Can Yoga Really Rinse Out Your Organs?

Do you ever wonder what your yoga teacher means when she tells you that

“this pose is going to rinse out your organs“?!

Yoga builds strength, flexibility, and, depending on the type of yoga, is great for your heart. It may improve the health of your blood vessels, and indirectly benefit your digestive system and other bodily function. It’s also good for your nervous system and may even improve your mental health.

But yoga does not rinse out your organs

Sometimes it feels like you are working so hard, pushing past your boundaries, and building up so much resilience that your internal organs must be feeling it too. The truth is that if you care for your body and are fortunate not to have chronic illness, your body is great at doing the work it was designed to do. That includes maintaining your internal organs.

Think of it this way: if yoga actually did twist and stretch and squeeze your insides, it could cause serious internal damage. Surgeons would be standing by to help yogis that “did it wrong”. And we know that, with few exceptions, that doesn’t happen.

Yoga teachers sometimes use these ideas as a way of motivating and encouraging their students to stay engaged and to work through difficult poses. Instead of taking them at face value, you can think of these little yoga class prompts as being metaphors for the benefits of yoga.

Stretching, twisting, and bending will improve flexibility and make you feel refreshed and invigorated. And that is one of the great gifts of yoga.