Constipation can creep in when life, stress, or medication slow your natural rhythm. If you can’t rely on usual remedies, this gentle 28-day challenge helps you find relief through simple self-care — no harsh laxatives, just small, body-kind actions that work. Over four weeks, you’ll layer five natural practices that reawaken your digestion and support colon health: hydrate more deeply, move with ease, strengthen your core with mindful breathing, nourish with the right foods, and learn to relax your body so your bowel can do its job.

A few months ago, I found myself in a familiar but frustrating place — sitting with that heavy, uncomfortable feeling of a sluggish bowel and knowing that my usual remedies weren’t an option.

(If you’ve ever found yourself Googling “natural constipation remedies” at midnight with a hot water bottle, you’re in good company.)

After years of managing post-COVID health issues, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), and histamine sensitivities, even gentle herbal or over-the-counter aids became impossible for me to tolerate.

So there I was, staring at my herbal cupboard — full of things I used to rely on — and realising I’d have to start again, from scratch.

What do you do when you can’t take the usual things that keep your digestion moving?

That question became the seed for this challenge. I needed a way to support my body naturally — no harsh remedies, no quick fixes. Just practical self-care.

The result was a 28-day experiment that helped me reconnect with my body’s natural rhythm. And it might just help you, too.

Because let’s be honest — when your digestion’s off, everything feels off

Why the Colon Deserves Your Care

In my natural healing training, one lesson was repeated often: ‘Every healing journey begins with the colon.’ Your colon is like your kitchen bin — when it’s emptied regularly, everything else runs smoothly.

It’s not just about comfort. The colon is your body’s waste-removal system — clearing out toxins, dead cells, old hormones, and indigestible food matter. When waste sits too long, it can affect energy, skin, mood, and overall wellbeing.

Constipation means struggling to pass stool, while a sluggish bowel simply means everything is moving slower than it should.

What a healthy Bowel looks Like

According to continence.org, a healthy bowel movement:

• Is soft but well-formed and easy to pass
• Happens anywhere from three times a day to three times a week
• Takes less than a minute to pass, without pain or straining
• Leaves you feeling completely emptied
  
  

Healers have always aimed for at least once a day, twice is great, but everyone’s rhythm is unique.

Before you begin: Notice your current pattern. How often do you go? How easy is it? Use this as your ‘before’ snapshot — we’ll revisit it after 28 days.

*Do check out the Bristol Stool Chart – very helpful visual!

Not sure how to complete an assessment? Grab your FREE ‘Complete your first Self-care Challenge’ course.

The Ease Constipation Self-care Challenge

This is a gentle, body-kind challenge for anyone who needs relief but can’t rely on strong remedies or medications.

You’ll be building five foundational self-care habits that support natural bowel movement. Each practice is simple, safe, and nourishing — no drastic changes, just steady consistency.

How it works:

• Begin with Practice One and follow it for 3–5 days.
• Then add the next practice, keeping both going.
• Continue until all five are part of your daily rhythm.

If you’re currently using prescribed medication or constipation aids, continue as needed while layering these practices in slowly.

Ready to Start?

Here are the 5 self-care practices that used together, consistently, can help to Ease Constipation, naturally.

1. Drink more Water – the simplest shift that changes everything

Your colon can’t do its job without moisture — it’s like trying to wash dishes without water in the sink.

If you already drink about two litres a day, wonderful. For everyone else, begin increasing your plain water intake gradually over a few days. Even one extra glass can make a noticeable difference.

Tip: Keep a glass by your bed and drink it before your morning coffee or tea.

Reflection: Notice if your stool softens or if your morning routine feels smoother after a week.

Struggle to drink water? Follow this simple drink more water challenge and increase the amount throughout the 28-day challenge.

I found increasing the amount of plain water I drink through the day makes a surprising improvement – try it for 5 days!

2. Move More to activate the Bowel

Your colon loves movement — it’s stimulated by walking, stretching, twisting, and even gentle bending. You don’t have to ‘work out’; you just need to move.

Try a 10-minute walk after meals or a few gentle yoga or Qi Gong poses. Movement encourages peristalsis — those wave-like muscle contractions that keep things flowing through your intestines.

If you’re managing fatigue or low-energy days, try my non-exercise movement challenge — even two minutes of swaying or stretching counts.

Reflection: Which small daily movement leaves your belly feeling calmer or lighter?

I took for granted the many benefits of having always been active, until my life changed and the daily 8000+ steps I’d walked for the previous 25 years stopped

3. Abdominal ‘Zip-Up’ Breathing — Strengthen Your Core, Stimulate Your Bowel

This gentle exercise strengthens your deep core muscles and activates your bowel’s natural movement. It’s simple, subtle, and surprisingly powerful.

How to practice:
1. Sit or lie comfortably. Place one hand on your lower belly.
2. Breathe in slowly through your nose — let your belly fill and expand outward.
3. Breathe out through your mouth — gently draw your belly inward and zip-up from your pelvic floor all the way to your ribs, as if fastening an invisible zipper.
4. Relax and repeat for one to two minutes.

Each ‘zip-up’ strengthens your abdominal wall, tones your core, and gives your colon a natural massage — helping to ease sluggishness and support peristalsis.

Reflection: Try this after waking or before bed for a week. Notice if your belly feels lighter or more responsive.

Note breathing this way can help both diarrhoea and constipation.

This simple breathing exercise has been so simple and helpful, even on those ‘bad’ days when everything else is too much.

4. Foods That Help (and Hinder) a Sluggish Bowel

Food can be both medicine and message — it tells your gut how to behave.

Experiment with adding foods that are naturally supportive:
– Ripe fruits like figs, dates, or prunes (if tolerated)
– Leafy greens — kale, lettuce, or baby spinach
– Flaxseed or chia soaked overnight and added to porridge or smoothies
– Unheated oils like olive or MCT drizzled over salads or soups

If you’re sensitive to histamines or SIBO triggers, start small. A simple green salad with olive oil or a mint tea with wheatgrass powder can help.

Notice foods that slow you down — heavy meat, eggs, refined wheat, or too many resistant starches like potatoes and rice. Try easing off one of these groups for a few days.

Reflection: Which foods feel like they flow through you — and which ones seem to sit and stall?

At the time I created this challenge I was following a very restricted diet, which caused my digestion to struggle – soaked flax seeds became my best friend.

5. Relax the Colon – Destress to Digest

It’s easy to forget that tension in the body equals tension in the bowel. Relaxation is not a luxury here; it’s medicine.

In herbal medicine we used a group of herbs called ‘nervines’ to help relax a tense body and ease stress away and often helped a ‘tense tight colon’.

Try an Epsom salt bath, gentle stretching before bed, or sipping chamomile tea. Magnesium — whether through food, oil, or bath — can help the body (and bowel) relax, but do check if it suits your sensitivities.

Other gentle ways to tone your nervous system include slow breathing, yoga, and even soft humming — all wonderful for the vagus nerve.

Reflection: End each day with one moment of release — a sigh, a bath, or a few deep breaths. Notice what shifts when you truly let go.

Don’t forget to relax the mind as well as the body.

After 28 days — Reflect, Reset, and Continue

At the end of your challenge, return to your ‘before’ notes. Compare how you felt then with how you feel now.

Has your bowel rhythm changed? Do you feel lighter, less bloated, or more comfortable in your body?

Even small improvements matter — they show that your body is listening and responding.

If these gentle habits helped, keep them as part of your Personal Self-Care Menu. You can repeat the challenge anytime or combine it with other Make Self-Care Simple practices.

A Gentle Closing Thought

This challenge began from my own moment of frustration — and turned into a lesson in trust. My body didn’t need stronger remedies. It needed kindness, patience, and consistency.

Real self-care isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing what truly matters.

Your body already knows how to find balance. These simple daily actions just give it the chance to remember.

Want to make these ideas work for your body?

Self-care practices and routines are only the beginning. Learning how your body responds when you follow them helps you decide when to keep going, when to adjust, and when to move on.

Explore the free Make Self-Care Simple resources to begin understanding your own patterns.

→ Start with the Free Resources

Download your FREE Challenge Reminder

Print

Ease Constipation Naturally: A 28-Day Self-Care Challenge for a Happier Gut

Notes

Goal: Support a healthy, natural bowel rhythm in 28 days.
Serves: One happy gut 😊

Steps:
1️⃣ Drink More Water — Aim for around 2 litres daily; add gradually if you’re not there yet. Hydration softens stools and keeps things moving.

2️⃣ Move More — Take a 10-minute walk, stretch, or do gentle yoga each day to stimulate bowel motility.

3️⃣ Zip-Up Breathing — Inhale and let your belly expand; exhale and gently draw your belly in, “zipping up” from bottom to top. Repeat 1–2 minutes daily.

4️⃣ Eat to Support Flow — Include leafy greens, soaked seeds, or healthy oils; reduce foods that slow you down such as heavy meats or refined grains.

5️⃣ Relax to Digest — Create calm with deep breathing, Epsom salt baths, or quiet moments before bed; tension in the body tightens the bowel.

Reminder: Build one practice every 3–5 days until all five become part of your daily rhythm. Small, consistent steps create lasting change.

Make Self Care Simple shares general self-care education for inspiration only. I’m not providing medical advice — always check what’s right for you with a qualified health professional.

©2025 Make Self Care Simple.