3 Yoga Poses For Your Healthiest Gut Ever

With nearly 80 percent of the immune system located in the gut, gut health is rapidly becoming a widely discussed topic as it relates to optimal health. It is estimated that virtually 30 to 40 percent of the population suffer from digestive-related issues, making digestion and gut health a critical component of overall well-being. When you think of supporting gut health, yoga, I would imagine, is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, healing is an integrative approach, and it is as important to nourish the physical body as it is to incorporate other modalities.

A majority of the twist postures in yoga aid digestion and gut health. This is because you are applying pressure to the areas associated with the digestive system in order to rinse and release toxins. Think of it as giving your internal organs a massage.

Revolved crescent lunge is a great pose to help relieve constipation, bloating, or other digestive discomfort. Undigested foods, fluids, and other toxins oftentimes get stuck in the intestinal tract, which is why twists are incredibly useful for stimulating the gut and eliminating waste.

Bow pose is a fantastic way to support gut health by applying gentle pressure to the belly, stimulating the digestive system. Rocking forward and backward on your abdomen to the rhythm of your inhales and exhales offers a gentle massage to the internal organs. Doing this increases blood flow and oxygenates these critical areas, helping to relieve constipation or other complications associated with gut health. This posture also helps aid in elimination, removing waste and other toxins that can be detrimental to the body.

The third chakra, or the manipura, is associated with the gut and digestive system and is located at the navel. According to Hindu theory, digestion occurs through producing heat, and food is burned in order to create energy. One of the best ways to produce heat in the body is by doing sun salutations, a primary reason they often occur at the beginning of a yoga class—to warm your body before entering into more complex postures. Not only do they build heat needed for digestion, but they help detoxify through the inhalation and exhalation process, which oxygenates the blood and eliminates carbon dioxide and other toxic gases.

A sun salutation starts in standing mountain pose with the weight evenly distributed through both feet, finding a steady foundation, bringing your hands to heart center. On your next inhale, reach the arms high, fingertips extended to the sky, and exhale your hands through heart center into a forward fold, hinging at the hips, maintaining a flat back.

Your next inhale brings you into a half lift with a long, straight spine; you may need to microbend slightly at the knees to get there; then exhale, plant your hands, and flow through your vinyasa, which is low plank, elbows grazing the sides of the rib cage, and inhaling upward-facing dog, moving your chest forward; then leading with the low belly pressing back to downward-facing dog. Complete this sequence three to five times, moving at the pace of your inhales and exhales.