While yoga doesn't treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) itself, it can support digestion and help with symptoms like gas, bloating, and abdominal pain by promoting relaxation and reducing stress levels. This article will explore why yoga may help with IBS, the best yoga poses for IBS symptoms, tips for getting the most benefit, and when diet may also play a role in IBS management.
How Yoga Can Help With IBS
IBS is a disorder of gut-brain interaction (DGBI), meaning that it's caused in part by a dysregulation of the gut-brain connection.
The digestive system and brain are in constant, two-way communication, but in IBS, this communication is disrupted. The result is that factors affecting the brain (such as stress or anxiety) can trigger gut symptoms like gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, or irregular bowel movements. Because of the link between stress and IBS symptoms, treatments that help manage stress may help reduce symptoms.
That's where yoga comes in. Yoga is a mind-body-breath practice that combines movement (poses or asanas) with breathwork and meditation. Because yoga can help relieve stress for some people, it may work by calming the communication between the gut and the brain.
Another way yoga may support IBS is related to the breathing exercises that are fundamental to yoga practice. The type of breathwork used in yoga is called diaphragmatic breathing (deep belly breathing). When you breathe deeply, it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping shift the body from a "fight or flight" state to a "rest and digest" state.
But the benefits of yoga don't stop at relieving stress and activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Certain yoga poses may help with IBS symptoms because the physical act of twisting and folding into different poses gently massages the abdomen, helping to stimulate the movement of waste and gas through the gut. Gentle stretching may also stimulate blood flow to the abdomen, helping promote digestion.
A 2022 study suggests that yoga may improve overall symptom severity, quality of life, and perceived stress for some people with IBS. That said, IBS is a complex condition, and yoga is just one strategy that can be helpful for managing IBS symptoms. Many people with IBS need a combination of different approaches to keep their symptoms in check.
8 Yoga Poses That May Help Relieve IBS Symptoms
Most research on yoga for IBS has focused on full yoga programs rather than individual poses. However, here are eight poses that are often recommended and may help reduce IBS symptoms.
#1: Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Child's Pose stretches the lower back, hips, thighs, and shoulders. To perform child's pose, start on your hands and knees, and lower your torso towards the floor while sitting your hips back towards your heels. Extend your arms in front of you, or, if it's more comfortable, rest them alongside your body. Take slow, deep breaths and allow your abdominal muscles to relax. If this pose is new to you, it can be helpful to place a pillow under your abdomen or widen your knees to create more room.
This restorative yoga pose may help release tension in your abdomen and lower back while encouraging deeper breathing. While it hasn't been studied on its own for IBS, it is often included in therapeutic yoga programs designed to promote relaxation.
#2: Knees-to-Chest Pose (Apaanasana)
Also known as the "Wind-Relieving Pose," the Knees-to-Chest Pose stretches the lower back, glutes, and hips while gently compressing the abdomen. Start by lying on your back and gently drawing both knees up toward your chest (you can also draw your right knee and left knee up separately if that feels better). Wrap your hands around your shins or behind your thighs. Hold this position while breathing normally, rocking from side to side if that feels good.
This pose may be particularly helpful for releasing trapped abdominal gas because it mechanically compresses the abdominal organs, helping move gas along and ease abdominal discomfort. This pose is often included in IBS yoga trials (as part of a broader yoga sequence).
#3: Cat-Cow Stretch
Cat-Cow Stretch is a pose that combines coordinated breathing with gentle movement to promote spinal mobility and stretch the abdomen, chest, shoulders, and back muscles. Start on your hands and knees, with a blanket or towel beneath your knees if you experience knee pain. As you inhale, drop your belly while gently lifting your chest and tailbone. As you exhale, round your spine and draw your belly inward. Repeat as many times as feels comfortable.
Because Cat-Cow creates gentle movement through the spine and abdomen while promoting coordinated breathing, it may help reduce muscle tension and support relaxation.
#4: Supine Spinal Twist
The gentle rotation of a Supine Spinal Twist stretches the lower back, obliques, hips, chest, and muscles alongside the spine, which may help relieve abdominal tension. Start by lying on your back with your knees bent. Draw your knees toward your chest, then gently lower them to one side while keeping your shoulders relaxed on the floor (you can place a pillow or folded blanket beneath your knees so they don't have to reach as far). Repeat on the other side.
The gentle twisting of this pose may help relieve tension in the abdomen and lower back, while the supported position, with a pillow or blanket beneath the knees, can promote relaxation.
#5: Happy Baby Pose
The Happy Baby Pose opens the hips and relaxes the lower back while stretching the inner thighs and groin. Start by lying on your back with your knees drawn toward your chest. Let your knees widen, then hold the outside edges of your feet (if this doesn't feel comfortable, hold behind your thighs instead of your feet, or use a yoga strap around each foot). Keep your lower back relaxed on the floor. If it feels good, you can gently rock from side to side.
Because this pose gently compresses the abdomen and digestive organs, it may help release trapped gas.
#6: Garland Pose (Malasana)
Garland Pose is a deep squat that stretches the hips, groin, ankles, lower back, and pelvic floor, which may help promote bowel regularity in people with constipation. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and slowly lower your body into a deep squat. If your heels lift off the floor, place a folded towel or yoga blanket under them. You can also place a yoga block beneath your bottom for added support.
Squatting changes the angle of the rectum in relation to the anus and may make bowel movements mechanically easier for some people. However, most research on how squatting can relieve constipation has focused on adopting a squatting posture during a bowel movement (typically by using a step stool beneath your feet).
#7: Legs Up the Wall
Rather than stretching, the Legs Up the Wall pose allows the hips and lower back to relax and can be restorative, helping with stress-related IBS symptoms. Position yourself sideways beside a wall and gently lower yourself onto your back while slowly stretching your legs up the wall. Rest your arms beside you and breathe slowly and deeply.
#8: Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Corpse Pose, or Savasana, is not a stretching pose but a full-body relaxation pose often used to end a yoga session. Lie flat on your back with your legs comfortably apart and your arms resting beside you, with your palms facing upwards. Close your eyes and focus on slow, relaxed breathing. If lying flat on your back causes lower back discomfort, placing a pillow under your knees or keeping your knees bent can help.
Corpse Pose's main benefit for IBS symptoms is related to slow breathing, which may support relaxation and calm the gut-brain connection.
How to Practice Yoga With IBS
If you're new to yoga, here are some tips to help you get started:
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Listen to your body: While you will likely feel some gentle stretching, yoga should not cause sharp pain or worsen abdominal discomfort. Ease out of any position that feels painful or uncomfortable.
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Modify poses when needed: If you're working to improve flexibility or are experiencing severe symptoms, use pillows, bolsters, yoga blankets, blocks, or gentler variations of the poses to make them more comfortable.
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Focus on gentle, regular movement: Research supporting yoga for IBS generally involves regular practice over several weeks rather than one-off sessions. You may find it more realistic to start with incorporating 10 minutes of yoga practice into your daily routine rather than one or two longer sessions per week.
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Coordinate movement with your breathing: Slow, comfortable breathing is a core component of yoga and may promote relaxation.
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Avoid practicing immediately after eating: Give your body time to digest before attempting twists, forward folds, or other poses that compress your abdomen. If you want to move immediately after eating, a gentle walk may be more comfortable.
Supporting Digestion Alongside Yoga
Overall, while yoga can complement other IBS management strategies, it's just one tool in your toolbox, not a cure for IBS. Food triggers, sleep, stress, and other lifestyle factors can all affect how IBS feels day to day.
For people living with IBS, a more comprehensive IBS management plan often includes a combination of:
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Stress management techniques
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Regular exercise
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Identifying individual foods that trigger IBS
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Dietary adjustments that support symptom management without unnecessary or excessive restriction
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Medications or other treatments, when appropriate
For people who have identified FODMAPs as a trigger for symptoms, digestive enzymes may offer targeted support. Digestive enzymes work by breaking down specific carbohydrates before they reach the large intestine, helping reduce bacterial fermentation and subsequent gas, bloating, and discomfort. Like yoga, digestive enzymes are not a cure for IBS, but may be useful for people who have identified specific food-related triggers.
FODZYME is a digestive enzyme blend that breaks down the most common FODMAP triggers. If fructans, GOS, or lactose are among your known or suspected FODMAP triggers, learn more about how FODZYME can relieve digestive discomfort alongside your broader IBS management plan.