Yoga for Digestion: A list of Yoga Asanas to Improve and Aid Digestion

Digestive Health:

Digestion is the breakdown of food and liquids in your body and digestive issues can be conveyed in many different forms. When people struggle to digest food, they may experience bloating, gassiness, and constipation. These issues can be slightly uncomfortable and common to some people and for others, they can be painful and difficult to relieve, interrupting a persons daily habits and/or night time sleep. 

The reason that so many people struggle with digestion can be due to underlying health issues like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and inflamed bowel or due to poor gut health and eating badly. These causes are healed through medical help, improvement of gut health, and movement targeted at improving digestion.

How yoga can help with digestion:

Practicing yoga helps to reduce stress, which is one of the leading causes of indigestion and IBS. Breathing deeply and getting into a meditative state can help to relieve tension in the stomach and promote digestion. Gentle poses and movements like twists and forward folds are known to increase blood circulation and aid gut health, which improves digestion. Here are four yoga poses which can help with digestion...

A list of yoga poses that promote digestion:

Downward-Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Posture:  Hold the pose whilst pushing into the hands and letting the head hang heavy for three deep breaths before slowly releasing it to the knees in a comfortable seat.

Benefits:  Downward-Facing Dog is a great pose to circulate the blood throughout the body because it’s a full-body activating pose. It’s also a stress reducing pose, which improves digestion. An additional benefit of the Downward-Facing Dog is that it strengthens and stretches the arms.

Half Lord of the Fishes Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

Posture:  Twist first to the left side and hold your left knee with your right hand or place the right elbow on the inside of the knee for two deep breaths. Do the same thing on the right side before releasing to a neutral seated position.

Benefits:  The twisting motion in this pose promotes bowel regularity and decreases bloating in the stomach. It’s a gentle twisting pose, which can relax the stomach muscles and ensure easier digestion. An additional benefit of this pose is that it opens and stretches the chest and shoulder area.

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Posture:  Push into the hands to lift your torso slightly off of the mat. There is an option to extend the elbows or keep them bent for two deep breaths before releasing the pose back down to your stomach.

Benefits:  Cobra Pose stretches and strengthens the stomach muscles, which is helpful in promoting digestion. Additional benefits of Cobra Pose include that it strengthens the arms, stretches the spine, and opens the shoulders and chest area.

Knees to Chest Pose (Apanasana)

Posture:  Lay with your arms wrapped around your shins and hugging your legs or holding onto your knees for three breaths before releasing to Svasana (Corpse Pose).

Benefits:  Knees to Chest Pose is a relaxing pose that helps to relieve stomach pain, which promotes digestion. An additional benefit of Knees to Chest Pose includes that it massages the lower back and relieves pain in that area.

Authored by: Kate Viljoen.  Katé is a qualified yoga instructor and freelance writer. She is passionate about copy-writing, the earth, and movement of any kind. In her free time, she focuses on improving her writing skills. You can find her on Upwork.