When I was a teenager, I used to eat a lot of junk food, wouldn’t drink any hot beverages like tea, coffee, or milk, and would never like eating fruits, etc. In short, to quite an extent, my food habits caused constipation, which was the very first ailment I had. In addition to bad food habits, I had a very sedentary lifestyle. I never had any exercise regime or any physical activity like walking, cycling, or jogging.

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  I used to visit several doctors to get a remedy, but my constipation was so severe that no medicines worked on me. Then I shifted to Ayurveda, which helped me partially. Once I stopped the medicines, my constipation would be back. I would have a lot of stomachache and nausea and I could not pay attention to my studies.

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  One doctor I visited in a prestigious hospital advised me to get an endoscopy done. It was very newly launched in India. I remember returning home and discussing it with my family and they suggested that I first start practicing yoga.

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At that time my brother was already Iearning Yoga from Shri.B.K.S.Iyengarji. I started to practice yoga with my brother in the evenings. He made me do specific asanas every day for a month. Within 2 months of starting regular yoga practice, my constipation problem reduced and I felt much better. That is how my yoga journey started.

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  I preferred and still prefer to practice yoga and control my diet than to rely only on medicines. If at all I have to take medication, I prefer Ayurveda and Homeopathy. I still have constipation after a change of diet or change of weather. Travelling and stress also trigger the problem. But now, I know how to get around the problem by practicing the appropriate asanas and following a suitable diet.

 

Some diet tips that work for me:

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Begin your morning with some warm beverage or coconut water (Water from 2 coconuts at one go works for me. It may differ in your case, since the body constitution differs for each individual).

Between meals have fruits like watermelon, pineapple, pomegranate etc.

After lunch/meals try having buttermilk (optionally add asafetida/heeng)

In summers, I take 2 tablespoons of tamarind water - either plain or with some jaggery in it. Tamarind cleans the bowels. It is also good to keep the worms away from the intestines. 

Papaya before sleeping works great.

Take lukewarm milk with one tablespoon ghee before sleeping.

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  Having said everything, I keep this as an open topic to know more varieties of diet and lifestyle changes from people who have suffered constipation and overcome it successfully.