Oh yes, I found TEN P’s for getting Perfect Poos sorted out.
Some TV & social media press this week about TMI “too much information” in health-messaging on TV. You can have as much blood, bad language and bad news as you like but it seems the nation has less capacity for bodily functions.
However, if you are fairly broad minded and keen to DIY your personal health then I have even more (gentle) bowel tips for you today. If you found yourself the centre of fascinating conversations last week, just from “P is for Position”, then I hope you will have a wild week on this lot!
You’re welcome š

#1. Pattern
Bowels love a routine and you can train a ābowel habitā. Try to establish a ritual that your body can get used to and lets you empty your bowel regularly before you become constipated.
You will be so much happier if you can relax in the knowledge that you will have had a poo in the privacy of your own home before you have any early visitors or want to get out for the day.
It is very rare to need to open your bowels at night. But as we get up gravity gets the gut started with some movement (peristalsis) as does movement. Best of all though is the gastro-colic reflex ā which means that the sight, smell or taste of food gets the gut going and the bowels moving.
So have a drink as soon as you can (hot water with lemon used to be served on gynaecology wards) and try to have a small breakfast even if you donāt feel like it. Clean your teeth and as you clean your teeth start thinking gut movement thoughts to yourselfā¦. signal to your brain, next I am going to…

#2. Be prepared – no Parking
Listen out for the alert signal that there is a stool ready to come out. You absolutely donāt want to miss this.
The bladder alerts you when it is being stretched so that you canāt overfill it ā but not the bowel ā it can get very full and distended without us feeling a thing. The signal you are looking for is the feeling of pressure and irritation low down on the back passage (the anal sphincter). This is the stool pushing against the nerve endings at the anal sphincter opening. You may have to really look out for this feeling.
You could be half-way through your breakfast or gathering your bag for work or even putting your coat onā¦ā¦if you possibly can, stop what you are doing and get yourself off to the loo. (Yes, mums, even mid-nappy change ā just take the baby with you ā they can lie on the changing mat outside the door and get some bottom air!
Donāt put this feeling off. . This feeling is the sign that the body is ready to go and the best poos are the ones the body does naturally. If you put it off, termed “parking” the stool, (Iāll just change a nappyā¦.I’ll just get to work first…., Iāll just phone ā¦ā¦..) you accidentally squeeze it back up inside you where you canāt feel it and then it sits there getting drier and drier making you constipated. No Parking!

#3. Privacy
Having your bowels open is an intensely personal activity. It’s primal to seek privacy. You’ll find toddlers hiding behind the sofa to do poos in their nappies.
Make sure that you feel safe and relaxed. At home, excuse yourself, take yourself off upstairs or as far away as possible, close the door properly. If you are at work this might be walking a bit further to find a more tucked away toilet where you donāt feel you will be rushed or overheard.

#4. Position
The key thing is knees higher than your hips. This un-kinks the bowel and relaxes the pelvic floor muscles.
There are super pictures and descriptions in the booklet “Improving your Bowel Functionā, free to download from our professional physiotherapy organisation
- Sit with your feet up on a toddler step or box or well designed toilet stool
- Bottom well back on the seat
- Rest your elbows on your knees
- Untuck your tail bone keeping your back relatively straight
- Let all your body muscles relax, especially your pelvic floor and abdominals

#5. Be Patient
Don’t THINK! Emptying the bowel is a natural thing that the body does best on automatic pilot. It is not something that āweā do. Like sneezing. The best ones come from nowhere. And just like a juicy sneeze that you can feel coming ā if you think about it too hard (and especially if you say āI think I am going to sneezeā) ā it will disappear!
YES to books in the loo – this is an age old trick ā read a book/magazine/back of a shampoo bottleā¦.anything to distract your corticol (thinking) brain and let your automatic brain do itās own thing.
Give your body some time. You are waiting for something solid to move out ā it doesnāt just fall out like liquid. Your body needs to be sure that it is a quiet, private moment before it will trigger the motion that you need.

#6. Don’t push….PANT
No NOT a TV-childbirth āpushā involving a big breath & eye-popping. That closes your mouth and hooks in your abdominal muscles which draws the pelvic floor muscles UP and CLOSES the hole that we want the stool to travel through. Totally wrong. Exactly the opposite to what we want.
Picture mums learning āpantingā in antenatal classes instead. Use exactly the same type of breath as you feel the stool coming, soft and gentle, little sighs and slow out breaths. Nudge and nurse the poo along. Like delivering a baby gently.

#7. Support your perineum & pelvic floor
The downward pressure of the poo passing through the rectum and bowel opening stretches the perineum. This can be sore and make you “guard” your release. Or it might mean the stool gets stuck at the opening in the folds of the bowel rather than coming out of the tube.
Take a pad of toilet tissue and press it over the whole of your perineum, just leaving the small anal sphincter free. Press upwards to support your soft bits as the poo is coming down. This will also direct the poo backwards to come out the anal passage easily, rather than the pressure coming forward into the vagina area.
Lots of people have to do this for every bowel opening. See a good picture of this and more detail in the booklet āImproving Bowel Functionā (page 7) .

#8. Pause
After you have finished, relax, sit back and just wait a good minute before you dash off. There could be a bit more.
Sometimes there is a pocket of wind which needs to move through and then there can be a āsecond waveā of stool that could come out. Again you might not even be able to tell it is there until you have a sudden new urge. If you donāt wait for this bit and it gets left behind it can act as a ābungā and become windy or uncomfortable later.
Remember to do this for a few weeks and you will get to know your body better and how it is likely to behave.

#9. Protect your skin
If your bottom skin gets dry or sore you will get caught in a vicious cycle of not wanting to let go and holding tense.
If your skin needs some love – then treat your own bottom just like you would a baby or small childs. Wipe gently from front to back. Donāt scrub at your skin with dry tissue. Dampen some cotton wool or use a non-alcoholic wet wipe. Wait for your skin to dry and then apply a “baby-bottom cream”. This will helps your skin heal, nourish the tisses and act as a thin barrier to prevent your skin from rubbing against your underwear.

#10. PERSEVERE & Don’t PANIC!
It can take a while to get in tune with your digestive system.
However, once you start applying the tips above, and especially once you start really listening out for the signals to go to the toilet, you can be surprised to find that you need more than one poo in a day. This is perfectly OK. Traditionally most people go after breakfast ā but soon you may need an after lunch one too! It is that great mechanism the gastro-colic reflex again, triggering the gut to work after eating. Make the most of that and keep alert for opportunities. It is much more comfortable to poo when the poo is just right and wants to come out naturally.
OR YOU MIGHT NOTā¦ā¦
However, if this is NOT working for you – don’t panic. Guts can also go into shut down after any medical intervention, the smallest amount of life stress, airtravel or even change in water as you move about the UK. The right kind of stool is firm but soft with a beginning and an end. Too hard and it is sore and uncomfortable to pass through the soft delicate opening. If you suspect you are constipated ask your chemist for a softener or laxative before it gets out of hand. We’ll cover the options in another post soon.
Video: Are you sitting comfortably?
Does your family love a discussion? Do see the video below to learn more about good bowel habits and promote some healthy/unusual/hilarious family conversations!
[Before you watch ā to explain the context ā this was an adventure on to a public speaking course a while back. There was a Gala Finale with the brief to give a ten minute inspirational speechā¦ well with a challenge like that itās hard to hold a physio backā¦.Apologies, a bit squeaky at the beginning ā I was very nervous!! PS – this talk won the competition! Do give it a thumbs up or add a comment on YouTube to help spread the word] |
Learn more about your body?
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Do get in touch if you need more personal help.
Amanda x

Brilliant such an important part of our life yet is still such a taboo subject.
So glad you lifted the lid so we can enjoy the time, satisfaction and health from having regular poos!
Many thanks again for your excellent healthy weekly updates
Enjoy your half term
Brilliant such an important part of our life yet is still such a taboo subject.
So glad you lifted the lid so we can enjoy the time, satisfaction and health from having regular poos!
Many thanks again for your excellent healthy weekly updates
Enjoy your half term