Yoga and gut health: how this traditional practice can support your gut🧘

Yoga originated in India but has grown in popularity worldwide, with a whopping 380,000 people in the UK practising yoga weekly!¹ Yoga is a mind-body practice that promotes overall health and wellbeing. But did you know it can also support your gut health? Let’s explore the connection between yoga and the gut in more detail –

Yoga’s impact on vagus nerve stimulation

As the longest cranial nerve in the body, the vagus nerve is a crucial part of the parasympathetic nervous system (the system that helps you rest, digest and heal). It acts as a super highway connecting your brain to your gut via signals, with between 80-90% of the signals going from the gut to the brain and the rest going from the brain to the gut.

When you’re in a calm state your vagus nerve lets your body know it’s safe to relax, this promotes nutrient absorption, digestion and tissue repair. But when you’re in an anxious state or stressed the communication can be disrupted, blood flow to the gut slows down and digestion can become sluggish. You may also experience other symptoms like bloating, constipation and cramps.

Yoga can stimulate the vagus nerve through movement, mindful breathing, and mindfulness practices. Techniques like diaphragmatic breathing and those where exhalations are slowed down and extended are particularly effective. One study found that those who practiced yoga regularly had increased vagal tone at rest compared to those who did not.²

Yoga poses that involve gentle twists, inversions, or backbends can stimulate the vagus nerve. Mindfulness practices used during yoga can activate the vagus nerve as you focus on your breath and body sensations.

These techniques not only make you feel calm but they allow your gut and brain to connect, enabling your body to digest easier, reduce inflammation and function more optimally.

Yoga and digestion

Yoga supports digestion through four main pathways: movement, breathwork, nervous system regulation, and improved circulation.

Certain yoga poses, including twists, back bends, and forward folds, massage internal organs such as the stomach, liver, and intestines. This can help improve nutrient absorption, ease bloating, gas, and constipation, and stimulate peristalsis, a series of wave-like muscle contractions that move food through the digestive tract.

Stimulating the vagus nerve not only promotes a sense of calm, but it also aids in digestion by enhancing enzyme production, reducing inflammation and stress-related symptoms, and increasing blood flow to digestive organs.

As stress and anxiety disrupt the gut microbiome and slow digestion, yoga’s ability to lower cortisol and increase calming neurotransmitters like GABA is especially beneficial.³ It helps soothe the gut-brain axis, support microbial balance, and reduce gastrointestinal symptoms like cramping, bloating, and bowel urgency.

Yoga also improves lymphatic flow and blood circulation, which are essential for digestion, aiding nutrient absorption and detoxification.

A regular yoga practice can also help increase mind-body awareness, allowing you to be more tuned into how stress affects your body and what foods feel nourishing or irritating.

What the research says

Research shows that mind-body interventions such as yoga are beneficial for overall health and can promote healthy aging.

A study featuring participants aged between 60 and 75 found that three yoga sessions per week for three months improved sleep issues and constipation, which can significantly affect the elderly.⁴

Much of the available research focuses on IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), a condition closely linked to stress and gut-brain dysregulation. One study found that daily yoga can positively impact the physical and mental health of those with IBS.⁵

Another study looked at the combined effects of yoga, mindfulness and probiotics for those with IBS. It found that this integrative approach to managing IBS symptoms was effective, as it improved mental wellbeing, physical fitness, and positively influenced the composition of the gut microbiome.⁶

Tips for going forward 🌱

Start small – 5-10 minutes of daily yoga can have a profound impact. You can begin with a short flow that includes simple poses like child’s pose and cat cow. Here is a great one for beginners.
Practice on an empty or lightly filled stomach – yoga is better 1.5-2 hours after eating, especially when targeting digestion.
Choose gentle and calming styles – yin, hatha, and restorative yoga are ideal for digestion, as they emphasise stillness, breathwork, and help to calm the nervous system.
Listen to your body – if anything feels uncomfortable, especially in your stomach area, modify or leave it. Trust your gut! It’s not about being perfect or looking like the person in the videos.
Focus on your breathing – slow, deep belly breaths, where your exhale is longer than your inhale, help activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
Pair yoga with other gut healing practices – such as adding a probiotic to your diet, eating fermented foods, mindful eating, staying hydrated, and stress reduction rituals.
Stay consistent – like any natural healing practice, the benefits build over time, even in small doses. This will be more impactful than trying to do it intensely.

Yoga offers holistic support for gut health through physical postures, breathwork, and stress reduction. It doesn’t just target specific symptoms; it supports the underlying systems that enable your body to rest, digest, and thrive!

Whether you’re struggling with IBS, stress-related gut issues, or sluggish digestion, incorporating yoga into your routine can help you feel more calm, resilient and connected to your body. With growing research on its benefits, yoga is becoming a go-to tool for natural digestive support.

For more information about how yoga can support your gut health, click here. Are you interested in learning about the gut health benefits of other exercises? Check out – 5 exercises to support your gut health.

Any questions? Contact one of our Nutritional Therapists via live chat, weekdays from 8 am to 8 pm.

Yoga and gut health: how this traditional practice can support your gut🧘

Yoga’s impact on vagus nerve stimulation

Yoga and digestion

What the research says

Tips for going forward 🌱

References

Questions? Talk to a Nutritional Therapist on live chat!

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