Top 7 Yoga Poses which will help you in Detoxification

Our body is a complicated set of systems involving organs and tissues suited for specific functions. With the onset of modern lifestyles, our food habits have changed drastically. This has had adverse effects on the digestive, lymphatic and circulatory systems of our body. Harmful toxins get into our body as a result of bad food habits. Eventually we fall ill and our health deteriorates. Yoga benefits us by detoxifying the body of harmful chemicals which in turn leads to good physical health.

 

Here are 7 Yoga poses that can be used for detoxifying the body:

 

1. The Bow Pose/Dhanurasana

   This pose is primarily aimed at strengthening the abdominal muscles by stretching action. This pose also helps us to exercise our internal organs and promotes healthy digestive system. Here are the steps involved in this pose:

   • First get on your knees and then stretch out to lie on your belly with hands stretched out on both sides.
   • Now lift your lower legs into air after bending them at the knees. Now reach out backwards by holding out your hands and then hold the legs at the ankles.
   • Now stretch backwards by lifting the legs, chest and thighs with the help of the pulling action of the arms and the lower legs. You are now holding the bow position and hold it for about one to two minutes by breathing slowly and deeply.

2. Shoulder stand / Sarvangasana

   The shoulder stand pose helps in the regular flow of lymphatic fluids throughout the body. This yoga exercise helps in cleansing the liver and kidneys while simultaneously improves the oxygenation capacity of the lungs. The steps involved in this pose are:

   • First lie on your back with arms on the sides and legs kept straight. Now keeping the arms on the floor, lifts your legs up slowly over your head. Now most of the back portion is off the ground.
   • Support the back using your hands and then keep your legs and back as straight as possible. This is the shoulder stand and you can hold the pose for a minute.

3. The Cobra Pose/Bhujang Asana

   The cobra pose helps in increasing the flexibility of the core organs of the body. This pose helps the parts like abdomen, chest and hips the most. It also helps in detoxifying the lungs by cleansing the airways. The procedure of performing this pose is:

   • Lie on your back and then stretch your legs and feet straight such that your toes lie on the floor.
   • Then start bringing your hands up to your shoulder and start raising the upper body. Keep doing this till your arms are straight and close to the hips. This is the cobra pose. Then keep breathing slowly for a minute.

4. Beloved Child’s Pose/ Balasana

   This pose is helpful in stimulating the purification of the digestive system and helps massage the internal organs effectively. The ways to do this pose are:

   • Get on your knees with feet stretched back.
   • Now slowly lower the butts onto your heels and then slowly bring your face down to the mat. At the same time your abdomen is squeezing against your thighs.
   • Now stretch your arms straight on either side of the head. Now you are in the Balasana pose. Hold for about two minutes.

5. Wind relieving Pose/ Pavanamukhtasana

   This pose focuses on massaging the abdominal internal organs. This helps in relieving constipation and also regulates the digestion processes quite effectively. This pose can be performed by the following steps:

   • Lie straight on your back with arms on the sides of the body and legs stretched out straight.
   • Now while breathing slowly and deeply, bend the legs at the knees and lift them against the chest. Now bring the arms up and hold the knees with the help of fingers.
   • Now allow the front organs to exert pressure on the abdomen. This is the Pavanamukhtasana. Hold this pose for about 1 to 2 minutes.

6. Side to Side Chair Twists/ Parivrtta Utkatasana

   The side to side chair twists helps in stimulating the development of hips, lower back, chest and the thighs. It also helps in the improvement of the spine and the torso as well. The steps involved in this pose are:

   • Stand on the mat facing ahead with hands on both sides of the body.
   • Now bring your hands together in a prayer pose while breathing slowly and deeply. Now lower your hips into a sitting position while keeping the back straight and the hands in prayer pose.
   • Now in this position slowly twist the upper body to rest the right elbow on the left knee and hold in this position. This can be repeated from the untwisted position for the right knee as well. This is the Side to Side Twists Pose.

7. Boat Pose/Naukasana

   This pose helps to stretch the lower back while massaging the abdomen simultaneously. It helps in releasing the stress on nerve tissues and the abdominal organs. To do this pose you must do the following:

   • Lie on your back with hands on both sides and legs stretched straight. Keep the palms down on the ground.
   • Now raise the legs straight up in the air while breathing slowly.
   • Next raise the upper part of the body so that it makes a ‘V’ shape with the raised legs. The upper part of the body is supported on the butt.
   • Hold in this pose for 10 to 20 seconds.

Yoga exercises are very beneficial for the flexibility and strength of the body. But due to complexities of some of the poses, considerable risk is involved to the body. Hence it is advised that the methods and steps involved in making a pose must be followed accurately and sincerely. Lastly, Yoga is a way of living life to the fullest. Cheers to life!