Yoga For Constipation — The 8 Poses Yogis Practice For A Happy Stomach
Yoga is one of the rare remedies that seems to have a solution for all health issues. One of these issues that yoga can famously solve is constipation.
And there is not one asana or two but several poses of yoga for constipation that you can try to say goodbye to this troublesome condition and live a more enjoyable life.
Here’re 8 Effective Poses of Yoga For Constipation For You To Poop Healthily
1) Paschimottanasana
To Do It Right:
Sit on the ground and stretch your legs out. Use your fingers to hold the toes. Breathe out and then droop slightly till your forehead brushes your legs. Draw your belly back when bending over.
As you bend slowly, keep your head between your hands while they stoop to the ground. Hold this position for about 5 seconds. Then sit upright and get your forehead back to its previous position.
How It Helps:
Paschimottanasana is one of the best yoga for constipation because it accelerates the bowels’ peristalsis. This refers to the motion of the bowels or intestines – how food and waste move around from one area to another.
By practicing this asana you can alleviate constipation, liver sluggishness, belching, and gastritis.
2) Halasana
To Do It Right:
Lie down on the yoga mat and lift both legs up as you exhale. Then make a semi-circular arc by taking your toes over your head till they touch the floor.
Hold this posture for 5 seconds while holding your breath.
Get back to where you were before — lift the legs while taking a deep breath and drop the back slowly after three seconds. Eventually, let the legs lay back in their original position. Remember to be slow.
How It Helps:
Halasana strengthens your back muscles and helps reduce stress. This makes it not just a great yoga exercise for mental health but also for conditions related to the bowels like keto diarrhea and constipation. Stress is a significant factor in such problems.
When you try this yoga for constipation, you will notice a stimulation in your abdominal organs – the stomach, liver, intestine, gallbladder, and pancreas. This stimulation helps in better digestion, which makes sure you poop regularly.
3) Pawanmuktasana
To Do It Right:
Lay down straight with your back to the floor. Now, hug your right knee close to your ribcage on the right side.
Keep your left leg straight down on the mat. Wrap the leg in your hands while pulling it towards your chest.
Hold this pose for up to 2 minutes, then do the same steps with the left leg.
How It Helps:
Pawanmuktasana is an exercise to relieve constipation immediately if done right. It compresses the ascending colon on the right and descending colon on the left. Thus, stimulating the nerves that help push the feces out and relieve constipation.
4) Balasana
To Do It Right:
Sit down on your knees to begin. Then move to the table pose where your hands and thighs are parallel to each other, and the back is straight.
Next, exhale and lower your hips, keeping them on the heels. Now put your forehead on the floor.
You can keep the arms over your head with palms facing the floor or keep them alongside your legs with palms upside down.
Return to the starting position after roughly 30 seconds of holding this position.
How It Helps:
This is great yoga for constipation as it keeps your internal organs supple by massaging them. Thus, creating a better environment for digestion. The pose also increases blood flow to the colon, which helps with bowel movements, therefore, preventing constipation.
5) Salabhasana
To Do It Right:
Lay flat on your stomach. Extend your legs. Stretch well while lengthening your spine.
Now take a deep breath in, and raise your right leg, followed by your left. Once you are comfortable, gently lift your head.
Hold this position for 5–6 breaths.
How It Helps:
This yoga for constipation works because it fuels the digestive fire. The digestive fire is what helps process food in our body. It is necessary for alleviating gastric discomfort and also helps against constipation.
6) Janushirasana
To Do It Right:
Bend your right knee and bring the sole of your right foot toward the back of your left leg. Keep your spine straight.
Now, as you exhale, raise your arms in the air. And stoop forward. While doing that, tuck your chin around your knees. Place your hands wherever they are naturally.
Stay in this position for 2 to 3 breaths, then exhale deeply.
Raise your arms and sit up. Now, let your arms go while exhaling.
Bend your left knee and repeat the same steps with the other leg.
How It Helps:
Janushirasana is yoga for bowel obstruction problems. It helps to relieve constipation by massaging the small and big intestines and making your internal environment capable of smooth bowel movements. Thus, avoiding constipation.
7) Jathara Parivartanasana
To Do It Right:
Lie down on the yoga mat and lift your knees up to 90 degrees. Keep your hands open on the side.
Now turn your lower body to the right side and slowly keep the knees to the ground. While doing this, look to your palm on the left side.
Hold this pose for a couple of breaths, then turn your head to the right. Looking at the right palm, gently twist your lower body to the left side.
Keep your core firm as you rotate to the side, and avoid rolling your upper body with your legs.
Repeat these steps 2 to 3 times.
How It Helps:
The twisting position stimulates the internal organs and boosts your blood circulation too. Thus, encouraging regular excretion by supplying your digestive organs with new blood, oxygen, and nutrients to working through the waste.
8) Bhujangasana
To do It Right:
Lie down on your stomach. Stretch and unite the legs so that the knees are in contact with one another.
Straighten your elbows and then place the palm near the chest facing the ground. The head at this moment should be on the ground.
Next, inhale deeply and raise your upper body.
Move and take the neck as far back as you can without straining it.
Hold this posture and your breath for 10 to 60 seconds, then return your upper body to its starting position.
Follow the procedure a few times.
How It Helps:
By stretching the front torso and the spine, this yoga pose strengthens the abdominal muscles. It also triggers the secretion of digestive juices, which facilitates the easy movement of feces.
With better muscles and a good environment in your digestive system, you can avoid bloating. No wonder some yogis consider it a must-do pose of yoga for constipation and bloating-like issues.
Wrapping Up
Those were eight poses of yoga for constipation and related issues. Whether it is a consequence of keto or just because you didn’t drink enough water, these yoga asanas are sure to help.
You can pick any of them as a beginner and add it to your workout routine. Once you are comfortable with it, add another, then another.
For beginners, Balasana and Pawanmuktasana are good places to start. These are easy as well as quite effective.
We suggest you try intermittent fasting as well. It allows you to have an empty stomach around the morning or evening. When you do these yoga asanas on empty stomach, you may get faster results.
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Resources:
- https://academic.oup.com/tropej/article-pdf/56/3/144/9171097/fmp077.pdf
- https://www.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2010534.pdf
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/colon-blood-flow
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