WELLNESS

Yoga for Digestion: 5 Poses to Try

yoga mat and blocks for a yoga for digestion practice
I’m Jen.
This is a space for me to share my interest in living a healthy lifestyle with you.   You'll find product recommendations, food, drink, beauty, wellness & lifestyle tips for living a healthy & enjoyable life. 
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When I first took a yoga class at my local gym, I was a young, very stiff tennis player who did not yet understand the importance of stretching.  Over time, I learned that yoga did allow me to become more flexible, but it also offered so much more.  The benefits of yoga are vast, but in addition to stretching and strengthening, did you know that certain yoga poses are especially great for improving digestion?

Establishing a regular yoga practice has provided so many physical as well as mental benefits.  What started as a once a week class at the gym has now turned into an almost daily home practice.  While I love the way yoga makes me feel overall, I especially like to focus on specific areas that are bothering me. 

There are many foundational yoga poses that also happen to be great for digestion and improving gut motility.

yoga mat and blocks

Photo by Rachel Claire: https://www.pexels.com/photo/yoga-blocks-and-yoga-mats-on-the-floor-6752170/

I have come to crave my yoga time and try to make it an almost daily practice.  Sometimes it’s only ten minutes and other times it’s a 30 minute class, either on YouTube or on the Peloton app.  As I’ve gotten older, I find that my body enjoys more gentle practices.  While I’m usually up for a challenge and have given hot yoga and power yoga a try, my favorites are gentle full body or focused body part flows, as well as yin yoga.

One thing I love about yoga is that I can find a class to help with whatever might be bothering me, whether that be a sore hip or lower back, or issues with digestion.  No matter what, I always feel better physically, and more relaxed mentally when I’ve taken the time to get on the mat. 

In addition to your yoga for digestion practice, focusing on regular deep belly breathing and meditation can help to move your body into the rest and digest state which is crucial for a healthy digestive system.  

Today I’m going to focus on five yoga poses that can help with digestion.  The wonderful thing about yoga is that even though you might be working on a specific body part, yoga is a full body and mind practice and is very beneficial for overall health and well-being.  So while you may be focusing on something in particular, the benefits will be more wide ranging which is an extra bonus.

Without further ado, here are five poses of my favorite poses that are regularly included in the classes I take.  In addition to each of them offering a vast array of health benefits, I recommend trying these especially if you’d like to boost your digestion.  As with all yoga poses, there are many more benefits to each one, but today’s focus is on digestion.  All of the poses mentioned below are beginner friendly and are considered to be foundational yoga poses.  

Cat-Cow Pose

Cat-Cow pose is typically incorporated towards the beginning of a class as it stretches and strengthens many muscles in the spine, hips, abdomen, neck, and chest.

Alternating between the cow pose, where you arch your back, and the cat pose, where you round your back, actually allows you to gently massage your internal organs.  This compression and expansion, in turn, helps to stimulate digestion.

For cat-cow pose, start on all fours with your hands down on the mat in front of your knees and your spine neutral (not arched one way or the other).  In a slow and controlled way, gently arch your back and lift your chin up to move into the cow pose while inhaling deeply.  Hold for a brief second.  Then, as you exhale, round your spine and tuck your chin down as you come into cat pose.  Remember that to make this foundational yoga pose have the bonus benefits of digestion, it is important to focus on deep belly breathing as you are moving back and forth through the cat and cow positions.  Alternate between these poses 5-10 times, and continue if it feels good.

Bridge Pose

Bridge pose both strengthens and stretches many muscles in the body, including the back, glutes, hamstrings, and hips.  It helps with spinal mobility and is also great for the pelvic floor.

The reason bridge pose is good for digestion is because it helps to compress and then  stretch the abdominal muscles which offers a gentle organ massage.  The positioning of bridge pose also helps the body to move organs into their proper alignment, especially the pelvic floor muscles.

For bridge pose, you’ll begin lying down on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the mat.  Separate your feet about hip width apart and close enough to your body that your fingertips can touch the backs of your ankles.  With your arms straight by your body and hands down on the mat, slowly lift your hips and spine off of the floor until your back is at a straight angle and you feel a good stretch.  Hold the pose for a few deep breaths and then slowly lower yourself back towards the floor.  Repeat this pose a few times.

Supine Spinal Twist

Supine spinal twist is a great pose for improving spinal mobility as well as stimulating digestion.

Twisting allows your abdominal organs to be gently massaged.  One way to think about this is like you’re wringing out your internal organs like you would a washcloth.

To prepare for a supine spinal twist, begin lying flat on your back with your legs out in front of you and your arms by your side.  Begin by bringing one knee in towards your chest, hugging it as close to your body as is tolerable.  (This allows for a gentle compression before moving into the twist).  After holding the knee in for a deep breath or two, take the opposite hand to the outside of the pulled in knee and gently twist towards the hand that is pulling the knee in.  Remember to breathe!  While in the twist, you can have the other hand extended out horizontally and your head can stay neutral or turn towards the knee or towards the extended arm.  Hold for at least five deep breaths.  Gently untwist, and repeat the pose on the opposite side.

Happy Baby

Happy baby is one of my very favorite yoga poses!  As someone with a perpetually sore back and extremely tight hips, this pose helps to stretch the hips, inner thighs/groin, and lower back.  It is typically done towards the end of class as it is a lying down pose and is very relaxing.

As with the other poses that I’ve included, the pose compresses the abdominal muscles which helps to stimulate digestion.  It also helps to loosen the pelvic floor area.

To get into happy baby pose, begin by lying flat on your back.  Bring your knees toward you and grab onto the outside of the feet if you can reach without straining.  Make sure that your back and pelvis remain on the mat as you gently coax your knees towards your armpits.  Breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth as you hold the pose for at least 30 seconds.

Child’s Pose

Child’s pose is one of the most relaxing yoga poses for me.  I particularly enjoy it when I have my knees wider instead of together, as that seems to give me more space to really stretch into it.  It helps me to release tension in my hips and back and when I stretch my arms out in front of me, it feels even more expansive.

I’m starting to sound like a broken record by now, but the light and gentle compression on the abdomen muscles when you are in this pose helps to stimulate digestion.

For child’s pose, begin on all fours.  I like to separate my knees as wide as my yoga mat, and bring my feet together behind me.  Then bring your butt down towards you feet as close to the mat as possible.  Once you are there, lower your head to the mat and either extend your arms forward out in front of you with your palms down for a more active stretch, or place your hands next to your body with your palms up for a more passive pose.  As you relax, don’t forget to breathe deeply and remain in the pose for at least 30 seconds but up to a few minutes if it feels good.  As with the other poses, it is the breathing component that makes this yoga pose beneficial for digestion.

What are your favorite yoga poses for digestion?  I’d love to hear whether you’re already incorporating these poses into your regular practice, maybe without even realizing the added digestion benefits of each.

 

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