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5 Yoga Poses to Digest and Detox after Thanksgiving

Do you feel full? Bloated? Are you irritable from overeating all the delicious foods of Thanksgiving? The typical American consumes 4,500 calories for Thanksgiving. Now that is a collective stuffing! Yoga can be an effective way to help you digest and detox after over-indulging. Even a few minutes of each of these five poses can help you get your belly back on track.

Cat-Cow Pose
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Start with a neutral spin on all fours. Inhale drop the belly lift the head and tailbone as you exhale round the spine like an angry cat. By breathing deeply in and out into your abdomen you gently massage the organs and alternate between compressing and then extending the intestines. This helps improve gut function.

Downward-Facing Dog
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Press yourself up into an inverted V, hips high and back. Ground your hands and feet into the ground (heels don’t have to touch).Take very deep breaths in and out of your belly. As you breath in pull the belly button in and up. Imagine drawing the belly up and in the direction of the back of your lungs. This helps flush the intestines with fresh oxygen rich blood.

For the following poses twist to the right first then to the left. As you twist right, you compress the ascending colon and as you twist left, you compress the descending colon. This gets everything going in the right direction!

Twisting Triangle
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Step your right foot forward and spin you back heel flat. The back toes will point up and slightly to the right. Hips are square to the front. Extend your left arm up and spin your torso over the front leg. The left hand can go on the right leg or to the inside or outside of the front foot. Lengthen the spine as you twist. Repeat on the other side.

With this pose you are alternating between compressing and releasing the colon. As you do this it will stimulate the body to release waste and toxins.

Half Gas Release Pose
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It’s all in the name! As you take this pose it compresses the ascending colon on the right side and descending colon on the left. It also stimulates the nerves to help with elimination. Draw your right knee in toward the your right torso. Keep pressing your left leg straight and down. Pull the right knee down. Hold for 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat on the other side.

Seated Twist
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Sit down and bend you right knee and cross it over your bent left leg. Stretch you left arm up as you inhale and then twist your left elbow over your right thigh. Inhale and exhale deeply a few times. Keep the legs as they are and twist in the opposite direction. Come back to center and crisscross the legs in the opposite direction.Stretch you right arm up as you inhale and then twist your right elbow over your left thigh. Inhale and exhale deeply a few times. This pose will rinse out the intestines and stomach and help fire up your digestive track.

To your health!

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