serpentwalker666 said:
I feel I have a hiatal hernia simply because it has gotten very hard for me to physically eat enough. I end up eating throughout the day, but when i eat i get a palpitations. I have took into consideration centralforces advice to exercise more. But depending on the day it's like there's a this knot near my diagram that makes physical activity hard. It's been to the point I've been going to acupuncture appointments in my area to try and sort this out. As it's even hard to chant mantras and it takes some effort as I feel like I'm choking on the contents of my stomach a majority of the time. So I end up doing a lot of energy work with my mind. But also keeping up the RTRS to the best of my ability. If this is the issue I am experiencing, I would like to avoid surgery. But I don't know what can be done. Any suggestions, like loosening muscles, massage are highly appreciated.
If you can't function in your daily life it's a problem. Sounds like psychosomatic to me, but in order to be sure I need further info, although you need to see doctor. If you experience a stressful period your body also experiences a stressful period as well, and it is possible that your body is trying to show you that you need to slow down a bit.
Psychosomatic symptoms are thought to be caused or made worse by mental factors (depression, stress etc). In general they can be the response to chronic psychological tension.
At first you have to figure out if all these symptoms occur from a physical disease or not. You should visit a doctor in order to exclude the physical disease or if you do have any, to focus on your treatment.
If you do have a physical disease like the one you mentioned it is prone to become worse by psychological factors. That is to say that the individual's mental state affects the degree of severity of the physical disease.
As a result a vicious cycle is created. You are stressed and the symptoms occur and vice versa. In order to brake the cycle you should figure out the cause, what happened to you first.
How long do you experience these symptoms? Did anything significant (positive or negative) happened in your life that period? The symptoms have the same intensity now compared to when they first appeared? Are they worse?
You can use some relaxation techniques but these are not the solution. Relaxation techniques can eliminate temporarily the symptoms. Also your daily routine and diet may burden the situation.
You should try to eat small amounts of food at a time. Eat many times a day but small portions. After eating try not to do anything, just sit in a chair or lie down & relax. That way you will help your stomach loosen up, relax and accept the food. If possible 30 minutes after eating go for a 5-10 minute walk. This will help digestion. Plan a healthy diet. Avoid fried food, tomato sauce, caffeine, tobacco and stressful situations.
There are some techniques could do in order to eliminate the uncomfortable symptoms (knot in your diaphragm and tight stomach) You can try this breathing technique:
Wear comfortable clothes and be sure that you have plenty of time available.
Lie on your back and bend the knees slightly. Place a pillow beneath your knees and under your head.
Place one hand on your belly button (the palm facing your belly)
Place the other hand in the middle of your chest.
Slowly inhale from your nose and "fill" your stomach with air. Try not to move your chest a lot while breathing. You want to breathe through your stomach.
Exhale through your mouth and empty all the air from your belly. You can tighten your muscles in your stomach having your abdomen fall inward at the first repetitions for more control. After you learn it you won't need to tighten your muscles.
You place your hands that way to have some more control of your body. In the inhale the hand placed on your belly should move forward. In the exhale it should return at the starting position. The hand placed on your chest should not move during the exercise.
Do the breathing slowly. Do about 10-12 repetitions per minute. When you finish feel your body, your stomach, your lungs & muscles in these areas. This exercise helps to use the whole lungs while breathing. It activates the parasympathetic system to elicit a relaxation response. It is a challenging technique, If you find it difficult I can recommend you another.
Combine this exercise with your daily meditation routine. You should focus on chakra spinning, chakra and aura cleaning, protection and empowerment. Use the new cleaning meditation HPs Maxine mentioned, it is very effective. Do yoga as much as you feel comfortable. 10 minutes today, 15 minutes tomorrow etc. You can also meditate and focus on your symptoms. How do you feel? Do you feel any pressure or pain? What feelings that triggers you? Do you picture anything? Keep in mind that only you can help yourself. Devote some time to think and complete the puzzle.