The World After a Colonic
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When will I have my next elimination?
Some people have a redundant colon which means it takes many rises and falls, loops and coils before it reaches the anus. This tortuous or circuitous gut makes for very difficult elimination both during the colonic and in one's everyday life. This person may eliminate daily but never a full movement of many inches. This person may eliminate later in the day or on the way home. Some clients with a redundant colon would eliminate water after the colonic whether on the way home or at home. This pattern improves after subsequent colonics and more attention to bowel care (i.e. immediately honor the urge to eliminate, drink more water, put your feet on a stool while eliminating to straighten your colon, chew your food well, don't drink while eating, etc.). These instances occur in maybe 10% of cases.

For some, the colonic gets things moving in the gut and the person is quite happy having a few more eliminations later in the day. Some have to go back to the bathroom before they leave the office and have a big elimination. The water, breath, massage, rebounder or whatever techniques the therapist uses - stimulate and relax the muscles enough so that one finally lets go.

Most people do not eliminate again until the next day and in quite a few cases, 2-5 days later. That's what I call transit. Transit is how long it takes matter to fill the gut so that one has a bowel movement again. Most people do not have peristalsis or the natural expansion and contraction of the gut muscles. Most guts work on gravity, one meal pushes the next one around and eventually one eliminates again. For many, it takes a few days to fill up.

It's better if one can have a transit/elimination cycle of 18 to 24 hours however that's not case in most people. The colon serves as a storage tank rather than a pulsating muscle system working efficiently. Colon hydrotherapy helps to stimulate and train peristalsis.  For those of you who are extremely constipated, we sometimes suggest herbal products for a short time to get and keep you moving while we are retraining your colon. 
 

Can I eat and what can I eat?
We like to recommend that you go easy on your digestive system after a colonic, stay away from fried and greasy foods, food that are highly processed and/or contain additives or foods that are not easily digested by you; after all, your body, specifically your colon, has worked hard to bring you closer to your goal and although not necessary, being kind and gentle to yourself the first day or so would be great.

Unless you are using the colonic to launch a fast, most people use the colonic to launch a better dietary program or even a cleansing program. A better diet is personal to you. Obviously, the closer to nature one stays on the food chain, the better it is. That means letting go of or NO refined foods like white sugar, flour, milk, chemicals, additives and preservatives. If you take just that out of your diet, you are approaching sainthood.

Some people have symptoms of carbohydrate indigestion, a faulty carbohydrate metabolism or Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Those people usually follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet that forbids all complex carbohydrates.

Some people prefer to do raw foods for the rest of the day or the next few days such as fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and juices all of which are alive or uncooked.

Others begin a cleanse and that can mean many things. One can find cleanses for the colon, liver/gall bladder, kidneys, intestines, parasites, yeast, pathogenic bacteria and heavy metals. Protocols exist for each of these cleanses. Contact us for further information on cleanses.

Hydration is an enormous factor in intestinal and immune health. I encourage people to bring their fluids to at least one gallon a day or ½ of their body weight in ounces of water (whichever is greatest).  You may squeeze some fresh lemon juice in regularly as it helps to alkalize your body and introduces enzymes into your system. Get off any diet drinks because the chemicals they contain are toxic. Also, people may be dehydrated when they come in for a session. The colon hydrotherapy as the word says is a 'hydrating' process. It introduces water into the system and helps to hydrate it.

Make sure you are balancing your electrolytes. Electrolytes are minerals and trace elements. Many companies produce the liquid or colloidal minerals, or mixtures of fine grasses, algae and herbs such as the products we carry at the office for the purpose of building oneself up and balancing out all the important elements that make us work right.

Make sure you are taking a probiotic, or good flora or bacteria such as acidophilus, bifidos, bulgaricus or thermophilus. They are the natural good bacterial inhabitants of the GI tract that do wonders for your gut wall and immune system. Antibiotics destroy the good and the bad flora and many people have a history of antibiotic use. Many people are bankrupt in good flora from inappropriate lifestyle. Probiotics assist the colonic process.

How will I feel after the colonic?
This can run the gamut. Most people feel more relaxed because they hold tension in their gut. Most people feel lighter. They have successfully released stored waste and they are ready to fly. Many people are more in touch with how their gut feels; the colonic opens their intestinal and internal awareness process. Some feel tired. The stored waste or toxins irritate and when they are removed or stirred, the person can feel their true fatigue from holding on, from fermenting or putrefying wastes or a buildup of waste from incomplete elimination. Constipation affects the quality of one's life so if the colonic helps release stored waste the person feels a greater sense of well being. One person recently told me they felt a "resurgence of love."

Some people feel fatigue, toxic, sick or weak after a colonic. They fall into the 5% or less category. What does that mean? Generally, that person is more toxic and the gut wall is more compromised. Often their electrolytes are imbalanced and their pH or acid-alkaline balance is upset before the colonic. These clients usually have environmental illness, chronic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivity, dehydration, advanced candida or dysbiosis – imbalance in good/bad flora. They are the big sufferers. When people feel weak and sick, they need to build themselves up and often come in daily for 4-6 days until they clear their system.

Will the colonic affect my emotions in any way?
Many old emotional patterns are stuffed deep in our bowels or deep in our unconscious. According the Institute for Biodynamic Psychology in UK, the gut is the seat of the unconscious. That's where we store those parts of ourselves we don't like. Maybe that's why it is so difficult to talk about and deal with intestinal health. It's brings up our taboos, the unknown, the secrets, the skeletons, our shadow or dark side we don't want anyone to know about least of all ourselves. You might see your life in review, old feelings may come up, former physical or sexual abuse issues may surface, repressed and hidden feelings may arise and memories of old injuries return. Better to have it surface and deal with it than to continue repression. The colonic does assist this awakening in some people. Doing therapy while taking colonics is helpful for these individuals.

Should I get more, how many should I have?
If your goal is to get all of the old fecal matter and mucosal plaque out of your colon, you will need to combine colonics with an herbal cleanse, we have a number of cleanses to do just that available at our office. 

How many you have depends on your current health status and your goal for having colonics.  Some people begin with a series of 6-12 colonics taken weekly depending on their condition, then maintenance. Most need to do 3 in the first week then 1 to 3 a week for a couple of weeks and then once a week until their goal is reached and they begin maintenance of every month or so. Some need to do 4 to 6 colonics a week initially to clear their system, to break up a bound condition. While fasting or cleansing, some take the colonic daily or every other day. Serious constipation, chronic fatigue, fasting or a cleansing program might call for daily colonics for a period. 

Breathing and Exercise
I encourage my clients to practice deep belly breath, to draw the breath into their torso from below the navel, from the pelvic floor. It gives the intestines more space, massages the internal abdominal organs and promotes better elimination. One can practice while working out, driving, working on the computer and during colonics.

Movement stimulates circulation and promotes peristalsis so all clients are encouraged to include an hour a day of exercise, something one really enjoys. Exercise encourages deeper breathing. Deeper breathing allows for greater relaxation. The gut performs better when we are relaxed.

If you can think of any more questions, please contact us. We're looking forward to seeing you for your first colonic session!

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