Can Yoga Help Aid Digestion After Eating? 4 Poses You Should Try Now

What Is Yoga?

For thousands of years, humans have utilized yoga as a traditional practice to harmonize the mind and body. It also has a spiritual component for many people (1 Trusted Source, 2 Trusted Source, 3 Trusted Source).

The technique combines the following to foster greater mind-body awareness:

• gentle movement (asanas)
• breathing techniques (pranayama)
• meditation (dyana)

It activates your parasympathetic nerve system, also referred to as the “rest and digest system” (1, 2, 3 Trusted Sources).

How Yoga May Help Digestion

The breakdown of food to release nutrients and waste items into your body is referred to as “digestion.”

However, the phrase is frequently used to describe any digestive symptoms, including gas, bloating, discomfort, and the consistency and frequency of stools (4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).

The gut-brain axis is a network of blood-borne nerves and biochemical impulses that links the brain and digestive system (7Trusted Source).

This system allows your gut to respond physically and psychologically by producing symptoms including nausea, stomach aches, diarrhea, constipation, and changes in appetite and digestion (7Trusted Source).

General Gut Health

People think that yoga improves digestive health by lowering stress, boosting circulation, and encouraging the GI tract’s physical movement, or motility.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Yoga may be particularly helpful for those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). According to scientists, IBS is caused by an overactive sympathetic nervous system, your body’s stress mechanism.

Gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation are just a few of the symptoms that the illness can cause (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).

In a 2018 study, 208 IBS sufferers choose between following a low-FODMAP diet and practicing yoga for 12 weeks. By the conclusion, IBS symptoms had improved in both groups, indicating yoga may be an additional IBS treatment option (10Trusted Source).

IBS symptoms in participants in a 2016 pilot research that involved 16 biweekly yoga sessions improved (11Trusted Source).

The study did find that walking provided similar advantages for participants. This implies that incorporating regular exercise and lowering stress may be the key contributors to symptom improvement (11Trusted Source).

Yoga has been demonstrated to help with IBS relief in other research as well (12Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source).

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Yoga may help with symptom control in inflammatory bowel illnesses including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. However, you shouldn’t use it in place of prescription drugs or other forms of treatment (14, 15, 16, and 17 Trusted Sources).

There is little research that specifically examines the best yoga poses and which ones may help with GI problems. Most current assertions are supported by anecdotal evidence. Therefore, additional study needs to be done on this subject by scientists.

SUMMARYYoga may help relieve digestive issues by decreasing stress, increasing circulation, and promoting gut motility. However, scientists need to do more research to understand its role in specific digestive issues.

9 yoga Poses For Digestion

Here are 9 yoga positions that could aid with digestion in general or other digestive-related conditions.

1. Seated Side Bend (Parsva Sukhasana)

For beginners wishing to stretch their obliques, stomach muscles, lower and upper back, and shoulders, this is a terrific routine.

The simple stretch could improve digestion overall and relieve bloating and gas.

How to execute:

1. Sit on the floor in a cross-legged position, with your hands touching the floor at your sides.
2. Raise your left arm straight into the air, then gently lean to your right side.
3. Keep your right forearm on the floor, facing outward.
4. Slowly breathe in and out 4–5 times. Then, switch sides and repeat.

2. Seated Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

By assisting the small and large intestines in their natural peristalsis, the twisting motion of this maneuver is supposed to encourage bowel regularity. Food and trash are moved through the GI tract in this way.

Additionally, this yoga pose might reduce bloating.

How to execute:

1. Sit on the floor, with both legs straight. Bend your left knee and cross it over your right knee or thigh, placing your left foot on the floor. Keep your left foot planted throughout the entire movement.
2. Then gently lean on your right hip and bend your right knee so that the sole of your right foot is facing inward toward your left buttock. If this is too difficult, you can keep your right leg straight.
3. Take your right elbow and place it on the outside of your left knee while you gently rotate your trunk to the left. Place your left palm on the floor to the left of your buttocks.
4. Turn your neck so it is slightly looking over your left shoulder.
5. Hold this position and breathe for 4–5 deep breaths. With each breath, notice your spine elongating. Then, switch sides and repeat.

3. Supine Spinal Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)

Stretching the lower back and enhancing spinal mobility are two benefits of the supine spinal twist pose.

People think it helps with overall digestion and relieves bloating and constipation.

How to execute:

1. Lie down on your back, also called supine position.
2. Bend both knees, with the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips 1–2 inches (2.5–5 cm) off the ground and shift them to the right about 1 inch (2.5 cm). This will allow your hips to stack when completing this move. Lower your hips back to the floor.
3. Straighten your left leg and grab your right knee and bring it toward your chest.
4. While keeping your left leg straight, gently rotate to the left and bring your right knee over your left. Instead of forcing your knee to the ground, allow it to gently drape over your left leg.
5. Bring your right arm back and place it straight on the floor, perpendicular to your body. Take your left hand and gently press on your right knee for a greater stretch. Alternatively, leave your left arm straight.
6. Hold this position for 4–5 deep breaths. Then, repeat on the other side.

4. Knees To Chest (Apanasana)

A calming technique that helps ease lower back tension is knees to chest.

Supporters claim that it encourages bowel motions by gently massaging the big intestine.

How to execute:

1. Lie on your back, in supine position, with your legs straight.
2. Slowly bend your knees and bring them toward your chest, using your arms to pull them closer.
3. Hold this position for 4–5 deep breaths.