It is very important not to do anything else during a bowel movement other than breathing deeply and connecting with your body. When you are doing nothing but breathing deeply during a bowel movement, you are automatically relaxing your bowel and anal sphincter muscles with your breath. The expansion and contraction of your diaphragm, as you inhale and exhale, is massaging your intestines and stimulating peristalsis (rhythmic contractions of the intestinal wall).

When you are focused on and connected to your body, you can follow your colon’s cues for changing positions; leaning forward or back, doing colonic massage, raising your legs up or extending them out, etc.

As you sit there, relaxed, breathing, massaging your colon, you will just get a “feeling” to do something. This is your body communicating with you, so even if you’re not sure, or you feel stupid, do it! The more you listen to your body and act on your hunches, or feelings, the stronger your intuitive ability will grow and the more your body will “talk” to you.

It’s okay if you take a hot drink into the bathroom with you, but don’t read or look at anything (magazines, tv, phone, photos, blackberry, etc.) – you must not engage your brain in any way other than tuning into and listening to your body.

If you suffer from peristaltic constipation, you may find it easier to defecate if you place your feet on a child’s stepping stool (or a couple of phone books). This raises your knees higher than your hips and more closely approximates a squatting position – the ideal position for opening the rectal canal and facilitating the quick passage of stool. Also, be sure and use the Colonic Massage method before and during a bowel movement.

However, with stenosis constipation (narrowed, tight, or obstructed rectum), the key point to keep in mind is not to put any pressure on the rectum to open – so the above position probably will not work for you. Instead, try the other positions in the video (which should also work well for peristaltic constipation).

Post your comments below and let me know if this video helped you – did it teach you anything you hadn’t already discovered?

best,
Jini


Original post dated May 2009. Most recently updated December 2021.