Yoga for digestive health

There are well known benefits of yoga: increased strength and flexibility, relaxation and meditation. It's a great, low-impact fitness option accessible to anyone, regardless of ability. At its most basic, yoga is moving and stretching while being mindful of breaths and the sensations experienced by the body.

What may be less widely known, yoga can be used with very specific purpose. Whatever remedy one is seeking, a quick google search will bring up various poses to help. Try it. Make up a condition just to see which poses could help alleviate it.

This is going to veer into "too much information" territory, but I've never been one to shy from over sharing, so here goes. Irregularity has been a lifelong struggle for me. If my eating gets the tiniest bit off track, if I'm stressed, if I'm the slightest bit dehydrated, if it's almost that time of the month, if I used too much weight the last workout, there are repercussions.

Quite by accident, I discovered a yoga routine which helped immensely. It was only 10 minutes, not strenuous at all, designed to alleviate lower back pain. It was a new addition to the Beachbody On-Demand library,* so I tried it out just to see what it was. Because it was effective, it became a go-to sequence.

A week and a half ago, our house was hit with a terrible stomach bug, from which we are finally beginning to recover. The kids, fortunately — it seems weird to say, were throwing up and were able to get rid of, and recover from, whatever it was fairly quickly. For Darren and I, the discomfort settled a little lower and seemed to hang on much longer. When my stomach was painfully distended to the point I looked several months pregnant, it was time to take action!

In just a few moments with, The Google, I discovered some poses which were missing from the lower back routine I'd been using, namely, twists, which makes sense. Someone suffering from lower back pain wouldn't want to be doing a lot of those! So, I created my own routine, incorporating twists and some other poses to aide in resolving GI issues.

Now, I am not a fitness expert, and certainly not a yoga guru. All I've done is string together a few poses I've found helpful in a way which flows naturally from one pose to the next. If it can help me, it can probably help others as well, which is why I'm sharing. As with any exercise, if you're going to try it, pay attention to your body and stay within your ability.

If video isn't an option, the sequence is as follows:

• Sun salutations w/chair pose, 3 times
• Yoga squat
• Balancing table, start on hands and knees, raise right leg/left arm
• Balancing table, raise left leg/right arm
• 1/2 superman, lay on stomach, arms and legs extended, raise right leg/left arm
• 1/2 superman, raise left leg/right arm
• Low lunge w/twist, right
• Low lunge w/twist, left
• Child's pose
• Seated twist, crossing right leg over, moving into
• Seated figure-4
• Seated twist, crossing left leg over, moving into
• Seated figure-4, lay down on your back
• Hug knees into chest
• Wind-release, right knee hugged in, left leg extended, moving into
• Supine twist
• hug knees into chest
• Wind-release, left knee in, right leg extended, moving into
• Supine twist
• Hug it in and roll up into seated position.

Try to hold each position for 30 seconds or at least 3-4 deep breaths, except for hugging the knees into the chest, which is meant as a transitional move.

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* I am an Independent Beachbody Coach, and this link is affiliated to me.