If You’re Struggling with Constipation, These 4 Yoga Poses Can Help You

Constipation is more common than you might think. Nearly 16-20% of people in the U.S. experience constipation, dealing with infrequent, difficult, or painful bowel movements that lead to bloating, discomfort, and days of feeling sluggish.

While fiber-rich foods and proper hydration are essential for digestive health, there’s another remedy you might be overlooking: yoga. Yoga can help relieve constipation by stimulating the digestive system, massaging abdominal organs, and improving circulation in the gut, supporting smoother and more regular bowel movements.

How Yoga Helps with Constipation

Moving your body—like practicing specific stretches to create space in your abdomen—allows your body to move along whatever is stuck in your intestines. While you may not need to hit up the restroom immediately after your practice, flowing through yoga poses for constipation might help move stool along so you poop within the next few hours or day.

Yoga promotes peristalsis, the natural movement of the intestines that helps push waste through the digestive tract. Certain yoga poses gently compress and release the abdomen, stimulating digestion and relieving gas and bloating. Additionally, yoga reduces stress, which can sometimes contribute to digestive issues.

Deep and synchronized breathing in these poses plays a key role by reducing stress and activating the body’s natural “rest and digest” mode. This helps your body shift out of stress and into a calmer state where digestion can function more efficiently.

Here are four effective yoga poses that can provide natural relief from constipation.

1. Wind-Relieving Pose (Pawanmuktasana)

This pose is exactly what its name suggests—it helps release trapped gas and stimulates bowel movements. Pawanmuktasana helps release trapped gas, stimulates bowel movements, and relieves bloating and discomfort.

How to Do It

1. Lie flat on your back on a yoga mat
2. Bend your knees and bring them toward your chest
3. Hug your knees with both hands, interlacing your fingers if comfortable
4. Gently press your thighs against your abdomen
5. Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute, breathing deeply
6. Release and repeat 2-3 times

Why It Works

This pose applies gentle pressure to the abdomen, helping to release trapped gas and promote bowel movements. The compression massages your internal organs and encourages movement through your digestive tract.

Modifications

• If bringing both knees up is uncomfortable, try one leg at a time
• Rock gently side to side while holding the pose for added massage effect
• Hold for shorter periods and gradually increase as you become more comfortable

2. Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Child’s Pose is a gentle resting position that provides a calming compression to your abdomen. When you’re folding forward, you gently compress the abdomen and it stimulates digestion and relieves constipation.

How to Do It

1. Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position
2. Bring your big toes together and separate your knees wide
3. Sit your hips back toward your heels
4. Extend your arms forward on the mat, palms down
5. Rest your forehead on the mat
6. Hold for 1-3 minutes, breathing deeply into your back and sides

Why It Works

The forward fold in Child’s Pose creates gentle compression on your digestive organs, encouraging movement through the intestines. The pose gently compresses the abdomen, stimulates digestion, and can help take the edge off cramping and abdominal pressure.

Modifications

• Place a folded blanket or pillow under your hips if you can’t sit all the way back
• Rest your forehead on a yoga block if it doesn’t reach the floor
• Keep your knees closer together if the wide-knee version is uncomfortable

3. Supine Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)

Twisting poses are particularly effective for digestive issues because they provide a wringing action that massages your internal organs. Twisting poses work by massaging the digestive organs and improving blood circulation.

How to Do It

1. Lie flat on your back
2. Bring your right knee to your chest
3. Use your left hand to gently guide your right knee across your body to the left side
4. Extend your right arm out to the side at shoulder height
5. Turn your head to look toward your right hand (optional)
6. Hold for 30-60 seconds, breathing deeply
7. Return to center and repeat on the other side

Why It Works

Supine twists help stimulate the digestive system by creating a gentle wringing action that can help move things along in your intestines. The twist alternately compresses and releases your abdominal organs, promoting healthy digestion.

Modifications

• Keep your bent knee higher (closer to your chest) for a gentler twist
• Place a pillow or bolster under your bent knee for support
• Keep your gaze forward instead of turning your head if that’s more comfortable

4. Cat-Cow Pose (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)

This flowing movement between two poses helps warm up the spine and gently massages the abdominal organs, promoting digestive function.

How to Do It

1. Start on your hands and knees in tabletop position
2. Align your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips
3. Cow Pose: As you inhale, drop your belly, arch your back, and look up
4. Cat Pose: As you exhale, press into your hands, round your spine, and draw your belly in
5. Continue flowing between these two poses for 1-2 minutes
6. Move with your breath—inhale for Cow, exhale for Cat

Why It Works

The alternating compression and expansion of the abdomen in Cat-Cow helps stimulate the digestive organs and promote movement through the intestines. The rhythmic movement combined with deep breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which controls digestion.

Modifications

• Place a folded blanket under your knees for cushioning
• Keep the movements smaller and more subtle if you have back sensitivity
• Move slowly and gently, letting your breath guide the pace

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