Yoga Poses That Help with Stress Related Grinding, Bloating, Back Pain and more...

Aching back? Menstrual cramps? Next time you’re hurting, grab a yoga mat. That’s right your favorite fitness class might also help heal you.

For example, a new study in the Journal of Rheumatology found that among sedentary adults suffering from arthritis, 8 weeks of yoga helped improve their pain levels and general health and well-being. This adds to other research showing it might also ease annoying body problems like headaches and menstrual cramps.

Wondering how yoga can help you? Here are 10 poses that help with some of the most nagging issues, provided by Katie Brauer, chief program officer of Yoga Six, which has studios in California, Missouri, and Illinois.

Menstrual cramps Often treated with over-the-counter painkillers and birth control pills, monthly menstrual cramps are a real bummer. Performing these poses at the height of your pain may be helpful.

​Janu Sirsasana
Sitting, extend your left leg out straight and bend your right leg, with your right foot pressing into the inside of your thigh. Fold forward over your extended leg hinging from the hips, elongating your spine and breathing.

How it helps: This move not only works to reduce anxiety and stress levels to help you relax, but also bending from your groin stretches muscles that are tense from cramping.


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Malasana
Start in standing position with feet hip width, toes turned out. Squat down deeply. Bring your hands together at heat center in prayer position as you press your elbows into the inner thighs. Option to open twist to each side. For support, a balancing block can be placed under the butt.
How it helps: The malasana will stretch your body through the thighs, groin and lower back. Additionally, this move helps to supports digestion, and the ascending and descending colon to help ease any discomfort in your lower abdomen.

Stress-related teeth grinding So stressed your jaw hurts? You might be suffering from “bruxism,” aka teeth grinding. In severe cases this can lead to jaw disorders, headaches, on top of dental problems, but for many people teeth grinding is an unconscious habit brought on by stress or anxiety. (It can also happen while you sleep; seeing a dentist for chronic teeth-grinding is recommended.)
To ease the after-effects of a (literally) grinding day, you can use these poses to relieve stress and tension in the neck, upper shoulders, and trapezius, Brauer says.

​Eagle Arms

Sitting up straight, put both arms out in front of you. Wrap your right arm under the left and catch your wrist or palms. Then, lift your fingertips straight into the air, whilst pressing pinky fingers forward in space. Take several breaths, repeat, wrapping your left arm under right.
How it helps: Eagle arms stretches out your rhomboid muscles, which helps to relieve any built up tension in your shoulder blades.

​Chest Stretch

The chest stretch can be done in a seated or standing position. Take your arms behind you and interlace them, stretching out your chest. Bring your chin to chest and roll your neck gently, side to side.
How it helps: By rotating your neck while doing this stretch, you stress the back and side of the neck in order to reduce tightness from your clenched muscles surrounding your jaw.

Back pain from poor posture Fact: we all spend entirely too much time hunched over our phones and computers. Research shows looking down at your screen may put as much as 60 pounds of added weight to your spine. This poor posture over time can lead to killer back pain.  See: text neck.
“Open up your spine with the cat-cow pose—start in the table top position and curve and collapse your spine 10-15 times—to open up your whole spinal column,” Brauer recommends. Then move on to:

Bridge Pose

​Start by lying on the ground with your knees bent and feet planted firmly on the ground. Then, raise your hips up straight to the sky, holding the stretch. For a modification, you can place a block under your lower back for stabilization.
How it helps: The bridge pose helps open up your hip flexors and chest, while creating through the front line of the body decreasing tension and stress in the muscles.

Belly bloat When a big meal leads to gas and an upset tummy, a few minutes of yoga may be just what you need. Brauer says that many of the yoga poses that work to ease menstrual cramps may also help bloating. “Focus on movements that will activate or stimulate the digestive system,” she says.

Seated Twist
Sit up straight with your legs out in front of you. Bend your right leg at the knee and take it over your left, with your foot planted on the floor. Inhale to create length in the spine, and exhale while twisting to the right. Use your right hand behind you like a kickstand. Take several breaths and continue to grow through the spine and twist more deeply with your exhale. Unravel and repeat on the other side.
How it helps: This move helps to the muscles of the torso and outer hip, while the twisting action helps move gas through the stomach.

​Deep Belly Breathing

Sit up straight with your legs out in front of you. Bend your right leg at the knee and take it over your left, with your foot planted on the floor. Inhale to create length in the spine, and exhale while twisting to the right. Use your right hand behind you like a kickstand. Take several breaths and continue to grow through the spine and twist more deeply with your exhale. Unravel and repeat on the other side.
How it helps: This move helps to the muscles of the torso and outer hip, while the twisting action helps move gas through the stomach.

Ringing ears Also known as tinnitus, chronic ringing ears affects approximately 40 million Americans. Treatment often involves medications to help patients to control anxiety, depression, or insomnia. This is because stress can actually increase symptoms of tinnitus, which is why yoga, a known stress reliever might help, too.
“Yoga in its broadest sense—especially breathing exercises and some basic postures—will immediately dilute and dissipate stress,” explains Brauer.