yoga gym bag



hi, this is laura cox from shield healthcare. i’m shield's ostomy lifestyle expert, and today we are going to be talking about exercising with an ostomy. it’s a well-known fact that exercising increases the release of endorphins. this is responsible for boosting your mood and can decrease pain perception. it is also great for your bones and your cardiovascular health.

yoga gym bag, these are all fantastic reasons why you should workout. when i was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and later had surgery, i thought my ability to exercise was gone. after doing some research i realized i could still be fit. i would just have to change my routines around a little bit.

the first important thing to do is to get your doctor's approval. once they say it is okay, then you can start working out. i would start slowly, as soon as you get out of surgery, start by walking. it’s important to get your endurance back. afterwards, try some low-impact exercises like bike riding or swimming. then you can move on to running, yoga, pilates and then eventually lifting weights. i waited about three and a half months after surgery before i started lifting very light weights again. having an ostomy makes it really easy to become dehydrated. i would always keep a water bottle on hand when you’re going to work out.

if you have ileostomy surgery, also ask your doctor if you can take imodium 30 minutes prior to exercising. it is also important to eat a small meal 30 minutes to an hour before you start exercising. this will help your body soak up some water and help keep you hydrated. after you work out, get a good meal in so that your blood sugar isn’t low. because we’ve had abdominal surgeries, it’s a lot easier for us to get hernias. ask your doctor if they think you can do abdominal exercises. i like to do a lot of stability exercises. i hold yoga poses like the one-legged seated chair, high lunges, and the tree pose. make sure to flex your abdominal muscles while you’re doing this to get the best benefit from your work out. another way to avoid a hernia is to invest in a hernia belt or some spanxâ®-like material that you can wear beneath your workout clothes.

it’s also great because it secures your ostomy in place so that working out is more comfortable. the best piece of advice i can give you is to listen to your body. if an exercise hurts, stop immediately. if your body tells you in the morning that today is not the day to work out, don’t exercise. you can always go tomorrow. it’s really important that you don’t judge yourself because recovery is a long process and it takes a lot of patience and hard work. just know that you can do a lot of activities that you’ve done before and maybe some you couldn’t do prior to surgery. so get off that couch and start exercising!