A healthy belly doesn’t mean a flat tummy; a lean stomach doesn’t guarantee that you have a healthy belly. A healthy belly means your digestion is functioning well, which yoga and Ayurveda refer to as Agni or digestive fire; when healthy and strong can have a massive impact on our overall health and well-being.

Why does a healthy belly matter for our overall health and well-being? 

1. 1. Increase more happy hormones. Serotonin is a happy hormone and is primarily made in our digestive system. Our stomach is the center of happiness, and approximately 90% of happy hormones produce in our gut. 

2. Boost immunity. In Ayurveda, Agni is a digestive fire response for all processes of transformation; it breakdown food into nutrients to build body tissues(Dhatus), tissues protection(Ojas), and eliminate waste (Malas). It creates a chain to support Prana (life-force) in the body and provide immunity from disease. 

3. Enhance our mood. Have you ever noticed some digestion difficulties occur when you feel anxious? That’s because our gut is our second brain. In yoga and Ayurveda, body and mind are integrated. Ayurveda draws a connection between boating and anxiety, heartburn and anger, weight gain and depression, improving our gut health help enhance our mind. 

4. Promote a radiant body and mind. A healthy belly with a strong Agni helps digest food to nourish the entire body and digest pollutants, skincare, household product, and even our thought and emotions. As a result, you will have a radiant body and mind. 

5. Develop inner peace. As our stomach is the center of health, without a healthy body, we will easily get ill and sick then we will be stuck in the physical body, which distracts our mind from reaching our inner peace.  

How to have a healthy belly with Yoga and Ayurveda?

Yoga and Ayurveda are interconnected sisters that work hand in hand through the same core concept of bringing body and mind into balance. While western medicine treats each part of the body and mind separately, in Yoga and Ayurveda, the body and mind aren’t separate entities. Our overall health, from physical to emotional, is interconnected and treated in harmony.

Both practices are for achieving Samadhi, or inner peace. Samadhi is when we aren’t affected by external conditions such as what is happening in the world, what people say, how the body feel or look, and even our own limiting belief. And here are how you can practice yoga and Ayurveda for a healthy belly.

1. 1. Through practicing yoga. Yoga based on spiritual practice includes: 

• • Yoga lifestyle, you can start with the 8 limbs of yoga.
  • Breathing Exercise. Breathing exercises should balance your body and mine, and in some case if you have a low Agni, practice breathing exercises such as “kapalabhati”or “Bhastrika” to help increase the digestive fire.
  • Physical practice with yoga asanas (postures, movement). Yoga practices that stimulate and massage the stomach organs help strengthen the digestive system, such as boat pose, twist, and sun salutation sequence.
  • Meditation.

2. Through practicing Ayurveda. Ayurveda based on therapy and treatment included: 

• • Nutrition for your Dosha (body-mind type). All healthy food may not suit everybody because we each have unique Doshic constitutions. Also, our body energies change on seasonal, life cycle, and daily basis, by knowing your Dosha at the current stage help to get the proper nutrition.
  • Self-care practice, take care of all aspects of yourself from physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
  • Healthy lifestyle. Living a healthy lifestyle based on your Dosha, you can start with a minimal change.
  • Meditation.

A healthy belly is the center of health and happiness therefore, don’t try to force yourself to change all at once. Start with one simple one, maybe with those you feel inspired to do, and develop from it. If you need help to get started, you can download a free Radiant Fit toolkit. It’s a bundle of health and wellness planners, trackers, logs, and worksheets. Free download below…