These yoga poses will help you fight that nasty hangover in a jiffy

If you regret your last night’s drinking sesh because of the hangover you have right now, you’ve come to the right place. Undoubtedly, alcohol hangover can take a nasty turn if not taken care of properly.

By now you must have tried a variety of hacks to get rid of that dreaded hangover. But the reality is that even scientists know very little about the biological basis of alcohol hangover.

This area of research is lacking in large scale human studies. So, what advice can I give to those who have succumbed to the dreaded festive hangover?

Unfortunately, a systematic review, published in the British Medical Journal in 2005, does not bear good news. A review of eight randomised controlled trials revealed that there was no convincing evidence for any conventional or complementary interventions for the prevention or treatment of alcohol hangover.

The article concludes by advising that the most effective way to avoid a hangover is to drink in moderation or to abstain from drinking alcohol.

If you engage in activities like jogging or a walk around the block, some fresh air may also serve you well! A little rush of endorphins is good, but “sweating it out” with an intense workout will only lead to more dehydration, which you’re already battling during a hangover.

So, stay hydrated and keep your sweating to a minimum. Further carrying out intense exercise without replenishing fluid loss will only worsen your symptoms. You may engage in some light cardio or yoga to get relief from a hangover.

Also read: Yoga for beginners 101: How to prep for your first yoga class

Talking about yoga, we recommend the poses that involve ‘twisting position’ since twists aid in digestion, and that’s exactly what we want to speed up during a hangover. The quicker we can detoxify the body and move along digestion, the quicker we’ll feel better.

These poses compress the digestive organs, further enhancing elimination and digestion while also stimulating the kidneys and liver, which eliminates waste from the body.

1. Ardha matsyendrasana or twisting pose 

• Come in a downward dog pose with feet together
• Lift your right leg up and bend your leg at the knee
• Place your knee in the middle of your palms, stretching the left leg back
• Now place your left foot on the other side of the right knee
• Place your left palm behind the spine as close to the body as possible and extend the spine up
• Inhale to lift the right arm up and exhale to bend the arm at the elbow
• Place the elbow on the other side of the left knee
• Push the left knee to the right side using the force of the right elbow making sure the shoulders are relaxed. Open the chest to the left side
• With every exhalation, twist from the upper waist turning the shoulders and the neck backward
• Try to bring the shoulders in a straight line and the chin above the left shoulder
  Focus on your breath
• Repeat the same on the other side of the body

2. Parivritta utkatasana or revolved chair pose

• Stand straight with feet and palms together (tadasana)
  Inhale to bend the legs at the knees and squat making sure the knees are placed right above the ankles
• The weight of the body should be on the thighs and abdominal muscles
• Exhale and twist to the right by placing the left elbow on the other side of the right knee
• Both the knees should face forward and elbows in a straight line, pushing the shoulders away from the ears
• Balance and with every inhalation turn the face to the right and lookup
• Focus on your breath
• Repeat the same on the other side of the body

The two above-mentioned yoga poses will get your digestive system rolling and further assist in relieving hangover symptoms.

Also read: 8 ways to prep your body for the year-end binge eating and drinking