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Yoga After Eating: Simple Asanas To Do After Overeating

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August 6, 2022

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Exercise after eating is not often recommended for anyone. This is one reason why yoga is such a wonderful exercise, as it can be done even after a heavy meal. Yoga is known to boost digestion, relieve problems with indigestion and also help in dealing with constipation. This is why doing yoga after eating is actually a thing.

The chances of people overeating are very high. This is especially true during the holidays when you are likely to find the dinner table having been spread with all your favorite meals. It is usually all fun and games while eating, and then the problems come after your third plate of food. This is when you likely become uncomfortable and find it difficult to breathe, let alone move. A good way of dealing with this is through the different yoga poses for aiding digestion after eating.

Yoga is an awesome way to detoxify your body. It also helps to deal with feelings of indigestion, cramping, bloating and constipation that you are likely to experience after overeating. There are different yoga poses that will help get your digestive system back to its normal self, which is something you usually want to happen after overindulging. Apart from the feelings described, you are also likely to have difficulty going ‘number two’ after heavy eating. This is yet another area where yoga can help you. Is there anything yoga can’t help you with after overeating?

Even though yoga will help with all this, it is advisable for you to wait a little bit after eating before doing the various yoga poses for better digestion after eating. If you do these poses right after eating, you will likely upset your digestive system even more.

Yoga Asana After Eating

Here are various poses you can do after eating to help with digestion.

Vajrasana

Vajrasana gets its name from the Sanskrit word, Vajra which means diamond or thunderbolt. This is a kneeling pose that can be done even when you are very full. This pose promotes good digestion, as well as other liver functions in the body. From the way this yoga pose is done, it helps reduce blood flow to the lower regions of your body, i.e. your legs and your thighs. When less blood is not going to your lower body, it means more of it will be in your pelvic area and the stomach area. This improves your digestion, as well as your next bowel movement.

How To Do It (5):

Start by standing straight with your hands by your sides.
Then lean forward and gently kneel down on your yoga mat.
Then place your pelvis on your heels. Make sure your toes face outwards when you do this. Your thighs should be pressing your calf muscles.
Another thing you should do is to make sure your heels are as close to each other as they can possibly be.
Make sure not to place your toes on top of each other. They should be next to each other.
Then after making sure of all that, place your palms on your knees. Your palms should be facing up.
Then straighten your back and look forward.
Hold this pose for a while.

If you have any knee or ankle injury, you should not attempt this pose as you could end up injuring yourself even more.

There are numerous benefits associated with this pose. For one, it helps with digestion and is actually quite recommended for helping with digestion. Secondly, it helps message your calf muscles. It also helps to strengthen your feet, ankles and knee caps.

Wind Releasing Pose

This pose goes by different names. Some people call it the wind removing pose, others call it the wind liberating pose, and it is also known as Pawanmuktasana. This pose helps with bloating, which is something you are likely to experience when you overeat. It helps with bloating by making you break wind, therefore the reason it has such names as mentioned. Due to what it is supposed to do, for obvious reasons you should do this pose only while you are alone.

How To Do It (4):

First, lie down on your back.
Then inhale and hold your right knee against your chest.
Then start moving your knee from one side to the other so that you are massaging your abdominal organs.
Take a few deep breaths and then switch legs and do that same with the other knee.

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Standing Forward Bend Pose

This pose is also referred to as uttasana. It is good for the alimentary canal. The pose is quite effective when it comes to dealing with bloating. It does this by pushing food along the gastrointestinal tract and so helps relieve constipation.

How To Do It (4):

First, start by keeping your knees bent.
Then try and reach over your stomach and get hold of the back of both your knees. This should make you feel some tension in your hamstrings. If you do not feel any tension, then you should straighten your legs.
Then hold that position for 15 to 20 seconds and then repeat the whole procedure again.

Supported Seated Forward Fold

This pose helps promote blood circulation through the abdominal organs, helps with metabolism and also helps promote digestion.

How To Do It (6):

First, take a bolster or a pillow and place it on top of your thighs while you are seated. It is good for the pillow to be firm as it will help to massage your stomach gently.
Then extend your legs straight. Once you do that, make sure your toes are pointed towards your face.
Then fold your torso over the pillow and start taking deep breaths into the belly and lower abdomen.
Hold that position for as long as you need. You can hold that position till you feel better or relieved.

Child’s Pose

This pose is also referred to as balasana. It is effective when it comes to helping deal with indigestion and also helps deal with bloating. It is quite effective, and anytime you feel like you are bloated, you should strike this pose.

How To Do It (4):

You start in a kneeling position and then tuck your chest into your thighs.
Make sure you keep your forehead on the ground. Your hands should be straight at your body’s side.
Take a few slow, full breaths and hold this pose for 10 to 15 seconds and repeat until you feel less bloated.

Downward Dog Pose

This pose is also known as Adho Mukha Svanasana. It is one of the most popular yoga poses, and if you’ve been doing yoga for some time, you’ve heard about it and done it a couple of times. When it comes with helping deal with overeating, it helps improve your bowel movements.

How To Do It (4):

You start on all your fours. Your palms should be wider than the shoulder width. Your toes, on the other hand, should be tucked in.
The next step is to raise your hips. Your chest should move back along with your thighs. While doing all this, make sure your knees are bent, and your hips are held high. It would be best if you also tried to keep your feet grounded to the floor, but this isn’t crucial for the pose.
Hold the position you are in for 10 to 15 seconds and then repeat the procedure all over again.

Ardha Chandraasana

This pose is also referred to as the half-moon pose. It involves a lot of standing and stretching, which makes it a good pose to help with digestion.

How To Do It (1):

You start by standing straight on a yoga mat.
Next, lift your right hand to bend sideways towards your left body side and try to touch the ground.
Repeat the same procedure with your other hand, holding each position for about 10 minutes.

Gomukhasana

This pose is commonly referred to as the cow face pose. It is yet another pose you can do after overeating as it helps with digestion. The cow face pose helps stretch your spine and your stomach muscles, thus making the digestion process easy.

How To Do It (1):

First, you fold your left leg and place your ankle near your left hip.
Next, take your right leg and place it on the left leg such that both knees of the two legs touch each other.
Now take both your hands at the back such that the right-hand holds the left hand. Make sure you keep your spine straight while doing all this.
Hold that position for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Repeat the same procedure after changing the position.

Bridge Pose

This is yet another pose that aids in digestion. What it does is that it opens the front of the body by stimulating abdominal organs that aid in digestion.

How To Do It (3):

First, you lie on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your on the floor about hip-distance apart.
While in that position, using your heels, lift your hips up straight up and clasp your hands underneath your body and press against the floor so as to open your hips.

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Chair Pose

This pose helps with digestion by stimulating the abdominal organs that are vital to digestion.

How To Do It (3):

First, stand with your feet about hips-width apart and your toes facing in front.
Sit your hips back as you would if you were sitting on a chair and extend both your hands over your head. Make sure to keep your chest high and shoulders away from your ears.

Cat-Cow

This particular pose stretches your back, your core, your hips, your neck and your chest. It helps with digestion by massaging your internal abdominal organs.

How To Do It (2):

Start on all your fours with your back flat. Make sure your hands are under your shoulders, and your knees are below your hips.
While exhaling, round your back towards the ceiling, tucking your tailbone and bringing your chin to your chest.
While inhaling, arch your back downwards, dropping your stomach and lifting your chest, chin and tailbone.
Alternate between the two poses, flowing with the pace of your breath. Do 5 to 10 breaths.

Seated Spinal Twist

This asana helps with digestion by sending blood to the digestive organs.

How To Do It (3):

You start by sitting upright on your yoga mat with both your legs stretched straight ahead of you.
Then bend your left knee in and place the sole of your left foot on the floor.
Repeat the same procedure for the other leg.

The Bottom Line

Certain yoga poses done after eating are beneficial, especially if you have overeaten. The various yoga poses highlighted in this read help with that in one way or another. Some send blood to the digestive organs, and others help massage your abdominal organs, others help with bowel movement, and so on. It is important to remember that you should wait for a little while after eating before you begin doing any of the various yoga poses. In case you have any medical condition, make sure to consult an expert before you engage in the various yoga poses for digestion after eating as highlighted here.

DISCLAIMER:

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!