled up blanket. Inhale, press your belly into the blanket roll, exhale, let the blanket press up into the abdominal area.

No.2 - Reclined bound angle
Place your bolster vertically along the top centre of your mat. Place a brick at its lowest height under the far end of the bolster. Sit with the back of your hips against the short end of the bolster. Bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees drop out to the sides. Prop your legs with a rolled blanket under each thigh or use a yoga belt to secure your feet and support the legs. Gently lie back onto your bolster.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

The circulatory system

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
The circulatory system, or cardiovascular system, is the body's main transport system. It consists of the heart, blood vessels and the blood. The heart pumps the blood around the whole body through the vessels. It is a closed circulatory system, which means blood moves in a continuous loop with no start or finishing point. The blood carries oxygen, nutrients, hormones, carbon dioxide and waste products to and from all the cells of the body. This transaction takes place in the capillaries. There are two main divisions of the circulatory system – the pulmonary, which delivers deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs and oxygenated blood back and the heart; and the systemic, which delivers oxygenated blood from the heart to the whole body and deoxygenated blood back to the heart. If you were to follow a full loop, starting at the lungs it would be – lungs, heart, body, heart, lungs. Arteries are responsible for carrying the oxygenated blood around the body, while veins are responsible for returning the deoxygenated blood back to the heart. The circulatory system also plays an important role with the immune response by helping fight infection and regulating body temperature. When there is good housekeeping the body is well serviced and works more efficiently.

When we inhale we decrease pressure in the thoracic region, not only does this drive air into the lungs but this increase of pressure also draws blood back to the heart, this is called venous return. So, although we often talk about the calming benefits of the exhale, the inhale also has its benefits when it comes to increasing blood flow and all the benefits that come with a circulatory system that performs well. We can use this principle to help the circulatory system by increasing our inhale in a pranayama practice or by focusing on the breath as part of our yoga practice.

HOW YOGA CAN HELP 
Similar to the lymphatic system, the circulatory system can be assisted by our yoga practice. We can produce an increase in heart rate and an increase in blood circulation by creating internal pressure, muscle contractions and an increased demand for oxygen. The flowing movement in yoga creates a demand for oxygen in the cells which increases heart rate. Standing poses which require muscle contractions in the big muscles of the legs also require extra oxygen and increase heart rate. Twists and backbends create internal pressure and help move blood around the areas being pressed and squeezed. The claves are considered the second heart, so poses that recruit the calves help move blood from the lower extremities. Inversions can also help by flipping the effects of gravity and giving the heart a little helping hand. As mentioned above we can also focus on the breath and encourage venous return , especially with an extended inhale.

EXPLORING THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM IN YOUR PRACTICE
This sequence gives you the opportunity to work with your circulatory system with flowing movement, standing poses, twists, backbends and calf work. The first row warms up the spine, core, hips and calves. Row two and three are your two standing flows. Press firmly into the ground to wake up all the muscles of the legs to help get your heart pumping. You can repeat these two flows twice if you have time. The first time you move through it slowly and the second time you can move a bit faster to get a cardio effect. There is a four pose mini flow on the third row which flips your from the front of the mat to the back of the mat. The cool down includes a final twist and abdominal compression in the reverse table top to cosmic egg flow. You can take a regular savasana or you can add a bolster under your hips to get the benefits of a gentle inversion.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:

• Use the breath guide in the sequence to help you link breath with movement in the flow. Inhale is indicated with a ‘+’, exhale is a ‘-”.

• If there are specific poses that you would like to stay longer in, give yourself three deep breaths in those poses, and pick up the next pose with the allocated inhale or exhale as indicated by the sequence.

• For a longer practice add in a Sun Salutations at the start of each mini flow or repeat each mini flow.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

The respiratory system

ENERGY GENERATION
The respiratory system is made up of the nose, mouth, throat, voice box, windpipe, lungs, and diaphragm. It is responsible for bringing oxygen in, to create cellular energy (ATP), and removing carbon dioxide, which is a by-product of this energy production. When we breathe in, a gaseous exchange takes place between millions of little sacs in the lungs, called the alveoli, and a network of blood capillaries that surround the alveoli. Oxygen from the inhaled air swaps over with carbon dioxide from the deoxygenated blood in the capillaries, creating oxygenated blood ready to be transported around the whole body by the circulatory system. Carbon dioxide is not just a byproduct of energy, it is the key to this exchange in the capillaries. When there are low levels of carbon dioxide in the blood there is reduced oxygen absorption. The body is more sensitive to low levels of carbon dioxide than low levels of oxygen. When carbon dioxide levels are low it creates ‘air hunger’ and an urge to breathe. 

The main muscle of respiration is the diaphragm. The action of the diaphragm is a bit counterintuitive. You would expect the contracted phase to be when the chest is contracted, but it is the opposite. On an exhale the diaphragm relaxes, domes up into the thoracic cavity and pushes the air out of the lungs. While on an inhale it contracts, flattens down towards the abdominal cavity and pulls air into the lungs. When it contracts it creates a decrease in pressure in the lungs. This is what causes the air to be pulled into the lungs through the nose and mouth to rebalance the pressure. The respiratory system is part of the autonomic nervous system, which means it works involuntarily without us having to think about it. What makes the breath unique is that we can also voluntarily control it, to a certain extent, by extending, shortening and holding the breath depending on the desired outcome. 

PRANAYAMA LIFE FORCE
The breath has a huge impact on our overall wellness. Not only does It brings in oxygen, it also decreases stress, helps relieve pain, stimulates the lymphatic system, improves immunity, increases energy, improves digestion, and even plays an important role in good posture. Our emotional state has a profound effect on our breath. When we are feeling stressed the breath rate increases, when we are feeling relaxed our breath rate slows. We can use this principle so that our breath can have a positive effect on our emotional state. In the world of yoga this conscious breathwork is called pranayama. The direct translation of the Sanskrit word pranayama is up for debate. The version that makes most sense to me is prana-life force, yama-control - ‘life force control’. The breath being the source of life.

With pranayama we can upregulate the nervous system by tapping into the sympathetic nervous system (fight & flight) or we can downregulate the nervous system by tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest & restore). Although referred to as the flight & flight response, the sympathetic nervous system is not all about stress, it is also what gets us up in the morning and gives us the energy to be productive during our day. Techniques that focus on the inhale, inhale retention, speeding up and increasing the breathing rate are energising practices and best practised in the morning or anytime of the day where you need a quick energy boost. While techniques that focus on the exhale, exhale retention, slowing down and decreasing the breathing rate are calming practices and are best practised in the evening or anytime of the day where you need a calm moment. A pranayama practice which includes a bit of both creates a calm focus and can be practised anytime of day.

EXPLORING THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM IN YOUR PRACTICE
Breathing consciously is an important component of yoga and is one of the main elements that makes it different, and more beneficial, than other exercise or movement disciplines. In yoga we nose breath to further increase the benefits of the breath. Nose breathing slows down the breath, allows more time for gaseous exchange and increases lung volume. The nasal cavity also produces and adds nitric oxide to the incoming air, which increases oxygen absorption, has antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties. Nitric oxide also promotes learning and memory recall and is the reason why there is an increase in awareness of the benefits of sleeping with your mouth closed at night.

This sequence incorporates pranayama techniques throughout the sequence. The illustrations give you the inhale (+), exhale (-) and pause (p) count information. When flowing from one pose to another you will arrive into your pose at the end of the count given and hold the breath for the pause count given. For example in the first mini flow, in the row, you will take an inhale in Cow Pose for the count of 1, then exhale and transition into Child's Pose for the count of 6, then pause exhaled in child's pose for the count of 1. You will move through the breath progression until you arrive at 1 inhale, 4 exhale, 4 pause, and repeat this 3 times. Similarly with the standing flows you arrive into the pose at the end of your inhale or exhale. It ends with a pranayama technique called Viloma where you inhale and break the exhale down into three counts of 2.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:

• Use the breath guide in the sequence to help you link breath with movement in the flow. Inhale is indicated with a ‘+’, exhale is a ‘-” and a pause where you hold your breath is a ‘p’.

• Pause and breath at the end of each standing flow for as many breaths as you need to give the counted breath a break.

• For a longer practice add in a Sun Salutations at the start of each mini flow or repeat each mini flow.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru