Yoga Poses

Wind-Removing Pose (Pawanmuktasana)

How to do it: Lie on your back with your legs extended. Bend your right knee and wrap your hands around your shin just below the kneecap. Pull the knee into your chest toward your right shoulder, keeping your elbows close to your sides and your shoulder blades on the floor. Take several deep belly breaths, then release and switch sides. Finally, pull both knees into your chest and wrap your arms around your shins. Take several deep belly breaths.

Supine Twist (Supta Jaṭhara Parivartānāsana)

How to do it: Lie on your back with your legs extended and your arms out to a T. Bend your right knee and bring it up toward your chest. Keeping both shoulder blades on the ground, let your knee drop over toward your left side. Turn your head to the right. Take several deep belly breaths. Release and switch sides.

Happy Baby (Ānanda Bālāsana)

How to do it: Lie on your back. Hug both knees into your chest and flatten your entire back into the floor. Release your shins so that the soles of your feet are facing the ceiling. Your feet should be positioned directly over your knees. Grab the outsides of your feet and relax your shoulder blades into the ground. Take several deep belly breaths.

Cat-Cow Pose (Marjaryāsana)

How to do it: Get onto all fours with your shoulders directly over your wrists and your hips over your knees. On an inhale, drop your belly down toward the ground and raise your hips and shoulders, staying broad across your chest. On an exhale, reverse the position, rounding your spine like a cat and dropping your tailbone and head. Continue to alternate back and forth for six to 10 repetitions, taking deep breaths from the belly. This one is great for constipation!

Child’s Pose (Balāsana)

How to do it: Get onto all fours. Extend your buttocks back over your heels and your arms forward. Lower down until your forehead touches the mat. Breathe in Child’s pose for several minutes.

Self-Massage

Massaging your stomach can help to move stool along the inside of your colon. It may help relieve symptoms of tightness, pressure, cramping, and bloating.

 

Start on the right side of your stomach down by the bone of your pelvis. Rub in a circular motion lightly up to the right side till you reach your rib bones. Move straight across to the left side. Work your way down to the left to the hip bone and back up to the belly button for 2-3 minutes.

 

Rub with your fingertips in a circular motion. You may press a little deeper with your fingers. Spend about 1 minute moving from the right hip bone to the right ribs then 1 minute across the middle (gently) and then 1 minute down to the left bone by your pelvis to the belly button.

 

Repeat rub, always in clockwise motion, for 10 minutes.

 

 

Copyright: fizkes / 123RF Stock Photo
Copyright: fizkes / 123RF Stock Photo
Copyright: dimol / 123RF Stock Photo
Copyright: fizkes / 123RF Stock Photo
Copyright: fizkes / 123RF Stock Photo
Copyright: fizkes / 123RF Stock Photo 

Information thanks to Live Strong, Pocket Yoga, and the University of Michigan.