Yoga For Detox: 8 Asanas That Help Cleanse Your Body

Given our stressful, unhealthy lifestyles, it is very easy to be sold on anything tagged detox. Our minds and bodies need the detox, given the trauma and damage we put them through. So, what if we have asked you to embrace yoga for detox? You can blindly say ‘yes’. Let us find out why.

How Does Detoxification Work?

Our bodies have three primary systems that are crucial to the elimination of waste. They are the circulatory system, the lymphatic system, and the digestive system. The circulatory system is responsible for pumping and filtering blood throughout the body, and in doing so, it delivers oxygen to the organs and collects the waste from the cells. The digestive system and hepatic portal system are known to process the food we eat, and while they do that, they separate the waste from the nutrients that get circulated through the blood and into the liver, thereby eliminating what the body doesn’t need straightaway. The lymphatic system collects intracellular fluids from the body and transports them to the lymph nodes, removing anything that is harmful before the lymphatic fluid returns to the bloodstream.

The systems are definitely robust and do wonders on their own. But to help the body keep up with the demands, and to help support health in stressful lifestyles, our natural detox system needs an assistant. Yoga is that perfect aide.

Yoga For Detox – How Does It Work?

Most active forms of exercise stimulate all three elimination systems, helping your body detox and cleanse itself. But yoga methodically focuses on stretching and compressing every part of the body, and is, therefore, more suitable. It helps in better waste removal.

When a yoga routine is done well, every part of the body is pulled, pushed, and twisted, and this eliminates carbon dioxide, lactic acid, and lymphatic fluid from deep within, where other forms of workouts fail to reach.

Yogic breathing also plays a vital part in stimulating detoxification. Owing to a bad sitting posture and excessive stress, our lungs don’t function to their full capacity. This means that we fail to take in as much oxygen as we ideally should, or remove as much carbon dioxide as we possibly can.

The breathing that we do, along with the yoga exercises, helps remove the carbon dioxide and stimulates the organs, especially the ones involved in digestion. With time and practice, breathing will also help in letting the diaphragm move freely.

Yoga not only facilitates physical detox, but it aids in mental detox as well. We are all victims of fear, stress, and depression. Practicing yoga purges those toxic thoughts. Your mind is taught to direct the awareness away from the chaos. You are trained to be in the present moment.

With regular yoga practice, you will be able to eliminate both tangible and intangible toxins that keep you from feeling and being at your best.

8 Asanas To Help You Detox And Unwind

1. Garudasana
2. Adho Mukha Svanasana
3. Ardha Matsyendrasana
4. Viparita Karani
5. Pincha Mayurasana
6. Salamba Sarvangasana
7. Salamba Sirsasana
8. Chakrasana

1. Garudasana (Eagle pose)

The Garudasana or the Eagle Pose is an incredibly powerful asana. It gives the calves, ankles, knees, hips, thighs, upper back, and shoulders a good stretch. When you press your thighs firmly together, blood circulation is enhanced, and this helps to flush out the toxins in the lymph and blood.

To know more about this asana, click here: Garudasana

2. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

The Adho Mukha Svanasana or the Downward Dog Stretch is an asana where your heart is placed higher than your head. There is a reverse pull of gravity that happens when you do that, and this aids in the proper circulation of the lymph and the blood. The abdomen is also toned and stimulated, and therefore, digestion is improved.

To know more about this asana, click here: Adho Mukha Svanasana

3. Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Spinal Twist Pose)

Twist are amazing detox agents, and the Ardha Matsyendrasana is a perfect twist. It stimulates digestion and helps remove impurities from the body. The kidneys, liver, and abdomen are squeezed and stimulated. As you release the twist, blood enters these organs.

To know more about this asana, click here: Ardha Matsyendrasana

4. Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall Pose)

This asana is also called Legs Up On The Wall. It enhances the circulation of lymph and blood in the feet and legs. The abdomen receives a fresh supply of blood too, which improves digestion. The nervous system is also calmed down, so the stress is reduced and mental detox is induced.

To know more about this asana, click here: Viparita Karani

5. Pincha Mayurasana (Peacock Feather Pose)

This asana is a challenging one, and if you manage to get into this asana, your reproductive organs and sexual functioning are enhanced and so is your digestive functioning. This asana helps with an intensely physical as well as mental detox.

To know more about this asana, click here: Pincha Mayurasana

6. Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand)

This asana is an inversion, where the shoulder carries the weight of the body. It helps to drain out the accumulation of lymphatic fluids in the upper body and the legs. It is an amazing asana to practice at the end of a yoga session so that all the toxins that are released are flushed to the heart so that it can be cleansed and oxygenated.

To know more about this asana, click here: Salamba Sarvangasana

7. Salamba Sirsasana (Supported Headstand)

Headstands are incredible to enhance and improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system. They reduce the strain on the heart. This asana assists those who are depressed and also helps to get rid of allergies. It increases the digestive fire and the body heat as well. This asana also enhances the working of the pineal and pituitary glands. Much like the Sarvangasana, this asana too helps extract the toxins from all over the body, leading to the successful elimination of wastes.

To know more about this asana, click here: Salamba Sirsasana

8. Chakrasana (Urdva Dhanurasana)

The Chakrasana is one of the best yoga poses for detoxification and is practiced at the very end of the yoga session. It is a chest opener and helps release congestion and stagnation in the body. This asana also helps activate metabolism. It opens up the lungs and helps improve breathing. It also stimulates the abdominal organs, thereby, improving digestion.

To know more about this asana, click here: Chakrasana

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Reviewer Author

Alana KesslerMS, RD

 

Alana Kesler has 20 years of experience and is a graduate of NYU with a Bachelors and a Masters of Science in Clinical Nutrition. As a freshman in college, she began practicing yoga and meditation and continued on to train as an Ayurveda Specialist and Weight Management expert.

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Shirin MehdiHealth & Wellness Writer

 

Shirin is a health and wellness writer with three years of experience and specializes in writing articles on yoga and has extensive knowledge about the postures of the asanas. Prior to joining Stylecraze, she interned with an advertising firm as a copywriter and as an editorial intern for a luxury fashion magazine.

Read full bio of Shirin Mehdi