Hello all, and Merry Christmas!
I hope you’re well and having a relaxing festive time. Although, if you’re anything like me you’ll already be feeling the impact of one too many pastry snacks!
If this sounds like you, I’ve got just the thing: a few nice and easy yoga postures to assist your digestion and leave you feeling relaxed, yet rejuvenated.
All you’ll need is a mat, if you have one to hand. If you don’t, all of the postures below can be practised on a chair.
1. Apanasana – knees to chest pose
This posture is sometimes referred to as ‘wind/gas releasing pose’ and with good reason! As the knees are drawn into the chest, the internal organs get a good massage and food is encouraged to move through the digestive system (a process known as ‘peristalsis’). This helps to relieve constipation and emit ‘gasses’. And if you're worried about those, you may want to practise this one in a room on your own!
Here’s how to do it.
· Lie on your back with your legs together
· Take a long breath in through your nose
· As you exhale, draw your knees into your chest
· Wrap your arms around your shins
· Take a few breaths in and out through the nose as you hold the pose
· Release the arms and stretch the legs out in front of you.
Modifications
- If the knees are sensitive – wrap the arms around the hamstrings, or place some padding between the thighs and the calves
- If using a chair: sit back on the chair and draw the knees up, placing the feet flat on the edge of the chair.
2. Marjariasana/Urdvamukha Cakravakasana - Cat/Cow
Typically practised at the start of a yoga session, this flow is made up of two positions: Cat pose – where the back is arched (like a stretching cat) and Cow pose – where the back is concaved while the tailbone and chest are lifted. This posture helps to warm up the back body, but the movement also helps to stimulate the internal organs, helping with digestion.
Here’s how to do it.
· Come to all fours in a ‘table top’ position, with your shoulders stacked over your wrists and your hips above your knees
· Take a long inhale through the nose to prepare
· As you exhale, draw your tummy in, drop your chin and tuck your tailbone – notice the gentle arching of the back (Cat)
· As you inhale, lift your chest and tailbone (bum) and draw your shoulder blades together – lift the head slightly but don’t lift the chin; to help maintain alignment of the spine (Cow)
· Move back into Cat as you exhale, drawing the tummy in, tucking the tailbone and the chin
· Draw the shoulder blades together and lift the chest and tailbone as you inhale back to Cow
· Repeat the above for 5 or 6 cycles of breath
Modifications
- If coming to all fours is uncomfortable for your knees, pop a rolled-up blanket or towel under them for padding
- If you have sensitive wrists, stretch your arms a little further in front of you, so that there is less of an angle between your wrists and forearms – or use wrist wedges for support (if you have them!)
- If using a chair: place the feet hip-distance apart, but flat on the floor with the hands placed on the knees, palms down. Exhale to Cat - drop the chin to the chest and round the upper back; inhale to Cow – draw the shoulder blades together and lift the chest
3. Jathara Parivartanasana - Belly Twist
A really lovely stretch, usually practised at the end of a session to release the spine. It is said to assist digestion as the internal organs are gently squeezed with the movement of twisting the spine.
Here’s how to do it.
· Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the mat
· Stretch your arms out to a T position, or in a ‘cactus’ shape (bent at the elbows) – palms facing up
· As you inhale, lift your feet up and draw your knees towards your chest – keeping the knees together
· As you exhale, let your knees gently drop over to the right
· Check your left shoulder hasn’t lifted away from the mat – if it has, move the knees a bit closer to the centre of the mat
· If the neck allows, you can take your gaze to the left
· Hold for 5-6 breaths – breathing slowly in and out through the nose, feeling the breath filling the back of the ribcage
· On the next inhale, bring the knees up to centre and as you exhale drop them over to the left and repeat the above
Modifications
- If your hips feel tight, use a rolled-up blanket or block to support the knees when they land on each side
- If using a chair: sit comfortably on the chair with the feet flat on the floor, inhale to lengthen, and as you exhale, twist the torso to the right – hold the back of the chair for support if needed. Hold for a few breaths and repeat on the other side.
I hope you have found these yoga hacks helpful!
Have a lovely Christmas and I hope to see you at one of my classes in January – go to the website: https://www.seasideyoga.co.uk for more details or to book.