Bowel Movements and Constipation

Meghan's standard is 1 to 3 complete, easy bowel movements a day. A healthy one is brown and type 3 or 4 on the Bristol Stool Chart. It comes out without straining or pain, leaves you feeling finished and needs barely any wiping. If you go less than once a day, strain, or never feel finished, your transit is too slow. The first question Meghan asks every new client has nothing to do with supplements: how many times a day do you go to the bathroom? The answer is usually once a day, maybe, or every few days. Waste that sits in the colon ferments, creates gas and lets toxins and used estrogen get reabsorbed, and that can show up as skin, hormone, energy and brain fog symptoms. Hard, lumpy stools (types 1 and 2) mean transit is too slow. Loose or mushy stools (types 5 to 7) point to inflammation or irritation in the gut. Floating, sticky stools can point to poor bile flow. One of her clients went from 1 bowel movement every 4 to 5 days to 1 or 2 every day after a few months of drainage and gut work. These are the first-week practices Meghan gives to get there:

• ■16 to 20 oz of warm water within 10 minutes of waking, with the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of sea salt, before any coffee.
• ■Aim for 1 complete morning bowel movement, with plenty of high-fiber fruits and vegetables.
• ■A 20-minute walk outside every day, and unhurried time in the bathroom, because your nervous system has to feel safe for the bowel to let go.

If the basics aren't enough, she brings in colonics or enemas with guidance at the very start of the sequence. Wait until your bowels have moved well for a few weeks before you start any liver cleanse, parasite protocol or binder. The free Drainage Starter Guide covers the full set of daily practices.

When you eat well and stay constipated, the problem is usually how fast your gut moves and how well your body eliminates, and food quality alone won't fix that. The causes Meghan names:

• ■Slow motility from chronic stress, under-eating, low minerals or sitting all day.
• ■Too much raw fiber, too fast: big salads, smoothies and seeds can overwhelm a colon that is already backed up.
• ■Poor bile flow, which leaves stools dry and slow.
• ■A nervous system stuck in fight-or-flight. In her words, "The colon listens to the nervous system."
• ■Low stomach acid and a high toxic load.

What to do:

• ■Drink 16 to 20 oz of warm water with lemon and a pinch of sea salt when you wake, before coffee.
• ■Walk for 20 minutes outside every day, and give yourself unhurried time in the bathroom.
• ■Eat enough, at regular times, and slow down and chew well at meals.
• ■If salads and smoothies leave you more backed up, eat less raw food and move more until things are flowing.
• ■Watch your stool for 1 to 3 easy bowel movements a day, type 3 or 4.

If daily habits aren't enough, colonics or enemas done with guidance can help open the colon. Her rule is colon first, liver second and deeper detox third, so wait until you are going regularly before any cleanse or binder. This is Phase 1 of her method (Awaken), and the free Drainage Starter Guide walks through it.