Rest and Digest – A Post Thanksgiving Yoga Practice

You spent all day cooking and yet consuming the fruits of your labor takes less time than it will to clean up the dishes and put away the leftovers. Now as you settle into your annual viewing of “A Christmas Story,” you feel the turkey bloat kicking in and now you are wishing you had worn your yoga pants instead of those hi-rise mom jeans. Pull yourself off the couch, yoga pants or not, and try out a few of the following poses that should give some quick relief to that full feeling. Try each pose, holding for 30 second each, and remember to breath throughout.

Knee to Chest / Apanasana

This one is as easy as just curling up in a ball. This is my first go to pose when my stomach is a wreck from eating too much, eating the wrong things, or traveling. It aids in digestion, relieving indigestion and flatulence.

Cat / Cow – Marjaryasana / Bitilasana

Adding Cat / Cow to any yoga practice will be beneficial. For digestion, it lengthen and compresses the intestines to aid with elimination.

Bridge Pose / Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Bridge allows the blood to flow from the legs down to the digestive organs stimulating them to do their business processing all that food you just consumed, keep it moving in the right direction.

Half Lord of the Fishes / Ardha Matsyendrasana

Half Lord of the Fishes is one of many of the twist poses yoga has to offer. Twisting the organs, particularly the intestines, rings out anything that is stagnant. Remember when doing this pose to practice on each sides for proper balance.

Wind Freeing Pose / Pavanamuktasana

The name says it all….this one helps release gas pressure. Switch legs back and forth, holding for 30 seconds each.

Child’s Pose / Balasana

Resting poses allow you to relax and basically loosen up. Creating less stress in your body will put it in a state to do what is natural, be it releasing gas or the need for elimination.

Corpse Pose / Savasana

The ultimate resting pose, corpse will bring you into full relaxation. By the time you’ve made it to this pose your body should be in a less bloated state and be ready for this pose which is intended to restore you after any yoga practice.

Hope these poses quickly send you back to that place of gratitude we experience on this holiday each year. For more on gratitude and developing a gratitude practice, check out my blog post from last year “Gratitude- The Happiness Recipe”.

Happy Thanksgiving all!