6 Yoga Poses To Improve Digestion

Yoga is a very healthy and complete type of physical exercise, so practicing it will allow us to obtain great benefits on a physical and mental level. To apply this type of practice more specifically, we show you some yoga postures to improve digestion.

Due to the large amount of chemical elements present in food, together with the intolerances that some people suffer from and the stress of everyday life, there is a considerable risk of heavy digestion. With this type of yoga exercise, we can help our body to digestion better.

1. Cat pose and cow pose

In the first of these yoga poses to improve digestion, we will start by getting on all fours, on the hands and knees, which we will align with the shoulders and with the hips, respectively. Once we adopt this position, we will alternate the curvature of our back, in such a way that we put it in a convex – cat posture – and concave – cow posture – shape.

Meanwhile, we will breathe deeply during the exercise. Thus we can massage our internal organs, stretching and compressing the intestines, so that the epithelial cells, responsible for the proper functioning of the intestine, receive more blood.

2. Downward facing dog pose

For this position, we will start in a plank position, face down and placing the arms and legs extended and aligned with the shoulders and hips. Using our core muscles, we will bring our hips back and up. In addition, to extend the back, we bend the knees a little to stretch the spine and open the shoulders. In this position, we can use deep breaths to bring air into our abdomen, bringing the navel area up and inward to nourish the intestine.

3. Triangle pose

We will begin the third of these yoga poses to improve digestion by standing. Then we will take a wide step forward, stretching the leg that is left behind, keeping it straight. Next, we will turn the foot of the front leg 45º outwards.

Little by little, lean the trunk towards the front leg and place your hand on the shin or on the ground, while bringing the other arm straight up. Finally, stretch your head and bring your tailbone to the opposite side. Once you finish the exercise, get up little by little and repeat it with the other leg and towards the other side.

4. Extended dog pose

We will begin this pose by standing on all fours, similar to the dog and cow pose. Now, keeping the hips in the same position, we bring our hands forward with our arms outstretched. Meanwhile, we release the head so that it rests on the ground and gravity reaches to stretch the heart area. In short, this position is ideal for stretching the abdomen and alleviating possible stomach cramps caused by poor digestion of a large and heavy meal.

5. Bridge pose

To adopt this yoga posture, we have to lie on our back and arch our back to compress the digestive organs. In this way, we can stimulate them and encourage the arrival of blood to them. Thus we can eliminate any type of fatigue due to digestion.

We will place our feet flat on the floor, as close to the buttocks as possible, exhaling and pushing our feet and arms against the floor as we stretch our knees forward. It will be enough with about 10 deep breaths while we return little by little to the initial position.

6. Supine twist

Placing ourselves lying on our back and lifting the right leg off the ground, while we lead the knee towards the chest, we will turn the hips little by little as we pass the right leg over the left, all without moving or rotating the trunk.

Also, for a deeper stretch thanks to this posture, we put the left hand on the right knee. In case of not using the left arm to exert downward pressure, we will extend both arms to each side of the body. For this posture it will be advisable to be especially relaxed and hold the posture for several seconds while taking deep breaths.