Who hasn’t heard of the far spreading glory of yoga? This ancient form of exercise, which focuses a lot on breathing, is known to bring about various health benefits if performed regularly. It comes equipped with all kinds of asanas for all kinds of issues. There’s something for everyone. Of course the best time to perform these exercises is early morning, but not all of us can stick by it. So then we resort to alternate means. There are also yoga asanas that you can perform at other times of the day, including after dinner. Yoga poses after dinner are said to help one digest the food better, making it less heavy for the stomach. It empowers your body’s digestion and improves the health of your organs. When we eat, the food goes down into the stomach, wherein digestive enzymes are secreted that help in the breakdown of the food. While performing yoga, there are poses that focus on stretching, strength and flexibility that can be quite strenuous. Now if you perform such exercises post dinner, they can end up hampering your digestion process. So one therefore needs to be careful.Yoga is known for its ability to ease stress and promote relaxation.In fact, multiple studies have shown that it can decrease the secretion of cortisol, the primary stress hormone .Many people begin practicing yoga as a way to cope with feelings of anxiety.Interestingly enough, there is quite a bit of research showing that yoga can help reduce anxiety.In one study, 34 women diagnosed with an anxiety disorder participated in yoga classes twice weekly for two months. One study demonstrated the powerful effect of yoga on stress by following 24 women who perceived themselves as emotionally distressed.After a three-month yoga program, the women had significantly lower levels of cortisol. They also had lower levels of stress, anxiety, fatigue and depression .Another study of 131 people had similar results, showing that 10 weeks of yoga helped reduce stress and anxiety. It also helped improve quality of life and mental health .According to Zubin Atre, the founder at AtreYoga, “there are a bunch of micro asanas we can do when it comes to our lower body because after dinner the food is still there in our torso.”
You can do some hand rotations, stretching of fingers and arms, ankle rotation as well.Like yoga, the osteopathic approach to wellness focuses on your body’s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.“The purpose of yoga is to build strength, awareness and harmony in both the mind and body,” explains Natalie Nevins, DO, a board-certified osteopathic family physician and certified Kundalini Yoga instructor in Hollywood, California.
While there are more than 100 different types, or schools, of yoga, most sessions typically include breathing exercises, meditation, and assuming postures (sometimes called asana or poses) that stretch and flex various muscle groups.“As an osteopathic physician, I focus a lot of my efforts on preventive medicine and practices, and in the body’s ability to heal itself,” says Dr. Nevins. “Yoga is a great tool for staying healthy because it’s based on similar principles.”You can also do some swift basic movements of the neck, sit on a chair facing the wall and imagine that there is a ball between your chin and the chest and squeeze the ball as much as you can. This is to stretch the muscles of your back and the neck along the spine.
Another movement of the neck involves moving it in all the directions north, south, east and west, and stretch the muscles.
Yoga Asanas Post Dinner
1. Gomukhasana
Gomukhasana or cow face pose is an asana which “helps in stretching the spine and the stomach muscles which helps in making the digestion process easy,” says Abhishek, a yoga expert at Mystic Yoga Café.
How to do: Fold your left leg and place your ankle near to the left hip, now place your right leg on the left leg such that both the knees touch each other after this take both the hands at the back such that the right-hand holds the left hand. Keep your spine straight and take deep breaths for about 1 minute. Repeat the same process after changing the position as well.
2. Vajraasana
Also known as Adamintine Pose, Vajraasana is the most beneficial yoga pose after dinner. Experts suggest that any movement which helps in stretching the upper body and abdomen and relaxes your breathing is a good posture after dinner. It is often advised to practice yoga with an empty stomach but this is one such exceptional asana which is more beneficial when practiced after a meal because it promotes digestion.
How to do: Sit by folding both the legs and placing them on your hips, now keep your palm on the knees. Keep your spine straight and take deep breaths and concentrate fully on the breath. Stay in the same position for about 10 minutes.
3. Ardha Chandraasana
Ardha Chandrasana or half-moon pose is another good yoga pose to try after dinner as standing and side stretching (to stretch the stomach and abdomen) help in digestion, suggests Abhishek.
How to do: Stand straight on your yoga mat; lift your right hand to bend side ways to your left side and try to touch the ground from your left hand. Repeat the same by changing the hand position for about 10 minutes.Another study followed 64 women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by severe anxiety and fear following exposure to a traumatic event.
