Wind Relieving Pose for Digestion + Bloating (Pig Pose)
/Feeling gassy or bloated?
Need relief from tightness in your hips and low back?
Want to fire up your digestive system?
Welcome to Wind Relieving Pose!
Wind Relieving Pose (also called Knees-to-Chest Pose) is a reclined yoga pose that is perfect for beginner to advanced yogis. This wind removing pose improves digestion and elimination by gently massaging the abdominal organs. It also releases tension in the belly area, hips and low back.
The wind releasing pose gets its name because it helps release gas and can even relieve bloating and abdominal pains. So before eating grandma’s bean-lover’s chili, let’s master this gas-busting yoga move!
The Benefits of Wind Relieving Pose for Kids
Wind Relieving yoga pose not only combats gas and bloating, it also increases blood circulation in the hip joints and eases tension in the lower back. By gently pulling the legs into the chest, we strengthen the back and abdominal muscles while toning the leg and arm muscles.
In children’s yoga, we love turning poses into animals and nature. Wind Relieving pose looks a lot like a pig rolling around in the mud. Let’s give ourselves a hug and grunt and oink along with Rachel while we master this gas relieving yoga pose.
How To: Wind Relieving Pose
Lie on your back with arms and legs long
Inhale and as you exhale, bend your right knee toward your chest
Clasp your hands around your shin just below your knee and extend your left leg long on the floor
Gently pull the knee toward the chest, massaging the abdominal organs
Draw the tailbone toward the floor to lengthen the spine
Allow the chin to tuck slightly to keep the back of the neck long
Stay for 3-5 breaths and then switch to the left side
After left side is done, exhale both legs toward the chest, grasping below the knees
If available, you can move the grip higher, holding opposite forearms or elbows
Stay 3-5 breaths and then release arms and legs to the ground and rest
Tips for Mastering Wind Relieving Yoga Pose
If your stomach or chest is large, it might be difficult to clasp both hands around the leg that is drawn in. Draw your knee slightly to the side of your body, and hold with one hand or use a yoga strap around the shin.
If your hips are very tight, the extended leg might hover off the floor. Flex the foot to bring the calf toward the floor or bend the knee and place the foot flat on the floor instead.
Draw your tailbone downward, to lengthen the spine and keep the back supported on the floor.
With both knees to chest, it can feel good to add a gentle pulse on the breath. Inhale and release the grip and knees away slightly. Exhale and pull the knees inward. Repeat for several breaths.
Relax your jaw, face, and neck as you release tension in the hips and low back. If you tend to hold tension in your jaw, flutter the lips as you exhale to loosen and release.
Kid-friendly Wind Relieving Pose Variations
Starting Wind Relieving pose with bringing a single leg to the chest and then the other helps us improve the quality and efficiency of our digestive system by targeting each section of the colon.
Our right leg to chest massages the ascending colon while the left knee to chest massages the descending colon. Both knees inward massages the transverse colon as well as both sides.
Experiment with each variation and see what feels best for your body. Encourage your students to develop interoception, which is an internal sense of what is happening in their body (here are sensory processing activities for proprioception and vestibular senses) .
Kids who expand their interoceptive sense can better feel when they are hungry, full, hot, cold or thirsty and have more success with self-regulation. Ask children how the pose feels…can they sense the wind moving?
If lying on your back is uncomfortable or your students are practicing without yoga mats, you can still get some of the benefits of Wind Relieving pose while staying on your feet.
Try crouching down low on your toes and hugging knees to chest as if making yourself into a ball. You might pretend to be snowball or an apple fallen from a tree. Try this Apple Tree activity to combine a standing variation of Wind Relieving pose with a balance in Tree pose!
One of our favorite ways to end our Yo Re Mi class after relaxation is to bring our knees to our chest and give ourselves a great big hug. We rock side to side, hugging our knees inward, then take a deep breath and say, “I love myself!” Could you use a hug or some self-love today? Just try it!
Elevate Your Curriculum
Did you know Yo Re Mi offers an array of children's musical yoga and mindfulness resources for your school? You can:
- Request a professional development workshop
- Join a 30-hour certified kids yoga teacher training
- Download our app for exclusive videos and sequences -- with no ads!
- Inquire about brining the Yo Re Mi program to your school
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