Natural Relief from Hiatal Hernia, Reflux, GERD

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Do you have digestive problems like heartburn, a nervous stomach, trouble digesting oils and fats, or with proteins; bloating after meals? There are so many of my patients that come in taking stomach proton pump inhibitors for their hiatal hernias and GERD.  There are valuable nutritional supports that I offer my patients to help them regain digestive health. Keep in mind that more and more studies are showing the way our digestion affects our mental state via the kind of bacteria flora we have in our gut. If you are on a life-renewing journey, changing your diet and improving digestion is important.

As you will discover while working with the 4 Elements, there are four important life-building principles that you can use to regain health and a pain-free existence.  Few people today know about these principles.  They go back to ancient times, and were called by the wise men (and women), with the names that these principles were seen in Nature – Fire, Air, Water and Earth.

You are about to learn things you can do to bring the power of the four into you for the sake of your stomach.

1. Good Posture – Removes Stomach Strains. The Earth Principle speaks of bone – and the alignment of all the parts composing your body.  As it turns out each horizontal section of the body has an “earthy anchor” – from which its alignment is built upon.  As standing bipeds, this earthy anchor, grounds organs and other tissues within that horizontal section of your body not only down but also backwardly.

It is important to note that the stomach and abdominal organs are the forward parts of the lower back. Further, you need to see the legs and feet as the extensions of the lumbar vertebrae.  The point: people with stomach issues often improve if they are able to change the way they use their feet to anchor the organs of their abdomen.  

Briefly, it is important to focus upon letting your heels – particularly the back ½ inch of them – to engage the ground as you walk.  As you work to anchor your torso (with its stomach) backwardly into your heels – particularly as you walk – your stomach as an organ will be put into a better alignment with the rest of your body.  

This improved alignment of your stomach helps it to clear out many of the structural strains that have accumulated within the fibers that build the walls of your stomach.  

2. Plump up and nourish your stomach lining. Think of the Water Principle within you as your blood – and all the nutrients dissolved within it.  So while the Earth Principle speaks about the need for skeletal (and organ tissue) alignment, the Water Principle speaks of the need for healthy nourishment.  The stomach needs a lot of nourishment to keep its lining strong and able to resist the acid that it produces to digest your proteins.  While a healthy diet will help, the nutritional supports can maximize your chances of helping the stomach lining become stronger – something important in your case.  

Try this:  Drink a tall glass of water 5-15 minutes before you eat.  If you can add a ½ tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to it, that’s even better.  What this does is “plumps up” the lining of your stomach so it will be more resistant to the acids it produces.  Don’t drink too much water with your meal, which will dilute your stomach acids and make the stomach work harder (that extra churning).  You can sip water during your meal and have a hot beverage after you eat.  In moderation, both will assist in drawing the healing power of the Water Principle into the stomach.  

3. Slow Down Your Breathing Rhythm – The Air Principle relates to the use of muscles – particularly the ones we use as we breathe.  When we breathe properly we help our stomach.  The diaphragm muscle separates the stomach from the esophagus, and becomes healthier in its function when you breathe well.  Stressful people often develop stomach problems in part because their diaphragm muscle is not being used properly as they breathe.  

Try this:  Three or more times a day focus upon your breath for 10 breaths or more.  These breaths are, however, going to take longer to do.  You are to slow your breath down by counting the inhale and exhale counts of a single breath.  Try to eventually reach 10 more counts of an inhale; you can have lesser exhale counts.  Nothing bad will happen to you by slowing your breathing rhythm down to the slowest you might choose to do.  

As you do slow it down, your breathing muscles are given a greater chance of learning the way they should get used as you breathed each day.  You may be given some 4 Element Yoga maneuvers, which will strengthen important muscle circuits of people with stomach problems as you breathe more fully.

4. Nerve-Organized Wholeness – Counters your stress. The Fire Principle relates to your nervous system and your mental/spiritual state.  The breathing technique, discussed above, will actually spillover to support this Fire part of stomach wellness.  As you breathe in this slower way, the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated into action.  This part of your nervous system pumps a healthy, organized order into the body.  

The quicker, shallower breaths that many people have stimulate the sympathetic nervous system.  While slow breathing promotes the flow of the body’s innate intelligence to your organs, shallow, fast breathing pushes one’s body into a stress state, toward battle.