Yoga for a Happy Gut

Yoga has a bunch of amazing health benefits including improved flexibility and strength, decreasing stress levels, and helping with weight maintenance. You can read more about them in this post.

Today, we’re going to learn more about the benefits of yoga for gut health and end with a simple yoga routine you can do at home.

Yoga and gut health

The gut and brain are intricately linked: what’s good for one is usually good for the other. For more on the gut-brain connection, read our previous article here.

When it comes to gut-health, diet is one piece of the equation. Especially if you’ve been feeling bloated or uncomfortable, then it’s worth checking out our list of food and nutrition tips that may help.

But gut health isn’t just about diet. It’s also about your body and mind. And as a result, yoga can be a great way to support gut health.

Ways yoga helps with digestion and GI distress

Physically, yoga can help massage your inner organs through compression and twisting poses.

These twisting motions can also help to enhance your digestion by helping food to move through and encouraging your liver and kidneys to function optimally.

Yoga is also helpful in decreasing stress hormones.

In many individuals, high levels of stress can lead to either constipation or diarrhea. Excessive stress can also result in digestive pain, bloating, cramping, and nausea.

During times of high stress, your body is diverting energy and resources away from your digestive tract towards other organ. And slowing your digestive tract down can lead to abdominal discomfort.

When we do yoga, it calms down our nervous system and tells our gut that it’s ok to resume normal digestion.

Furthermore, when we practice deep breathing during yoga, our nervous system starts to relax. And, since the brain and gut are so interconnected, when our brain is able to calm down, our gut can also start to calm relax.

Yoga sequence for a happy gut

With yoga, it is important to take it at your own pace. The moves below are meant to relax and enhance digestion rather than provide a strenuous workout.

Exercise Disclaimer: Before starting any new workout regimen, it’s important to consult with your healthcare provider. If you experience faintness, dizziness, pain or shortness of breath at any tie while exercising you should stop immediately. The workout below is merely a suggestion and should be adjusted to fit your individual needs and goals.

1. Take a few deep breaths

Breathe in through your nose deeply and bring this air into your diaphragm. Hold this breath for  a second before exhaling through your mouth. As you exhale, you can make a “Ha” sound.

2. Standing Forward Bend

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and arms reaching for the sky.

Take a large inhaling breath. With the exhale, bend forward at your hip while reaching your hands down to the floor, or as far down your shins as they can go. Try to maintain a relaxed neck and knees.

Take 10 deep breaths here before you stand back up.

This bending move acts as a compression for your bowels and can help to relieve digestive problems like constipation.

3. Downward Dog

Start on your hands and knees with your wrists below your shoulders and knees under your hip. With a big inhale, curl your toes under and press down while you lift your knees off the ground.

Exhale and straighten your legs without locking your knees, bringing your hips up and working to bring your heels towards the ground.

Practice taking inhales while you press away from your hands, and with the exhale pressing your heels towards the ground. Let your head hang comfortably.

After 10 big breathes, slowly lower your knees back to the ground.

4. Revolved Crescent Lunge

From a standing position, lunge your right leg back. Make sure that both feet are pointed forward. Get as deep in your lunge as you feel comfortable with while maintaining deep breathing.

After five breathes here, twist your body to the left from your waist and hold your hands in a prayer position. Gaze up at your left elbow.

Hold this pose for five seconds. Inhale as you stand back up and then repeat the whole movement on the other side.

This twisting move compresses your intestines and colon and can help with digestion.

5. Triangle to Reverse Triangle

Stand with your feet about 3 feet apart. Keep your knees slightly bent and feet strong on the ground.

Lean slightly forward and reach down with you right hand, placing it near your right foot. You can rest it on a block, your shin, or on the floor.

With your left hand, reach for the sky, twisting your body so that you’re gazing up at your left fingers while taking 5 deep breaths. 

Then switch so that your left hand is placed towards your left food. Reach your right hand to the sky and hold, gazing up at your right fingers. Take 5 deep breaths.

Slowly return to standing and reverse both of these moves on the other side.

6. Cat-cow

Begin on all fours. Your hands and wrists should be directly below your shoulders and your knees should be directly below your hips*. 

Bring your head and spine to a neutral position. With a big inhale, arch your spine and raise your head and tailbone into the air while letting your belly drop towards the floor. Hold here for 4 seconds.

With an exhale, round your spine up while drawing your head and tailbone towards the floor. Hold here for 4 seconds.

Repeat for one minute while linking your breaths to your movements. This can stimulate your intestines and help with gut circulation.

*Note: if you have painful knees, you can use a folded blanket under your knees as a cushion.

7. Childs Pose

Start in a kneeling positon and drop your buttocks towards our heels as you reach your hands on the ground as far away from you as you can.

Your stomach should be resting on your thighs or dropped between your legs.

Lean forward until your forehead is resting on the mat. Hold this pose for 10 deep breathes while you feel your legs compressing your abdomen.

The Bottom Line

Spending a few minutes every day practicing these restorative yoga poses and deep breathing can help improve digestion and GI discomfort by reducing stress and massaging your internal organs.

Let us know if you enjoy the flow by leaving a comment!