What is the trapped wind position?

The trapped wind position is actually an ancient yoga pose called pawanmuktasana. “This Sanskrit name actually translates to wind removing pose, and it’s long been associated with easing gas and air in the stomach,” says yoga teacher Francesca Hunt.

To do the move, you lie on your back and bring your knees into your chest – one at a time or both together – and hug them tight while slowly and gently rocking from side to side.

“The compression of the legs into the stomach massages the colon to encourage air to be expelled out of the digestive system,” Hunt explains. And there’s science behind the idea of a stomach massage. The NHS advises them to help movement in the gut, particularly to treat constipation, saying it promotes contractions of the large intestine which moves faecal matter along the digestive tract. While it recommends this is done with your hands, pawanmuktasana offers the same compression but in a gentler way.

Is the trapped wind position legit? How to do pawanmuktasana for gut health