The 5 Easiest Stretches to Improve Digestion

Digestion is the breakdown of food that humans eat for energy and nourishment. It is one of the body’s most essential functions, yet we frequently take it for granted. A healthy digestive system not only aids in eliminating pollutants but also keeps your stomach light and detoxified.

Notably, stretching isn’t just for when you’re at the gym, as it turns out. Some stretches may be used daily to alleviate bloating and enhance digestion!

We’ve identified the five simplest stretches to promote digestion to assist you in getting rid of bloat and alleviate digestive issues. Continue reading.

1. Garland Pose

Garland pose is a well-known stretching posture exercise for digestion. In these exercises to help digestion, your abdominal organs are toned and strengthened, and your metabolism is enhanced, which aids in the breakdown and conversion of food into energy.

How to:

• Stand erect on your mat and gradually walk your feet apart to be more comprehensive than the hip distance apart.
• Squat toward the mat until your glutes are almost touching your legs.
• Bring your arms inside your thighs and your palms together, elbows bent.
• Push your arms into your thighs.
• Press your arms on your legs outward to move deeper into this stance.
• Please continue to take calm, long breaths to convey to your body that it is safe to release into this pose.

2. Twist

This action activates the digestive process in the stomach and is beneficial in strengthening your abdomen.

How to:

• Begin seated, extending the right leg and bending the left solely to the mat.
• Support your body with a straight left arm and rest your hand on the mat near your bottom, keeping your back straight.
• Exhale and raise your right arm.
• Exhale and rotate to the left, bringing your chin to gaze over your left shoulder and your right arm to rest on the outside of your left leg.
• Take three deep breaths.
• Lift to find space with each inhalation and exhale to progress deeper into the twist.
• Raise your arm and let go of the twist with a final breath. Remember to do the same on the opposite side.

3. Child’s Pose to Downward Dog

The lower back is a prime location for the body to hold stress, and the child’s pose assists in releasing that tension by elongating the back and relieving tightness. Downward dog inversion may help reposition the colon and intestines, encouraging good bowel motions.

How to:

• Begin in a child’s pose, stretching your arms long before you, your fingertips gripping your mat and pressing firmly into the floor.
• Tuck your toes and feet beneath you and lengthen your legs by lifting your hips. Your weight will move slightly toward your hands, so use them to push yourself away from the floor, elongating and stretching your entire spine.
• You are massaging your abdomen and encouraging digestion as you feel your lower back extend and stretch. Maintain the position for three to five breaths.

4. Head to Knee Posture

This stretch is an excellent passive hip opener for relieving pressure in the abdominals, outer hips, and thighs. It can help get rid of the toxins that are frequently stored in our midsection and can aid in drainage.

How to:

• In a seated position, bring your left foot into your groin and stretch your right leg to your side, extending your toes towards you.
• Inhale, elevate arms above the head and rotate from waist to extended leg.
• Exhale, forward fold, and bring your nose to the knee of your extended leg. Hold for eight seconds.
• Inhale and stretch arms above the head, then rotate back to the center.
• Exhale and lower arms to the side. Rep on the other side.

5. Cat/cow Pose

Cat-Cow Pose alternates between two traditional yoga postures: Cat Pose and Cow Pose. They can stretch your belly and back muscles together.

These poses, according to proponents, increase circulation and gently massage your organs to encourage intestinal peristalsis.

How to:

• Begin on your hands and knees with a neutral spine — i.e., with a flat back and neck. Check that your knees are parallel to your hips and your wrists are similar to your shoulders.
• Start by assuming the Cow Pose. To accomplish this, angle your pelvis such that your tailbone rises and your belly falls. Make sure your core is engaged.
• Roll your shoulders back and look upward as you elevate your head.
• Hold for 4-5 seconds.
• Return to the neutral position.
• Place the tops of your feet on the floor to enter Cat Pose, with the soles of your feet facing upward. Tuck your tailbone in, bring your belly button closer to your spine, and arch your back by rolling your shoulders forward.
• Allow gravity to regulate your head’s descent rather than forcing it down.
• Hold for 4-5 seconds.
• Repeat 2-3 times more.

Bottomline

Stretching is an ancient technique that has been practiced for thousands of years. It promotes health by engaging people on multiple levels: cognitively, physically, and spiritually.

Some evidence suggests that stretching can be a supplemental treatment for digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome. It may help with discomfort, gas, bloating, and constipation.

Significantly, you might gain from including stretching in your current treatment plan, even though additional research is required to discover how stretching can aid digestion.