Home » Healthy Living » Alternative Medicine » Alternative Remedies

Yoga Poses For Detoxing the Body

Ranked #431 in Healthy Living, #9,771 overall

Detox Your Body With Yoga

Have you over-indulged over the holidays with rich food and extra drink? And are you feeling slow and sluggish now because of it? If so, your body could use a little extra help in detoxing.

There are many methods to detoxify our bodies. One method is the practice of yoga poses.

You might benefit from a Yoga Detox program if you've been feeling sluggish and out-of-sorts for awhile, or have been experiencing digestion problems, extra aches and pains, or skin problems.

Our body has its own natural detoxification mechanisms for getting rid of waste products and environmental toxins, but sometimes it's not up to the task of eliminating these toxic materials entirely. A yoga detox practice can help us assist the body in cleansing itself, which will help us feel lighter, healthier, and more energetic again.


This article gives an overview of how the practice of yoga asanas (postures) can help us detoxify the body to bring us to better health.

For DVD recommendations for good yoga detox sequences, scroll down further, or check out Yoga for Detox DVDs.

Photo purchased through iStockPhoto.com
Updated 2/23/12

Yoga Twists

"Squeeze and soak" the abdominal organs

Green ardha matsyendrasanaI think Yoga twists are the most important poses to aid the body in detoxification. Yoga twists stimulate digestion and facilitate the elimination of impurities and waste products from the body. Circulation of blood and of lymph is also promoted.

Think what happens when you wring out a sponge -- the dirty water is forced out, and then the sponge can soak up clean water again.

Twists work in a similar way. The abdominal organs are squeezed during twists, stimulating the kidneys and liver, and forcing out blood filled with metabolic by-products and toxins. When the twists are released, then fresh, clean blood enters these organs, bathing the cells in nutrients and oxygen.

Twists have a cleansing, refreshing effect on the abdominal organs and the associated glands.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Muffet / CC BY 2.0

The Twist Marichyasana 3

This is a nice, relatively simple twist that will help you to stimulate the liver and kidneys.
Yoga Twist Sequence for Beginners : Marichyasana 3 Pose for Yoga Twist Sequence
by expertvillage | video info

6 ratings | 4,085 views
curated content from YouTube

Practice This Twist and Detox Yoga Sequence From YogaJournal.com

Twist and DetoxPractice along with this 20 minute Twist and Detox Podcast (click the link or the image) from YogaJournal.com to get ideas for a good sequence to help detox the body and the mind. The poses in this sequence help to open the back in preparation for backbends and for deeper twists. The sequence will aid your digestion and help you develop mental clarity.

Later in this article there's also a Gentle Yoga Detox Sequence if you prefer something a little quieter and easier.

Also scroll down for a few short videos that show how to do a few specific poses that will assist with your own yoga detox program.

Forward Bends

Forward bendForward bending poses are also good ways to compress the abdominal organs. The digestive system is stimulated, helping with the elimination process.

Photo purchased through iStockPhoto.com

Wide Leg Standing Forward Bend

This video gives good, clear instructions for this standing forward bend.
Standing forward bends are often more accessible than seated forward bends, especially for beginners.
John Schumacher Teaches Prasarita Padottanasana
by ihanuman | video info

21 ratings | 10,397 views
curated content from YouTube

Yoga Inversions

Upside down poses

HeadstandAny inverted pose, such as headstand, shoulder stand, or a simple "legs up the wall" pose helps to drain accumulated lymph fluid from the legs and re-circulate it through the body. This benefits the immune system.

Inverted poses also help to soothe the nervous system and reduce stress. When we're not stressed, it's easier for us to choose healthier choices for our bodies (including good diet and exercise) which promote the body's natural detox efforts.
Photo used under Creative Commons from neeta_lind/ CC BY 2.0

Simple Inversion -- Legs Up the Wall Pose

This is a very easy yoga inversion (legs higher than the heart). Fluids that have accumulated in the legs during the day are re-circulated back to the rest of the body. Also the abdomen is bathed in fresh blood, which stimulates the digestive system.

This is also a wonderful pose to "de-stress" after a long day!
Legs up the Wall
by sagerountree | video info

2 ratings | 1,017 views
curated content from YouTube

Detox Yoga Sequence

Online video with Esther Ekhart

Get rid of toxins and reduce sluggishness with this gentle yoga detox sequence.
powered by Youtube

Yoga Assists Our Body's Natural Detoxification Processes

"Spring Cleaning" for Our Body!

Model of human torso showing different systemsThe body has its own systems that work to eliminate waste products and toxic substances. Three of these systems are the:

1. Circulatory system

Pumps blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen to and carrying waste products away from the cells of the body.


2. Digestive system

Processes food, separates nutrients from waste, and eliminates what the body doesn't need.


3. Lymphatic system

Intracellular fluid is moved throughout the body, transported to lymph nodes where harmful constituents are removed, such as bacteria or other contaminants, before the lymphatic fluid is returned to the bloodstream. Lymph moves around based on how much we move around. The only way to ensure proper lymph circulation is through exercise or massage.


These systems work well on their own in a healthy body, but if we don't eat well, don't get enough exercise, or if we're stressed, then these systems don't work as efficiently. This results in a build-up of toxic material which can leave us feeling physically and mentally sluggish and sick.

The practice of yoga is one of the methods that supports the functioning of these systems.

A well-rounded practice of yoga postures systematically stretches, twists, compresses, and "upends" all parts of the body to help eliminate impurities from different organs and to allow oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood to flow through the organs.

A few of the benefits of this practice over time, include more energy, mental clarity, better sleep, better digestion, clearer skin, fewer aches and pains, and less illness.

Below are a few of the categories of yoga poses, and how they assist the body's natural detoxification systems.

Photo purchased from iStockPhoto.com

New Detox Yoga DVD by Seane Corn

Recently released (December 2011)

Seane Corn is a nationally known vinyasa flow yoga teacher and spiritual activist, and she teaches and practices what she preaches.

In this soon-to-be released DVD, Seane Corn includes two segments to help you cleanse the body and the mind, while building strength and flexibility.

The first segment, 30 minutes, helps to build strength and improve circulation (very important for detoxing the body), and the second segment, 60 minutes, is an intermediate practice that will help increase flexibility while removing tension.
Seane Corn Detox Flow Yoga DVD

Seane Corn Detox Flow Yoga DVD

Amazon Price: $7.11 (as of 02/23/2012)Buy Now

Seane is inspiring to watch and to listen to.

A Well-Rounded Yoga Practice Will Help Detox the Body

Here are a few general Yoga DVDs to consider, because the overall, well-rounded practice will also help you detox while also stretching and strengthening your body and calming your mind.
Loading

Current News Items About Yoga and Detoxing

Here are a few current news articles about yoga and its detoxifying effects on the body. These change regularly, so come back periodically and check for new articles.
Yoga Coming to 40 Park
When combined with the internal warming the Vinyasa style of flowing from pose to pose provides, the classes offer students a powerful cleansing experience that helps them detoxify and leaves them with a sense of strength and well being, according to ...
YogaSoul Center in Eagan Hosts Organ Detoxification Workshop to Help Students ...
The workshop, ?The Yin and Yang Approach to Organ Detoxification,? takes place on Saturday, Feb. 4. It will help yoga students detoxify their organs through yoga postures that are yang in nature -- more heating and dynamic -- as well as yin postures, ...
Music fuels yoga master's muse
The benefits of yoga aren't limited to the physical, Caines said. While it has been proven to increase flexibility, boost the immune system, strengthen and tone the body and improve balance as well as detoxify and cleanse ? thanks to twists and poses ...
Yoga – with a few twists
Several classes offered there ? from a 6 am shortened, ?express? version to its midnight yoga ? are done in a studio heated between 85 to 99 degrees, depending on the class focus. Doing hot yoga helps one's body detoxify by sweating out the toxins, ...
Powered by Google

You Also May Be Interested in These Yoga Articles

The following are some of my yoga articles on Wizzley. (For a few more of my yoga pages on Squidoo, look at the top right-hand side of this page.)

Join Wizzley

Health Benefits of Yoga
The practice of yoga benefits our health on all levels of our being -- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Yoga for Arthritis DVD Recommendations
Are you looking for the best Yoga for Arthritis DVD to help ease your arthritis discomfort? Here are a few suggestions for you.
Yoga for Seniors - Aging Well With Yoga
Yoga for Seniors, Gentle Yoga, and Ageless Yoga classes are becoming more popular now that the first baby-boomers are turning 65.

Has this info helped you?

What kind of experience do you have in yoga? Do you think it's helped to make you healthier beyond the more obvious benefits of increasing flexibility and strength while reducing stress?

submit
Show All

by

kajohu

Spring is a great time to detox the body with yoga.

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Explore related pages

Yoga: The Iyengar Way 

Mira, Silva, and Shyam Mehta

Yoga: The Iyengar Way

Yoga: The Iyengar Way

by: Silva Mehta, Mira Mehta, Shyam Mehta

Amazon Price: $14.74 (as of 02/23/2012)Buy Now

A good general practice of yoga will help the body detoxify more efficiently. Yoga: The Iyengar Way, is one of the best books to show with detailed photos and clear instructions how to do many poses, including those that will help detoxify the body.

Yoga for Weight Loss, Detox, & Cleansing 

Yoga for Weight Loss, Detox, & Cleansing

Yoga for Weight Loss, Detox, & Cleansing

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 02/23/2012)Buy Now

This is a rigorous and challenging sequence that will help your body release toxins while strengthening and toning your body.

Related Tags