Reduce Digestion Issues with these Five Stretches by Dr. Alicia Armitstead

Child's Pose

Child's Pose compresses your abdomen to help relieve bloating while gently stretching your back muscles. To get in the pose, start on your hands and knees on your yoga mat before shifting your hips back onto your heels while keeping your arms planted ahead of you.

Rest your head on the mat and remain in the pose for a minute or two.

Knees to Chest

Instead of bringing your chest to your knees, you bring your knees to your chest. This stretch puts pressure on the abdomen while stretching the back, helping release the build-up of gas and improve digestion.

To begin the pose, lie flat on your back and pull your knees to your chest, holding them there, hold for 30 seconds as you feel the low back stretch. Next, gently rock to one side and hold for 30 seconds. Then, rock to the other side and hold for another 30 seconds. 

Seated Spinal Twist

Similar to knees to chest stretch, the seated spinal twist works to relieve gas and help digestion, but we are putting pressure on the abdomen in a different way. To begin, sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you.

Bend your left knee and cross your right elbow over until you feel some resistance. Inhale and extend your spine upwards. Exhale and twist deeper. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then reverse.

Standing Forward Bend with Legs Apart 

This is another stretch to open up the back and put pressure on the abdomen. Stand up with your back straight and your legs apart. Hinge from the waist and round your spine as you reach for the floor. If you can't reach the floor, hang or place your hands on a yoga block. You should feel a stretch in your back, hamstrings, and calves.

Let your head hang heavy to stretch your neck, and reach your tailbone to the sky to maximize the stretch. For a deeper stretch, touch your shoulders with opposite hands and allow gravity to do the rest, opening up the midback. Opening up your neck in this way helps because the nerves to the stomach come from the neck. 

Legs Up the Wall

Finish with this gentle inversion that encourages blood flow and aids in digestion. To do it, lie on your back, feet facing a wall. Inch your butt up against the wall and raise your legs up to rest against the wall with your feet flexed, arms at your side, or wherever is most comfortable for you. If you have tight hamstrings, sit further away from the wall or place a bolster or long pillow beneath your lower back for extra support.

As you lie there for at least 90 seconds, do deep breathing from your diaphragm. The diaphragm sits on top of the stomach, so as the diaphragm moves up and down in your breathing, it massages the stomach, giving it relief.

These poses are designed to help you prevent and overcome occasional digestive disorders normally attributed to temporary lifestyle or dietary changes. If you are finding your digestive issues to be more frequent or severe, please come in to see me so we may rule any illness or dysfunction that is more serious, and quickly react to any situation that is.