Yoga Therapy, Digestion, and Scleroderma: What the Research Is Telling Us
Gastrointestinal involvement is one of the most common and most disruptive aspects of systemic sclerosis. For many people living with scleroderma, GI symptoms — slowed motility, reflux, bloating, malabsorption — are present daily and significantly affect quality of life. Yet they are often among the harder symptoms to address, in part because the mechanisms are complex and the options within conventional care are limited.
This is an area where yoga therapy has something to offer. The relationship between the autonomic nervous system and gut function is well established. Breath-based and movement-based practices that support parasympathetic activation can influence gut motility, reduce visceral tension, and support the kind of nervous system regulation that GI function depends on. In a population where fibrotic changes affect the structure of the GI tract itself, the goal is not to reverse tissue changes — it is to work with what the nervous system and the musculature can still respond to.
This work has been part of my practice with the scleroderma community for some time, and I am bringing it to two professional audiences this summer.
In July, I will be presenting on yoga therapy and digestion at the 2026 National Scleroderma Conference, hosted by the National Scleroderma Foundation. The conference takes place July 17–19 in Baltimore and is fully in-person. It is a patient education conference that brings together people living with scleroderma, caregivers, family members, and clinicians. If you are attending, I hope to see you there. More information is available at scleroderma.org.
I have also submitted a poster on yoga therapy for digestion in scleroderma to SYTAR 2026 — the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research, hosted by the International Association of Yoga Therapists — taking place June 11–13 in Costa Mesa, California. I am awaiting confirmation on acceptance and will share more once that is finalized.
If you are living with scleroderma and navigating GI symptoms, or if you are a clinician working with this population, I would encourage you to stay connected. The email list is the best place to receive updates on presentations, resources, and future offerings as they become available.