Yoga Poses To Help Ease Bloating

The benefits of yoga seem to know no bounds. The exercise practice seems to have almost too many health positives to count, with regular yoga being found to help with achieving more restful sleep, improved strength and flexibility, easing stress, less back pain, and managing the symptoms of arthritis, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Surely that's enough to go on, right?

Well, as it turns out, it could be beneficial for one more thing: Your stomach. Bloating can be a common issue for a lot of people, with approximately one in seven U.S. citizens experiencing bloating regularly, according to a survey published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. And whether that's due to eating specific foods or just having a big meal, one way to ease your bloating could be yoga. With its frequent involvement of the core of your body and its ability to relax your muscles, yoga (and certain poses, in particular) could give you some welcome relief from trapped gas and bloating (via Healthline). It may even assist in reducing bloating symptoms if they're due to a chronic health condition like IBS, according to research published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 

So what are you waiting for? Grab your mat, and let's show that bloated feeling the door with these key yoga poses.

This pose has way more going for it than just a very cool name. Half Lord of the Fishes pose, also known as Ardha Matsyendrasana, is a twisting pose that your digestive system will love. Operating through the center of the body, this pose may improve your digestion while giving your internal organs a good massage, and that's all in addition to giving your spine, hips, shoulders, and neck an awesome stretch (per Everyday Yoga).

Sit on your mat with your spine long and your legs flat in front of you, using your arms to gently stabilize your body by your sides. Bring your legs into a bent position, and then thread one of your legs under the other one, so that it's flat on the floor with your foot touching the opposite glute. From here, raise the opposite arm to your upright leg and bring it down on the outside of the knee, so that your body comes into a twist. Keep your arm bent, with your other arm remaining on the floor. Continue to breathe, and each time you breathe out, try to deepen the twist even more. Hold the pose for a maximum of one minute before gently untwisting your body and returning to your original sitting position. Repeat the twist in the other direction.

Cat-cow, or Chakravakasana, is an active yoga move that does wonders for your body. Aside from working through your spine and your abs, it's also a seriously helpful pose for folks who are experiencing bloating. "The cat/cow pose reduces belly bloat as it stretches and contracts the abdominal region, all in one move," states yoga and Pilates instructor Kristin McGee (via Active).

The cat-cow pose has two distinct stages, and it's important to keep focused as you move through both. Start by moving into a neutral all-fours position on a yoga mat, with your legs under your hips, your arms under your shoulders, and your back flat. Your gaze should be cast down and forward, with your neck long and relaxed. Then, breathe in and gently start to lift your head, while allowing your stomach to drop down towards the mat, introducing a curve in your spine. This is the "cow" pose. Hold the position here for a second or two, ensuring that you're not pushing your spine into a curve too much, and then slowly start to arch your back, with your head and tailbone dropping down as you do so while exhaling. This is the "cat" pose. Continue to cycle through the two poses, keeping your movement easy and fluid, roughly 10 times before resting.

The muscles and organs are in a delicate balance with each other, and what might be surprising is how much one can affect the other. Interestingly, this is the case when it comes to your digestive system. "Tight psoas muscles can compete with organs and cause your belly pain and bloating," explains yoga instructor Kristin McGee (via Active). However, by practicing a crescent lunge or Anjaneyasana, "you are opening up the front of the body, stretching your abs, hip flexors and psoas muscles," and therefore helping to ease that bloating feeling, states McGee.

You can begin this move by getting onto all fours or a high plank, with your body in a straight line from heel to head. Step one of your legs up and through, planting your foot between your hands, and with your other lower leg flat on the mat, raise your arms into the sky. Gently lean your upper body back, feeling the stretch through the front of your hips, as you breathe into the position. Ensure that your shoulders don't start to bunch up towards your ears. Hold the position as you cycle through around eight breaths, before gently returning your hands to the ground and resting.

We love a twist, folks. Seriously, love 'em. And the supine spinal twist (Supta Matsyendrasana) might be the king of them all. A supine spinal twist is especially good for bloating and encouraging better digestion, and could be instrumental in reducing constipation, according to Healthline. And the twist itself supplies an awesome stretch through your lower back and side body while giving your spine a little bit of love, assisting in generating better mobility.

Start by lying on your mat in a semi-supine position, with your back flat on the ground and your knees bent, your feet planted firmly. From here, bring one of your bent legs up towards your chest, while straightening the other leg out and laying it on the ground fully. Allow your body to rock to the straight leg side, bringing your bent knee over the leg, and using your hands to gently encourage it over. You can also use one hand to stabilize your body by placing it on the floor, while your other hand enables the stretch through your lower back by remaining on your bent knee. Don't force your knee down, though — just let it fall over the straight leg. Breathe in and out for a cycle of five breaths, before untwisting and repeating in the other direction.

Most people know how satisfying it is to stretch out the abs, and the cobra pose, or Bhujangasana, allows you to do that effectively. But that core stretching won't just make you feel good after a few rounds of crunches. "Cobra pose lengthens your abdominal wall, which can stimulate more efficient digestion and relieve bloating," states Yoga Strong founder Jason Deutchman (via Bustle). This is on top of yoga's more general benefits to digestion and bloating, thanks to its ability to "reduce stress and bring more balance to the body, which allows for all systems — including the digestive system — to work at an optimal level," says YogaRenew Teacher Training director Kate Lombardo.

Begin by laying face-down on your mat, with your legs flat behind you and your toes pointed. Place your hands on either side of your body, palms flat on the ground, at shoulder height. Your elbows should be tucked into your body. From here, push your upper body up off the mat, with your head facing up and forward, feeling a stretch through your abdominal muscles. Hold the cobra pose for up to ten breaths before releasing back down to the mat.

Let's be real, we all wanna do a move called "hero pose." It just kinda makes your day a little better, right? And not only will the hero pose (or Virasana) make you feel as though you just saved a kitten from up a tree without having to grab your ladder, but it can also ease your digestion and a bloated feeling, thanks to the upright kneeling position it requires (per Rennie). Additionally, hero pose delivers a great stretch through the muscles in your lower body, lengthening your quads and shin muscles and stretching your ankles.

Begin by kneeling on your mat, with your thighs upright, and your feet and lower legs a little wider than hip distance, as Yoga Journal says. While breathing out, gently sit your butt back so that your butt moves back between your calves. If you can, rest your glutes on the floor between your legs, while ensuring that your chest remains open, your neck is upright, and your gaze is forward. Place your hands on your knees in front of you. If your flexibility doesn't allow you to sit right back, it can be helpful to place a yoga block or a folded towel in between your lower legs.

We thoroughly enjoy it when exercise and geometry collide (look, we all have our passions, and this is ours, okay?), and the revolved triangle pose is a premium example of this match made in heaven. Revolved triangle, or Parivrtta Trikonasana, incorporates a twisting motion that your digestive system will love. "Twists are great for stimulating blood flow to the digestive system," explains yoga teacher and lululemon ambassador Annie Clarke (per Marie Claire). This twisting movement is beneficial for relieving bloating and other digestive issues like constipation.

To do the revolved triangle, you'll first have to get in a lunge, according to The Healthy. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, and then take a big step forward, moving down into a lunging position. Then, straighten out your front leg and flatten your back foot on the ground, bringing it forward a little if necessary. Your legs should be in a scissor-like position. Hinge forward at the hips and place the opposite hand to your front leg on the inside of its foot. Then, twist your torso in the direction of your front leg, while extending your other hand toward the sky. Breathe through the twist, for a maximum of ten breaths, before releasing the twist and repeating it on the other side.