Bloating can be truly uncomfortable and surprisingly hard to treat. When you’re feeling like an overstuffed teddy bear, at first you may think all you need to do is release some of the gas that’s built up in your stomach. But you may not know how to make yourself fart to release trapped gas – it’s not as easy as it sounds, and sometimes it’s just not happening on its own. If your stomach is bloated after eating a rich dinner, snacking on something that didn’t agree with you, or overdoing it on fiber all day, it may be too late for you to head to the store for some Beano or Gas-X – or maybe you just want to try to relieve gas yourself before resorting to medication.

If you’ve ever found yourself Googling “how to relieve gas fast,” you may already know: there are several yoga-inspired positions to relieve gas. The right yoga moves can absolutely relax your body and get things moving, allowing you to expel the gas that’s making you feel so bloated and uncomfortable, and letting you breathe a sigh of relief – sometimes within just a few short minutes. Is there anything yoga can’t do?

Why Does Yoga Release Gas?

When you’re considering how to release gas from the stomach, manual manipulation can help. But it’s not necessarily that the contortions you put yourself through physically push trapped gas from your gut out of your body. Rather, yoga poses help relax your entire body (including your intestines), and that can allow your gut to release gas.

You can try just one or two of the following 12 positions to relieve gas, or work your way through the entire sequence. To increase the chances of it working, take your time and really relax and breathe into your belly. Sipping on some water and listening to calming music can also help. As a friendly warning, though, you might want to get into these gas-relief positions alone, because they’re very effective (if you know what I mean).

Source: Pop Sugar