Yoga Poses for Digestive Health
Show your gut some love with this yoga sequence.
Are you having digestive issues? Do you find yourself relying on probiotics or other supplements to get your gut back on track? If you’re looking to try something different, there is a more natural way to aid your digestion– through yoga.
Yoga can be extremely beneficial to your digestion in several ways. Back bends stretch the abdomen, while forward folds compress the abdomen, increasing circulation to digestive organs. Twisting poses also stimulate and massage the digestive tract.
Try out the yoga poses below to start improving your digestion now!
By Bloglovin’
Child’s Pose
- Big toes together to touch
- Knees spread wide
- Forehead resting on the mat
- Arms extended out in front of you towards the top of your mat
- Hold for 1-2 minutes
Cat and Cow Pose
- Begin on all fours in a tabletop position
- As you inhale find cow by dropping your belly down and lift your chest and gaze up as you arch your spine
- As you exhale find cat by drawing the belly in and dropping chin to your chest as you round your spine
- Move through 5-10 rounds of cat and cow
Downward Facing Dog
- From all fours, lift your hips up to come into an inverted v-shape with straight arms and legs (knees can be slightly bent if back side body feels tight but do not bend elbows)
- Spread your fingertips wide and press firmly into the mat with your fingertips and palms
- Relax shoulders away from ears
- Gaze back between your knees
- Draw belly in and up
- Sink heels into the mat
- Hold 7-10 breaths
Low Lunge
- Step your foot between your hands and drop down to the back knee
- Lift arms overhead or place them on top of the front thigh
- Sink into the front knee to open up the hip flexor and psoas on the opposite leg
- Keep your chest lifted up and shoulders drawn back
- Hold 7-10 breaths
Revolved Side Angle
- Walk hands to the top of the mat
- Spiral high on the back toes, lifting the heel off the mat
- Bend the front knee at 90 degrees
- Place the opposite hand on the floor to the inside of the front foot and lift the other hand straight up in the air, stacking it over the shoulder
- Keep hips as square as possible as you twist open through the upper thoracic spine
- Hold 5-7 breaths
Locust Pose
- Lower all the way down to the belly
- Extend hands by your sides, palms facing down
- On an inhale, lift your shoulders, palms and shins off the mat
- Gaze is at the top of the mat and not up, keep spine long
- Squeeze shoulder blades together and broaden the chest
- Firm but don’t squeeze your glutes
- Hold 7-10 breaths
