Skip to content
Home » Spiritual Meaning Of Bloated Stomach

Spiritual Meaning Of Bloated Stomach

The feeling of fullness in your abdomen, a tightness in your chest, and occasionally a tightness throughout your body are all indicators of the stomach’s spiritual significance. It is basically the opposite of the bloating you feel when you overeat and then drink lots of water (or any other liquid).

The stomach represents the heart and the brain. The stomach is the center of our body; it’s where we digest food, and it processes emotions. When our stomachs are full, it means that we have enough resources to survive on our own. When we are hungry, it means that something is not right in our lives and we need help with something. If your stomach is empty and you feel sick, then you might be depressed or have a problem with your job or relationships.

Gas or fluids in the digestive tract can cause bloating, which is an uncomfortable feeling. Junk food and stress may cause bloating. Food allergies and irritable bowel syndrome may also cause bloating. Bloating is sometimes called abdominal distension, a feeling of fullness, or intestinal distension.

Spiritual meaning of bloated stomach in dream

A bloated stomach can be an indication of an underlying medical issue and is a common sign of medical concern. Bloating is typically brought on by an abundance of gas or fluid in the abdomen, which can hurt the area there.

It’s crucial to visit your doctor for a checkup if you frequently experience bloated stomach because this could indicate more serious digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, food allergies, or even more serious illnesses.

It’s critical to pay attention to your body and take into account any additional symptoms you might be dealing with in addition to your bloated stomach. If you experience any combination of discomfort, exhaustion, gas, and weight loss, see your doctor right once.

What does the Stomach Represent Spiritually?
woman clutching her stomach

Many people around the world have deep spiritual meanings associated with their stomach. It represents not just physical but also spiritual feeding and sustenance. Our ability to consume and process food is necessary for survival.

The stomach also symbolises transformation since it absorbs what is given to it, breaks it down, and then releases it in a different way. This concept also applies to a spiritual level; via thinking back on both good and bad situations, we can develop perspective and understanding that helps us go forward.

Furthermore, understanding the spiritual significance of the stomach can teach us how to be kind to ourselves and deal with life’s challenges with grace and resiliency.

As a result, it’s critical to recognise the importance of the stomach on all planes, both mentally and physically.

The Spiritual Significance of a Swollen Stomach
Even though having a bloated stomach might be uncomfortable and unsightly, there might be spiritual significance hidden beneath the surface. In numerous cultures and faiths, an enlarged stomach is symbolic of plenty.

According to Hindu scriptures, experiencing bloating in the stomach after overindulging in food signifies that an individual’s life is abundant and devoid of concerns like hunger and poverty.

Additionally, in some cultures, having an enlarged stomach can represent receiving nourishment on all fronts—mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Keeping this in mind, your body may be reminding you to celebrate the abundance life has given you the next time you have an occasional bloated belly!

  1. Seeking to evade the change
    Spiritual practitioners frequently search for a deeper significance for their physical afflictions by looking beyond them.

For example, when one experiences a bloated tummy, it can be emblematic of delaying transformation and change.

This impediment to advancement can be the outcome of anxiety and apprehension about the unknown. In this instance, it’s critical to recognise that accepting change might facilitate letting go of concerns and anxiety related to the circumstances.

Make space to welcome positive developments and centre oneself in the present to help ease this emotion. One can start seizing the chances that lie ahead by taking this action.

  1. A lack of acceptance
    Spiritually speaking, it could indicate a lack of acceptance of anything that has happened in the past or something that is happening right now.

An enlarged or bloated stomach can be a sign of a variety of mental and physical health issues.

It’s critical that we be truthful with ourselves and try to accept the past and present in order to release this trapped energy within of us and regain emotional equilibrium.

Rather than attempting to identify the issue in someone else, we need to look within and let our bravery and resolve lead us to a more harmonic awareness of every aspect of who we are. This self-acceptance leads to clarity and an ability to deal with obstacles that come up in day-to-day living.

  1. Awakening spiritually
    We can be reminded of our spiritual connection to the world around us by experiencing bloating in the stomach. In addition to indicating potential bodily discomfort, it can also indicate internal energy that must be released in order to advance on our spiritual path.

It can be an uncomfortable experience, but if we listen to ourselves and consider how this feeling affects us, we might gain a better knowledge of who we are and where we fit in the universe.

We can advance on our road of self-mastery and discover true serenity and harmony in life by concentrating on the spiritual lesson concealed beneath a bloated stomach rather than simply brushing it off or dismissing it as an inconvenience.

Digestion problems like gas and food allergies are the most frequent physical causes of an enlarged stomach.

Gas accumulation in the small and large intestines of these conditions results in bloating, which makes the stomach enlarge and painful.

It’s crucial to pay attention to the warning signals that your body is sending you because these are frequently indicators that something more serious is impacting your health.

Relationship Disagreement
An other potential spiritual interpretation for a bloated stomach could be unresolved issues in personal relationships.

Interpersonal disagreements can cause stress and unpleasant emotions that can lead to physical symptoms like stomach discomfort or bloating.

When these negative emotions are present in your relationship with a close friend or family member, it may be time to make the decision to end the relationship or mend it.

Absence of Acceptance
Another reason for a bloated stomach could be an incapacity or unwillingness to accept particular events or circumstances in life.

Our bodies slow down digestion and produce gas when we become resistive to accepting the way things are, which results in bloating and discomfort.

Spiritual Meaning Of Bloated Stomach

The spiritual meaning of a bloated stomach is that you are not listening to your inner voice. You are either eating too much to satisfy a craving or you are eating for other reasons, such as stress or depression. You may also be experiencing gas due to overeating, which can cause bloating and discomfort. Sometimes this discomfort can lead to panic attacks because it feels like your body is being filled with air. If this happens, try eating smaller meals throughout the day instead of three large portions at one time. This will help your body digest properly and reduce any uncomfortable feelings during digestion!

Bloating is a common experience, and it’s not often considered spiritual. But when you consider the idea of bloating as a representation of your feelings about yourself, it becomes clear that bloating can be an important part of your spiritual journey.

When we feel bloated, it’s often because our digestive system has become overworked. This happens when we aren’t eating properly or drinking enough water, or if we’re eating too much food that isn’t good for us (or both).

The same thing can happen with our spiritual health: when we neglect our spiritual selves, or when we don’t make time for them in our daily lives, our spirit can become overworked and overwhelmed by the demands placed on it. This is why it’s so important to make time for meditation, prayer and reflection—these activities give us a chance to slow down and refuel ourselves spiritually before we get back into the busyness of life with all its demands on us physically and spiritually.

Bloating is a common problem that has a variety of causes. It’s usually a sign that your body needs to get rid of excess gas, but it could also be a sign of something more serious, like inflammation or an infection.

When you’re bloated, you may experience abdominal pain and discomfort. You might also feel like you need to burp or pass gas more often than usual. If you have experienced these symptoms for more than three days, see your doctor as soon as possible.

Spiritual Awakening Upset Stomach

There are several things that can cause bloating:

  • Constipation: This can happen when you don’t poop regularly enough or if your poop is hard and dry when it comes out.
  • Diarrhea: This happens when your bowels move too fast or too much liquid gets into your intestines.
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): This is another condition that causes diarrhea or constipation with no obvious cause—it just happens!
  • Gallstones: These are hard stones made of cholesterol that form in the gallbladder and can block the bile ducts in your liver, causing pain in your abdomen (the belly).

Suffering from a bloated stomach? If you’ve ever been to an all-you-can-eat buffet or drank too much beer, you’ll be familiar with abdominal bloating, when your belly feels full and tight. But unless you’re pregnant or you’ve just eaten an extra-large triple cheese pizza, you might be wondering why your stomach feels like it’s about to explode.

Abdominal bloating is often due to a buildup of gas somewhere in the gastrointestinal tract, which causes the belly to feel uncomfortable and look larger than usual. But how can you reduce the dreaded belly bloat and when is it a sign of something more serious?

We spoke to nutritional therapist Nicola Shubrook and Dr Riccardo Di Cuffa from Your Doctor about the science behind stomach bloating and, most importantly, how to avoid the dreaded belly swell.

Bloated Stomach Causes

What causes bloating in the stomach? Understanding what may be causing your abdominal pain and bloating can be a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, says Shubrook. ‘There can be many factors at play such as stress, sugar, imbalance in the gut flora (microbiome), medication and food sensitivities, to name a few,’ she explains.

Common stomach bloating causes include the following:

  • Trapped wind
  • Constipation
  • Swallowing air
  • Food intolerance
  • Coeliac disease
  • Irritable bowel syndrome

Bloating can also be a direct result of the type of food or drink you consume during the day. Pizza, pasta and bread are all obvious culprits, but eating an excess amount of one type of food or simply high fat, spicy or greasy foods can be a trigger. Fizzy drinks are another offender.

However it’s not just junk food and carbs that lead to stomach bloating. According to Dr Di Cuffa, even healthy foods can produce gas during digestion that contributes to bloating, including pulses, beans, broccoli, cabbage, chestnuts, onions and sprouts.

Many women also notice bloating before their period. This is partly due to oestrogen causing fluid retention and partly because the higher progesterone level in the second half of the cycle slows bowel activity down, leading to constipation.

Spiritual Significance of The Stomach

The stomach represents the way we process the world and the people around us.

When we are in a good mood, we digest food easily and without much effort. We are open to new ideas, new experiences, and new connections with other people. We can take on challenges without feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by them. We have an optimistic outlook on life and feel like we have an abundance of choices about what direction to go in or what opportunities to pursue.

When we are in a bad mood (or worse yet, in a bad relationship), eating can be difficult and unpleasant because our digestive system is blocked or slowed down by stress hormones like cortisol. We may find ourselves avoiding social situations where we don’t want to deal with confrontation or conflict, so instead of having honest conversations with people who are important to us and learning from them, we avoid them altogether—all of which leads to further isolation and loneliness. We may start eating unhealthy foods because they make us feel good temporarily but then leave us feeling guilty afterward for having done so! These feelings don’t just affect how well we do at work either—they affect every aspect of our lives including our relationships with family members as well as friends or lovers who would otherwise provide support.

But what does all this mean? Well, when it comes down to it, it all comes back to one thing: your relationship with yourself. When we’re going through tough times in our lives, we tend to forget that we are enough—that we are worthy of love and admiration even when everything around us seems chaotic or uncertain. But the truth is that nothing can change unless we change first! And that starts with accepting who we truly are inside and out—and being kinder to ourselves than anyone else ever could be (because let’s face it: no one knows us better than ourselves).

How To Get Rid of A Bloated Stomach

Abdominal bloating usually gets better on its own after a few hours. But if it’s really bothering you or keeps recurring, Shubrook recommends the following 10 remedies to beat belly bloating:

1.Reduce stress

Practising mindfulness meditation for just 10 minutes a day has been shown to reduce the stress response in the body, which in turn can ease abdominal bloating. Research into the benefits of meditation has reported improved memory, greater emotional intelligence and increased creativity, as well as better stress management, so learning to meditate could benefit your overall health as well as your gut. To get started, read our beginner meditation tips.

2. Eliminate suspect foods

Food intolerances can lead to stomach bloating, and one way to rule out certain foods is to follow an elimination diet. ‘If you suspect a food intolerance, such as gluten or dairy, remove that food completely for a minimum of 21 days and see if your symptoms improve,’ suggests Shubrook.

The foods should then be reintroduced one at a time, monitoring for symptoms that show a reaction. ‘It’s important that this is adhered to strictly, as the body can take a while to remove all existing gluten, for example, and any small amount during that phase could still cause a reaction,’ adds Shubrook.

Always check with your doctor before starting an elimination diet, as restricting food groups can cause a nutritional deficiency and in cases of genuine allergies, dietary elimination needs to be carefully controlled.

Elimination diets are not appropriate for children or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, unless you have been advised by a medical professional.

3. Take a probiotic supplement

If you’ve taken several courses of antibiotics, picked up a stomach bug overseas, or your diet has been high in sugar and low in fibre, taking a probiotic or making sure probiotics are included in your diet may help.

‘Our gut microbiome is very sensitive and certain medications and dietary choices can easily affect bacteria levels, so using a probiotic for four weeks can help to reset this,’ says says Shubrook. ‘Probiotic supplements such as Optibac or ProVen are a stronger dose than a probiotic drink, and may be good as a boost while you make changes to your diet.’

As an alternative to nutritional supplements, making sure your diet includes natural probiotic foods is an easy way to naturally reduce bloating.

4. Eat fermented foods

Foods such as yoghurt, kefir, tempeh, kimchi, miso, sauerkraut all contain a healthy dose of probiotics as they are naturally fermented foods. These supply the gut with some healthy bacteria.

Prebiotics are also essential as they are the foods that we as humans may not digest but that our healthy bacteria thrive on – they are found in foods such as onions, garlic, leeks, bananas, berries, greens, tomatoes and asparagus. Of course some of these foods may be associated with bloating. Work out which prebiotic foods do not make you bloat and include them in your diet to encourage good gut health.

5. Fill up on fibre

A probiotic is great for putting the good bacteria back into the digestive system, but we need to keep it there and bacteria loves to feed on fibre. High-fibre foods include fruit, vegetables, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, oats and potatoes with their skin on.

The NHS recommends 30g of fibre a day for adults but estimates that most of us get just 18g, so try to fill up on fibre to boost your digestive health. ‘Making a concerted effort to increase fibre may really help,’ says Shubrook.

6. Stay hydrated

Sipping water throughout the day can really help with digestive bloat. Dehydration will reduce the ease of transit through the digestive system, so make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. If you’re in a hot climate or exercising, remember to replace any lost fluids so you do not get dehydrated. Coffee can also be dehydrating so try and minimise caffeine and opt for water as much as possible.

7. Chew your food

Your food should actually be like mush or baby food before swallowing it, explains Shubrook, but all too often we eat at our desks, in front of the TV or in a rush. ‘This means we tend to swallow bigger chunks of undigested food, which can put extra burden on the digestive system and cause bloating,’ she adds.

Enjoying un-rushed and mindful mealtimes is good for digestion, so don’t skip breakfast, schedule in a lunch break and take your time with your food. Swallowing a lot of air while eating also traps gas in the gut, so trying not to talk while eating can help.

8. Eat cooked veg over raw salad

Cooking or steaming your vegetables breaks down the structure of the food, and can actually enhance their phytonutrients, making it easier for the stomach to digest them, rather than raw foods which may cause more bloating, says Shubrook.

9. Cut back on salt

Salt can have a huge impact on your gut health and can also lead to raised blood pressure, which can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, so cut your salt intake back. ‘Salt encourages your body to retain water, especially around your stomach,’ says Shubrook. ‘Not all bloating is caused by gas.’

According to the NHS, adults should eat no more than 6g of salt a day (2.4g sodium) – that’s around 1 teaspoon.

10. Try the FODMAP diet

If you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the FODMAP diet can be a good way to see which foods are causing the bloating. FODMAP is an acronym for a range of short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) and certain foods within these groups can cause abdominal discomfort and are best avoided, says Shubrook.

The FODMAP diet is used under expert care of dieticians or nutrition specialists to treat IBS or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. It can be a difficult routine to stick to and is not suitable long-term as it eliminates many major food groups, so discuss the FODMAP diet with your GP or a dietician before proceeding.

When To Worry About Stomach Bloating

While it’s perfectly normal to experience abdominal bloating occasionally, if symptoms persist, get it checked out by your GP. Red flags to watch out for include the following symptoms:

  • Unexplained fatigue
  • Weight loss
  • Fever
  • Difficulty passing stools
  • Blood in your stools or urine
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhoea
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Rashes
  • Allergic reactions
  • Irregular periods
  • Haemorrhoids

While occasional stomach bloating is unlikely to be linked to an underlying health condition, if you have any concerns make an appointment with your GP. More serious causes for stomach bloating can include the following:

• Irritable bowel syndrome

IBS is a common condition affecting the gut that can cause bloating, diarrhoea, constipation and unexplained stomach pains.

• Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder that involves inflammation of the gut.

• Diverticulitis

Diverticulitisis a condition where multiple weak points develop in the muscular wall of the colon that can lead to abdominal tenderness or bloating.

• Candida

Candida, also known as thrush, is an overgrowth of yeast-like fungus (medically known as Candida albicans) that can cause stomach bloating.

• Coeliac disease

Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease where the body produces antibodies that attack itself, caused by gluten intolerance.

• Ovarian cancer

Bloating can also be an early warning sign of ovarian cancer, so it’s important to be aware of potential signs and speak to your doctor if you have any concerns. Other symptoms include feeling full quickly or loss of appetite, pelvic or stomach pain, needing to wee urgently or more frequently than normal.

• Bowel cancer

Symptoms of bowel cancer are numerous and can include bloating as well as fatigue, weakness, changes in bowel habits, diarrhoea or constipation, red or dark blood in your stool and weight loss. Make an urgent appointment with your GP if you are concerned.

Spiritual Meaning of Knot In Stomach


Two words come to mind when RadioLab host Jad Abumrad thinks about the shaky beginnings of his public radio show: “gut churn.” 

During a humorous podcast recently posted to 99U, Abumrad reflected on why he, and humans in general, tend to have a such strong physical response to risk-taking. 

Abumrad’s 11-year-old show, which now airs on on more than 450 NPR member stations, reports on science, philosophy, and human experience. So it was appropriate that Abumrad explored the physiology behind the sick-to-the-stomach feeling. 

But first, he asked his co-creator Michael Elsesser why he also had this physical manifestation of anxiety during the early days.

“I remember sitting at my desk for a long stretch of time just kind of rubbing my head and pushing on my temples just because my head just hurt,” Elsesser said laughing.

Sobering a bit, he continued, “I couldn’t find a way to describe what we were doing with it in a way that anybody could call rational and linear. Some day somebody was going to ask us what was going on. What’s the long term plan for this, and how are we going to pay for it? And it was a long time before we were able to answer those questions.” 

Those Knots Are Good for You

Abumrad explained that gut churn is an ancient physiological response. Back when our ancestors were living amongst their predators, the body adapted in order to enable the best chance for escape. So in response to life-threatening situations, non-essential systems shut down–including digestion, according to biologist Robert Sapolsky.

“This is the stomach ceasing to function because the body is saying to itself right now, ‘We have to run for our lives,'” Abumrad said. And though he admitted it sounds dramatic, producing his show in the early days always felt like a life or death situation. 

And yet, as unpleasant as it is when your stomach feels like it’s tied up in knots, it could be an indication that you’re on to something. 

“Milton Erickson, the great psychologist had this notion that you could take the worst feeling in the world–the worst–and you can reframe it, and suddenly that feeling becomes the solution.” Looking at it that way, gut churn is your body’s way of telling that you that you need to keep moving.

“Like OK, I feel like my stomach’s about to explode, but maybe that just means I’m on the right track. Maybe that just means I’m doing my job,” Abumrad said. 

Join the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *