7 Yoga Poses To Beat Belly Bloat

Beat Bloat with Yoga

If holiday overindulgence has upset your digestion, beat the bloat and flatten your belly with these yoga poses

It’s easy to overindulge and feel bloated and puffy after a big meal. The main cause? Not-so-savory reasons like gas and acid reflux. Instead of popping a Tums and flopping back on the couch, think about trying a natural cure for stomach troubles.

“Fifteen minutes of yoga will help ease your pain,” says Zayna Gold, creator of Healing Through Movement and a Boston-based yoga instructor. As a long-time sufferer of Crohn’s disease, she’s created this yoga sequence to beat bloat, flatten your middle, and ease your stomach pains.

Benefits of yoga

Gold recommends starting from a reclining position. “This gives you a chance to take a deep breath and feel energized,” she says. Then, she progresses from seated to standing positions. Some, like the bridge pose, are stretch moves that stimulate your abdominal organs. Next are twist poses that massage and tone your abdomen—great therapy for gas, bloating, and constipation .

Some, like the bridge pose, are stretch moves that stimulate your abdominal organs. Next are twist poses that massage and tone your abdomen—great therapy for gas, bloating, and costipation. The remaining poses work out your back, neck and spine. “You will feel less stress when your nervous system is relaxed. The health benefits will spread to the rest of your body and ease your digestion,” says Gold.

Spinal twist

Use this twist pose to soothe and tone your abdomen.

Lie down, hug your knees and inhale. As you exhale, drop your knees to the left, using your left hand to push them down gently. Then, turn your head and stretch your arm out to the right. Stay for five to ten breaths. Inhale, and return your hands and knees to center. Repeat on the other side. We all get hit with digestive discomfort from time to time. To find some natural relief, look to the centuries-old practice of yoga to help stretch those belly muscles and kick-start the digestive system. These yoga poses will help ease bloating, indigestion, and gas.

“Because so many of the different postures center around your core, they can help bring focus to your abdomen,” says Keri Gans, RDN, registered dietitian nutritionist and certified yoga teacher in New York City and host of The Keri Report podcast. “The other thing is the de-stressing that can occur. Anything we do to decrease our stress levels is beneficial in more ways than we can understand.

Seated Forward Bend Pose or “Paschimottanasana”

This simple stretch helps you relax, and relieve some of the stress that’s affecting your digestion.

How to do it: Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you. Keeping your back straight, slowly hinge forward at the hips and lower your torso. Stay there for five to ten deep breaths.

Modification: Lower yourself as far as you can, but keep it comfortable and feel the stretch.

Seated Twist

Much like a wet towel, the Seated Twist works to “wring out” any air trapped within the abdomen while improving blood flow to vital organs. Start by sitting on the floor, legs outstretched. Bend the right knee and bring your right leg over the left, resting the foot just to the outside of the left thigh. Turning your torso toward your bent leg, bring the right arm around the right knee, inhale to lengthen the spine, and twist the body away from the leg. “Twist further on the exhale so that you’re working another part of your abdomen,” suggests Gans. For a modified version, sit upright in a chair and point both legs in one direction. Turning your torso in the opposite direction, use your hands to grip the back of the seat, slowly twisting. (Check out these 9 easy chair exercises that actually work your whole body.)

Deep Breathing

It sounds simple, but this is actually the most important move of them all. Yoga is all about connecting with the breath, and the simple act of deep breathing exercises can work to help reduce stress and anxiety, which some researchers believe may directly affect your digestive functions. This exercise is ideal for anyone looking to unwind or center themselves, and can easily be practiced pretty much anytime, anywhere. Sit in a comfortable position, soften the face

, close your eyes, and alternate inhaling to four counts, then exhaling to four counts. Keeping your spine elongated (you can imagine a string pulling you upward from the top of your head). “Nothing works wonders more than a deep breath,” says Gans, who recommends adding a mantra for extra de-stressing benefits. “Pick a word or phrase that has meaning to you, such as ‘Let’ on the inhale and ‘Go’ on the exhale.”

Dhansanana

One of the best ways to combat bloating? Strengthening your core muscles. Bow Pose does just that. This posture energizes your internal organs and stimulates the adrenal glands. Plus, this backbend increases blood flow to your digestive system, which helps prevent constipation, ease digestion, and combat bloating.

Yoga teacher Carol Krucoff advises students to challenge themselves in this invigorating posture. However, she also says to be wary of straining yourself—and to use a strap in a modified version if needed. “You do not have to catch your feet or ankles to gain the great benefit,” she says. You’ll still give your internal organs a boost even if you’re in a modified version of this pose.

Marichysasana

A great pose for combatting bloating, this posture also tones your core and stretches your back muscles. It facilitates movement through your digestive tract, ensuring that you can digest your food easily—and avoid painful bloating.

Yoga teachers Travis Eliot and Lauren Eckstrom remind students to relax the back shoulder (the one the head looks over) and keep it away from your ear. When you look over that shoulder, make sure to position your chin parallel to the floor. Throughout the duration of this posture, they advise students to draw the belly in—toward the spine—and keep the shoulders soft. These cues will help protect your students from injury and help them have the best experience of the pose:

If you want to twist more deeply, take your straight leg wider than your hip, lean back slightly, and then roll your lower abdomen toward your bent leg before coming back into the pose.

Imagine a central axis running through your torso from your pelvic floor to the crown of your head.

Keeping the left leg active, inhale your left arm to the ceiling and take your right hand to the floor behind your right hip.

Exhale and twist to the right, hooking your left elbow to the outside of your right knee. Make sure your extended leg doesn’t lose its vigor or flop open it.

This restorative posture relieves stress, calms your mind and improves blood circulation. By improving your circulation, this pose can help reduce bloating—and relieve you of stomach-related aches and pains.

While in this soothing pose, yoga teacher Claudia Cummins suggests taking a minute to observe the stillness of the posture. “With each quiet exhalation, see if you can drift a little closer to the stillness that lies at the very heart of the universe,” she says. “Let yourself float in this soothing silence for as long as you desire.”

Wind-Relieving pose

This pose will help you to relax your abdomen, hips, thighs, and buttocks.

Lie on your back and bring your legs straight up to 90 degrees.
Bend both knees and bring your thighs into your abdomen.
Keep your knees and ankles together.
Bring your arms around your legs.
Clasp your hands together or take hold of your elbows.
Lift up your neck and tuck your chin into your chest or bring it onto your knees.

Start by holding this pose for 20 seconds. Gradually increase for up to 1 minute. Keep your head on the floor if it’s more comfortable

Child’s pose (Balasana)

This asana relaxes your lower back, hips, and legs. It’s believed to massage your internal organs.

Come into a kneeling position and sit back on your heels.
Adjust your knees so that they’re hip-width apart or slightly wider.
Slowly walk your hands out in front of you as you bend at the hips.
Allow your torso to rest on your thighs
Allow your belly to fall heavy into your legs. Maintain gentle pressure on this area.
Rest in this pose for up to 5 minutes.

To increase the pressure on your abdomen, you can make fists with your hands. Place them on either side of your lower abdomen before bending forward.