What Is Normal Digestion?

In Ayurveda, digestion (also called agni) includes digesting not only what you eat, but everything you take in via the five senses (e.g., all of your experiences!). Digestion takes place not only in the GI tract, but across all the tissue layers, including the nervous system and the mind. 

After eating, normal digestion means that you have no symptoms. No bloating, gas, heaviness, fatigue, heartburn, pain, or other issues. With experiences, digestion means we are able to feel what comes up in the moment, let it move through,and aren’t repressing or avoiding. We are able to move slow enough through our life that we can process experiences as they are happening and integrate them with time.

I know! Both of these concepts were mindblowing to me, and of course, it’s unlikely that even if we find good balance in our lives that we’ll never again experience a symptom after eating or have an experience that doesn’t take a good long time to process (especially for trauma or traumatic events– we have to be super gentle with ourselves). What is important is to pause and ask ourselves: what information is the body or mind conveying to me today, or in this moment?