Benefits such as cleansing the body, feeling lighter, providing you with more energy, better sleep patterns and overall digestive health, both yoga and juicing can help with.
For me personally I like to follow a 3 day juice cleanse several times throughout the year usually when I’ve been feeling sluggish and need a boost. However, partnering your juice cleanse with a daily yoga practice will help you feel your best.
If you are used to hitting the gym or lifting weights regularly then this wouldn’t be advised whilst on a cleanse. You need to take it steady as your body is detoxing it needs to focus on that. Yoga on the other-hand gives your body and mind a chance to recover and heal, it will mentally prepare you for the impact of a physical juice cleanse. Mental strength and determination are required to get you through the cravings and overcoming hunger pangs.
Yoga and meditation can help divert your attention inwards so you focus more on all the positive impacts you’re creating. Slow gentle movement will encourage your body to eliminate the toxins and encourage the digestive system to empty therefore promoting good bowl function.
Here’s my top yoga poses to include in your yoga practice during a juice cleanse. These could be the foundation of the practice with sun salutations weaved in between. Start in a restful pose such as a meditation seat or in Childs pose as below. Follow the order of this flow so to build up energy slowly and coming into a relaxing closing pose.
This restorative version will allow you to arrive into the practice in a comfortable and relaxing position where you can close your eyes and focus on your breath in the back body.
Be sure to come out of the pose slowly and allow your head to come up last. Come into an all-4s position to sway and roll the hips and just simply move your spine without force.
If this pose is hard on your knees you may prefer to position blankets between the heels and buttocks and also position the bolster a higher at an angle with a few blocks under so your body spine is more in a slight vertical position. If you are slightly bigger busted it may be more comfortable to reach the bolsters forwards so it’s just your head resting on it.
This pose is great for that slight pressure on the belly to stimulate the digestive organs. Lying on your belly lengthen out through your toes, ground the pelvis and with a slight squeeze of the buttocks lift your chest. Hug the elbows in to the side waist, feel the upper back strong and no pressure on the lower back. Stay for a few breaths.
If you feel pressure eon the lower back move into a spine pose where the elbows are on the floor and forearms shoulder width apart. Continue to focus on lifting your chest but with elbows rooted down.
A brilliant all rounder pose that works the whole body and a good transition from cobra pose. Spread through the fingers and lengthen through the arms as your hips lift up to the sky to encourage a long line of your spine. Practice with bent knees but keep rooting down into the toes. With time the legs may straighten but it’s not important the main thing is the spine lengthens and avoiding a rounded back and hunched over the shoulders. Stay for 4-5 breaths.
If there is pain in the wrists which is very common maybe try placing the hands on blocks or if this doesn’t feel good bring the elbows down and practice a forehand downward dog, known as dolphin pose
As the name of the pose suggests you’re actually creating lots of triangle shapes on the body, a nice way to focus on the pose and bring your mind to pay attention to the alignment. From downward dog you can step the right foot forward and rise up into a standing lunge. Begin to straighten the front leg but firmly root down through the big toe and engage the quad to avoid locking out the knee. Begin to now root down the heel of the back foot and turn the foot to roughly 45 degree angle to encourage the left hip to shift back so your tailbone and pelvis tilt toward the wall or space behind your left foot.
Reach your arms up in one line parallel to the floor, as you inhale lengthen your torso and as you exhale start to hinge from your right hip to reach your right hand forwards and down to the floor. Then left reaches towards the sky aiming to lengthen through both sides of your waist. Stay root and strong in the legs and feel spacious in your chest allowing space to breath. Staying for a few breaths. Then repeat on the other side.
If you try to reach the floor and this rounds your back or you lean forwards try bringing the hand to your shin or onto a block, or try having a slight bend in the front knee, just make the pose accessible for you.
After a a few rounds of sun salutations, this pose is a welcome rest but a beautiful twist that will internally massage the organs and therefore squeeze and stimulate the digestive system.
This pose is wonderful chest opener and encourages lots of breath into the lungs. From a lying down position hug your knees into your chest take a breath in and as you exhale send you knees to the right. Stay for 3 breaths and concentrate on directing your breath into your left lung. As you settle your shoulders down turn your head in the opposite direction to your knees.
Close the eyes and just breath.
If you wish to rest your bent knees on a cushion this may help to relax further into the pose.
My all time favourite pose supported fish which is the queen of all heart opening poses. After your twist place a bolster length ways behind your back so your seat is on the mat, you can then begin to recline back with your spine along the bolster. Make sure the head is supported and maybe an extra cushion is nice for support. Your spine will be curved and your arms begin to release down to the ground. You knees could be bent here or extend your legs long whatever is preferred.
Depending on the firmness of your bolster this pose but feel super comfortable for some or not for others. Some may prefer to just simply roll a blanket up to recline on so it’s not such a curve on the spine, or simply stack up the bolster with some blocks so it’s tilted more into a more vertical position for the spine.
After how many breaths you wish to stay for, carefully roll to one side without lifting your head, move the bolster away and come to lie on your back ready for Savasana, your final resting pose. Settle the shoulders and hips down and then stretch your legs long into the two corners of your mat, let the arms settle to your sides. Close the eyes and sink into a meditative rest focusing on the inhale and exhale.
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