The holiday season can bring joy, festivities, and family gatherings. But for many, it also brings unwelcome guests: constipation, gas, bloating. For me, Black Friday has a dual meaning… Emotional stress, anxiety, financial stress, family dynamics, changes in routine, travel, and diet during holidays disrupts your gut’s digestive functioning, slowing motility, and causing constipation. The Triggers: Perfectionism Disfunctional Family Dynamics Grief Seasonal Affective Disorder Anticipatory Anxiety / FOMO Overcommitting Isolation Financial Stress Emotional Eating My grandmother burned the rolls at Christmas dinner…every single year. Her shouting “the rolls!” and jumping up from the table is a part of family lore. It is an endearing thing we laugh about now that she is gone. It's okay if everything isn't perfect. People who love you will forgive you. People who don’t… well F them. What are your holiday coping skills or what do you plan on trying this year?

Peristalsis is a rhythmic involuntary muscle movement that pushes food through your digestive tract. The movement resembles the way a caterpillar or earthworm moves. This movement is coordinated by the enteric nervous system, which can function independently, but also communicates with the central nervous system. It is triggered when the presence of food stretches the digestive tract and activates receptors. Signals are sent to muscle layers, causing a chain reaction of contractions and relaxation. Understanding peristalsis helps us understand gastrointestinal disorders. Conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and dysmotility disorders can be caused by disrupted or stalled peristalsis. Emotional and psychological factors, trauma, chronic stress, anxiety, and depression can disrupt peristalsis. The goal of many of our practices is to restore healthy peristalsis. #2 The Urge https://www.skool.com/somatic-gut/how-does-healthy-pooping-work-2-the-urge?p=dd533285