Four Yoga Poses for Nausea Relief

One condition that no one wants to experience is feeling nauseous. Nausea can be caused by many things: food poisoning, the flu, dizziness, and even extreme headaches and migraines. Other than medicinal methods to treat nausea, there are more natural remedies for an upset stomach. One such way is a gentle yoga practice.

Yoga postures enhance the blood and oxygen flow in your body. Engaging in some specific yoga poses can help rebalance your system, heal and cleanse you from toxins, and improves your general health and well-being. Here are four yoga poses that can help with nausea relief and how to practice them.

 

• Bound Angle Pose
• Seated Twist
• Cat / Cow Flow
• Legs Against The Wall

 

Bound Angle Pose

This is a relaxing sitting posture that not only relieves tight hips, but it creates a release in the lower abdominal region that can help relieve nausea. Sit on the floor or something soft like a pillow or blanket. Make sure your spine is straight. (You are welcome to sit against a wall to provide more comfort and proper alignment.) Bring the soles of your feet together and hold onto your ankles or shins. Your knees will be bent and drawn toward the ground. (You can place small cushions or rolled-up towels under your bent knees so they do not feel strained in this hip opening yoga posture.)

 

Breathing is the foundation for most yoga practices. Deep cleansing breaths help with circulation as well as muscle engagement. While you sit comfortably in Bound Angle Pose, close your eyes and focus on slow steady breaths. Take 10-20 cleansing breaths is to take full advantage of this yoga posture.

 

 

Seated Twist

Another sitting yoga posture involves a mild rotation. Twisting poses can assist with digestion and other stomach issues like nausea. The position creates a gentle squeezing sensation in the abdominal region. This encourages blood and oxygen flow for stomach relief.

 

In this sitting position, you can simply cross your legs. Be sure to sit up tall maintaining a lengthened spine. Place your left hand on your right knee while placing your right hand behind you on the floor. As you take a long breath in, press your right hand into the ground to help keep your spine straight. As you exhale, gently engage your abdominal muscles and slowly rotate your torso to the right. Depending on the intensity of your nausea, regulate how far you twist your body. There is no need to over-rotate. It is best to perform a mild twist and hold for 20-30 seconds. Complete the posture by returning to a neutral posture facing forward. When you're ready, practice the twisting posture in the other direction. Feel free to repeat this exercise as desired.

 

 

Cat / Cow Flow

This is a yoga posture that involves some gentle movement of the belly. Like the twisting posture, it stimulates good blood flow to offer stomach relief. Begin this yoga movement on your hands and knees. For added comfort, kneel on a folded blanket. For proper alignment, make sure your shoulders are stacked directly over your wrists and your hips over your knees. As you inhale, tip your head upward and open your chest. Your body will begin to form a backbend. Allow your belly to relax while your pelvis tips back. This is Cow Pose. When you exhale, tuck your tailbone under, round your back, draw your belly button toward your spine, and tuck your chin toward your chest. This is Cat Pose. Continue to breathe in and out while moving through these two postures for 10-20 breaths.

 

The movement creates an undulation of the spine while activating your stomach muscles. The Cat / Cow Flow offers relief to a nauseous stomach while encouraging good blood and oxygen flow and a mild detox of any toxins. When you have completed this yoga flow, you may want to sit back into Child's Pose to rest your body. Simply sit back toward your heels, lower your torso to the floor and extend your arms out in front of you. Hold for an additional 10 breaths. Feel free to repeat the Cat / Cow Flow if you'd like.

 

 

Legs Against The Wall

An effective reclining yoga position that can also ease an upset stomach is Legs Against the Wall. This gentle inversion allows for a redirected blood flow from your lower extremities to your midsection. By doing so, not only will you feel relaxed, but you will feel your nausea dissipate.

 

It can be a little tricky getting into this posture, so try this technique to safely and effectively maneuver yourself into the pose. Be sure you have a wall space that is clear of any objects like wall hangings or shelves. You may also want to have a blanket to help you feel the most comfortable once you are in the position.

 

Open up your blanket on the floor at the edge of your wall baseboard. Sit sideways against the wall; your right or left hip will be against the wall. Slowly begin to lie down on your blanket while swinging your legs straight up the wall. You will form a 90-degree angle with your torso on the ground and your legs in the air.

 

Due to the relaxing nature of this pose, you are welcome to hold this posture for an extended amount of time. Feel free to hold this restorative yoga position for 5 to 10 minutes.

 

For added comfort, sit on a soft cushion before extended your legs up the wall. This will properly support your hips in this inverted yoga pose. Further, there is no need to keep your legs straight when they are overhead. You can place a slight bend in your knees to feel more relaxed.

 

 

Practice these four yoga poses whenever you feel nauseous or have an upset stomach. With the variety of postures, relaxed state of mind and body, and slow deep breathing, your body will experience natural healing to help you feel better. If you're looking for other natural remedies to help treat common physical conditions like headaches or migraines, visit aculief.com.