The Gut Brain Connection: How Kinesiology Can Help

The Gut-Brain Connection: How Kinesiology Can Help You Heal from the Inside Out

This incredible communication highway is known as the gut-brain axis or gut-brain connection, and it’s reshaping how we think about mental health, digestion, mood, immunity, and even chronic illness. Let’s explore how your gut and brain are connected, why it matters, and how I help people rebalance this powerful relationship through kinesiology.

Your Second Brain: What is the Gut-Brain Connection?

Your digestive system isn’t just about breaking down food. It has its own nervous system, known as the enteric nervous system often called the second brain. This intricate network of neurons communicates directly with your brain via the vagus nerve, one of the longest nerves in the body.

Through this system, your brain and gut constantly send signals back and forth. These signals regulate things like:

• Mood and emotional regulation
  
• Digestion and nutrient absorption
  
• Immune response
  
• Inflammation levels
  
• Sleep patterns
  
• Cognitive function
  

When your gut is out of balance, your brain feels it — and vice versa.

There’s actually a third brain, the heart, which actually controls the two….but that’s a topic for another day! Back to the gut-brain axis….

The Role of Gut Microbiota

Inside your gut live trillions of microorganisms — bacteria, fungi, viruses — collectively known as your microbiome. A healthy, diverse microbiome is essential for both physical and mental wellbeing.

Your gut bacteria help:

• Produce neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, all of which affect mood and mental clarity
  
• Regulate inflammation, which is tied to anxiety and depression
  
• Metabolise nutrients and synthesise vitamins
  
• Maintain the integrity of the gut lining, preventing “leaky gut”
  

When this ecosystem is disrupted — through stress, poor diet, medication, or illness — it can lead to a cascade of issues, including mood swings, brain fog, low energy, and digestive complaints.

Inflammation and Mental Health: A Hidden Link

Gut inflammation is a major player in mental health. When the lining of your intestines becomes compromised (often called “leaky gut”), toxins and undigested food particles can enter your bloodstream, triggering an immune response.

This inflammation doesn’t just stay in the gut — it travels through your system, often affecting the brain.

Research is now linking chronic inflammation to:

• Anxiety
  
• Depression
  
• Autism spectrum disorders
  
• ADHD
  
• Alzheimer’s disease
  
• Mood instability
  

These aren’t just psychological conditions — they’re physiological too. That’s why addressing gut health is essential to true healing. No, I’m not saying we can cure anything, I am saying it’s an important part of the picture to be addressed,

How Stress Affects Your Gut

Stress doesn’t only live in your mind. It manifests physically — and one of its favourite targets is the gut.

When you’re stressed, your body enters a state of “fight or flight,” redirecting energy away from digestion to more urgent survival systems. This slows digestion, disrupts gut bacteria, increases intestinal permeability, and can worsen existing gut issues like IBS or bloating.

In kinesiology, we often find stress is the root cause behind a lot of digestive and mental health imbalances. The good news? We can find the stress, and clear and rebalance those stress patterns energetically.

Where Kinesiology Comes In

This is where my work becomes so powerful.

Kinesiology isn’t just about physical symptoms — it’s about the emotional, energetic and subconscious patterns behind them. Using gentle muscle testing, we access your body’s innate wisdom to identify stressors, imbalances, and hidden blocks affecting your gut-brain connection.

In our sessions, we might explore:

• Emotional stress trapped in the digestive system
  
• Food intolerances or nutritional deficiencies
  
• Unprocessed trauma held in the body
  
• Nervous system overdrive
  
• Energetic misalignments or chakra imbalances
  
• Lifestyle factors
  

Through “corrections” like acupressure, energetic clearing, emotional release techniques, sound healing and nutrition insights, we bring your body back into harmony.

You’re not just managing symptoms — you’re creating lasting balance and deeper awareness of how your body communicates.

A Real-Life Example

One client came to me with long-standing anxiety and persistent bloating. She’d tried every diet and supplement, but nothing made a lasting difference.

In her kinesiology sessions, we uncovered:

• Old grief stuck in the solar plexus and gut
  
• Stress patterns from early childhood linked to safety and food
  
• Nervous system dysregulation from ongoing overwhelm
  

After clearing these blocks and supporting her digestion with simple nutrition shifts and stress techniques, her symptoms reduced dramatically — and for the first time in years, she felt calm in her own body. Then her digestive issues and anxiety settled and have only resurfaced when certain lifestyle factors creep in. But….she now knows what her body is telling her and is able to rebalance her life.

This is the power of listening to your body and working with it holistically.

8 Practical Ways to Support Your Gut-Brain Connection

Here are some simple, evidence-based ways to start supporting your gut and brain connection today:

1. Eat a diverse, fibre-rich diet

Think whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, seeds — these feed your beneficial gut bacteria.

2. Include fermented foods

Add natural probiotics like kefir, yoghurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso to your diet.

3. Limit processed foods and sugars

These feed harmful bacteria and disrupt your microbiome balance.

4. Manage stress daily

Deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness, energy exercises, EFT, yoga or simply a mindful walk can help shift your nervous system from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest”.

5. Stay hydrated

Water supports digestion and keeps the gut lining healthy.

6. Get regular movement

Exercise helps stimulate healthy gut motility and mood-regulating neurotransmitters.

7. Prioritise quality sleep

Sleep is when your gut (and brain!) reset and repair.

8. Consider probiotic or prebiotic supplements

These can be helpful, but it’s best to speak with a qualified practitioner first.

Tune In: Your Body Is Speaking

One of the most empowering things I teach my clients is this: your body is always communicating with you.

That bloated belly after certain foods?

That anxious feeling that comes from nowhere?

That foggy head after poor sleep?

They’re not random. They’re messages. And when you learn to understand and honour those messages, healing becomes not only possible — it becomes inevitable.

Monthly Challenge: Gut Edition

This month, try introducing one new gut-friendly habit into your routine each week. Maybe that’s a daily probiotic yoghurt, a five-minute breathing exercise, or switching your afternoon snack for something nourishing and high in fibre.

Take note — how does your gut feel? Any changes in your mood, energy or clarity?

Small shifts lead to big change.

Reconnect You With Your Body

If you’ve been feeling stuck, anxious, exhausted or disconnected from your body, you don’t have to figure it out alone. With over 11 years of experience and a deep passion for mind-body healing, I’m here to support you on your journey back to wellness — emotionally, physically and energetically.

Together, we’ll uncover what your body’s really trying to say and create lasting change that feels empowering and aligned.

Ready to begin your journey?

Book your kinesiology session or reach out to chat – I’d love to hear your story.

With warmth and wellness,

Alice x