Root Healing the Gut: A Holistic Approach to Constipation
Abdominal discomfort can be exhausting. It’s always on your mind – wondering if a meal will trigger bloating, changing how you approach food, or making you hesitant to try new dishes.
Over time, these symptoms can affect your daily life and even your relationship with your body. We see this often at Tonic & Phasic, and our goal is to help you understand your bowel patterns and digestive triggers. Today, we’re breaking down a common symptom tied to abdominal pain, and exploring how we address it with a holistic, full-body approach.
Tonic & Phasic: Pelvic Floor Therapy in Orange County, CA
Constipation: Understanding the Root Causes
Constipation can stem from multiple interconnected systems. The nervous system, digestive motility, stool formation, structural alignment, and sometimes other bodily-systemic conditions can contribute to constipation. Often, addressing only one factor doesn’t help the root cause. So at Tonic & Phasic, we look at the whole picture.
When we evaluate abdominal discomfort, we look at:
Nutrition patterns: Are you eating balanced meals with enough protein, carbs, and fats? Are you nourishing your gut with prebiotics and probiotics?
Mindful eating habits: Are you relaxed and present while eating? Are you chewing thoroughly to support digestion?
Nervous system balance: Are stress and daily pressures keeping your body in “fight-or-flight” mode, instead of “rest-and-digest”?
Colon motility: Is your digestive system moving food efficiently, or are there areas of stagnation or low tone?
Stool formation: Are bowel movements regular, formed, and comfortable to pass?
Structural support: Are your pelvic floor, core, and abdominal muscles aligned and functioning properly to allow efficient digestion and elimination?
Unpacking these areas allows us to identify the true drivers of constipation, so we can treat them and promote lasting relief. So let’s break down each section to start exploring what you can do.
Nutrition: Feeding Your Gut for Success
Nutrition matters, but equally as important is balance, timing, and mindful preparation. Here’s how we can support the gut, nutritionally:
Mindful Eating
Be present: Take a deep breath before eating, center yourself, and release tension. This activates your parasympathetic “rest-and-digest” system, essential for effective digestion.
Focus on your meal: Put away electronics, engage your senses, and savor each bite.
Chew thoroughly: Chewing 30–40 times per bite allows digestive enzymes like amylase to start breaking down carbohydrates efficiently.
Digestive Stimulation with Bitters
Digestive bitters prepare your body for optimal digestion by stimulating saliva, stomach acid, bile, and enzymes. Examples include:
Vegetables: arugula, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, broccoli rabe, chicory, dandelion greens, eggplant, kale
Fruits: cranberries, grapefruit
Herbs & spices: dill, ginger, mint
Others: apple cider vinegar, dark chocolate
Proper Meal Composition
Protein: ~20–30g per meal to support amino acids, gut lining integrity, and tissue repair.
Carbohydrates: Include both soluble (oats, beans, apples) and insoluble fiber (whole grains, nuts, seeds) to feed gut bacteria and support stool formation.
Fats: Essential for nutrient absorption and anti-inflammatory support—think omega-3s from fatty fish, flaxseeds, walnuts, or medium-chain fats like coconut oil.
Prebiotics & Probiotics: Feed healthy gut bacteria with foods like asparagus, onions, leeks, miso, yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha.
What we’re looking for as we assess nutrition: Are meals balanced, nutrient-dense, and easy to digest? Are the right bacteria being supported for a healthy microbiome?
Nervous System: Rest, Digest, and Heal
Stress and nervous system activation can override the digestive process. You can try balancing this system with a few approaches:
Breathwork and vagus nerve stimulation
Yoga, meditation, and body scans
Journaling and reflection
Adequate sleep
HRV tracking
Another key part of Nervous System regulation is habit building. Regular bowel routines and mindful morning/evening practices help create predictable digestive patterns. Apps like Nerva or Balance can assist with gut-focused meditation or hypnosis over six weeks. You can also try our free download on Nervous System Recovery.
What we’re looking for as we assess the nervous system: Can the body move into parasympathetic states for digestion, or is stress constantly overriding gut function?
Motility: Keeping the Colon Moving
A properly moving colon leads to effective digestion: If your colon can’t move effectively, food and waste can stagnate, causing bloating and constipation. We can support gut motility through:
Castor oil packs: Applied 4x/week for 6 weeks with heat for 30 minutes to improve circulation and movement.
Dry brushing: Supports lymphatic flow and detoxification.
Epsom salt baths: Relax muscles and promote circulation.
Rebounding or mini-trampoline use: 10 minutes/day to stimulate lymph flow.
Red light therapy: Supports tissue health.
What we’re looking for: Are there areas of stagnation or low colon tone that need gentle stimulation to restore motility?
Stool Formation: The Final Step
Healthy digestion isn’t complete without properly formed and regular stools. For healthy stool formation, we try to add the following:
Soluble fiber: Softens stool and regulates digestion (oats, beans, fruits).
Insoluble fiber: Adds bulk and promotes regular bowel movements (whole grains, nuts, seeds).
Hydration: Drink ½ your body weight in ounces daily and replenish electrolytes through broths, herbs, or homemade blends.
What we’re looking for: Is stool formed, easy to pass, and supportive of good gut flora?
Structural & systemic influences on gut function
Structural Support: Aligning for Relief
In our appointments treating conditions like chronic constipation, SIBO, or other gut dysfunction and imbalance, we look at all of the above to ensure gut health — and we always incorporate structural and system support as well.
The body’s mechanics matter. Tight muscles, poor posture, or pelvic floor tension can inhibit bowel movements. Our recommended strategies often include:
Pelvic floor awareness: Proper sitting and pushing techniques (squatty potty, inhale to open, exhale to relax).
Colon stretches: Supine twist, knees-to-chest, cobra, child’s pose, deep squats.
Daily movement: 30-minute walks and playful movement to keep the system active.
Colon massage or cups: Stimulation to relieve tension.
What we’re looking for: Are the muscles and connective tissue supporting digestion, or are there restrictions that need release?
Systemic Considerations
In some cases, constipation may indicate underlying conditions. These can include:
Colon issues: polyps, IBD, colon cancer
Stomach or esophagus conditions: gastritis, reflux
Celiac disease or inflammation markers in bloodwork
Endometriosis or other abdominal pathology
What we’re looking for: Are there systemic health concerns that need investigation, so digestion and gut health can improve safely?
When symptoms suggest something on a deeper systemic level, we utilize our network of trusted providers for quality referrals to the correct care. No matter what, pelvic floor therapy can be hugely beneficial in a collaborative care team to ensure you and your gut get the best care possible.
Bringing It All Together
Constipation has a lot of influences — and many times, it is beyond your diet. Looking at nutrition, nervous system balance, motility, stool formation, structural alignment, and systemic health often leads you to better care, so you can finally experience lasting relief and a comfortable, well-functioning gut.
By addressing the root causes, not just the symptoms, you can reclaim a more balanced relationship with food, your body, and your digestion. Book a consultation call today to get the help you deserve.
