Oh My Gas!

Every once in a while during yoga class, your teacher reminds everyone to breathe in, then out—and you do so mindfully, except that on this day it goes out the “wrong” end. Oh boy. You’ve always been able to keep it in before today. But towards the end of class, teacher dear springs a new pose on everyone. You become so focused on getting it right that you forget all about your other concerns. You learn how to do the pose correctly, but you also learn something else: Gas always finds its way out.

Passing gas, and audibly at that, in a room full of people can be extremely mortifying. As embarassing as it is for most people, however, passing gas is one of the most normal of human bodily functions. Experts say that on any given day, humans pass gas 14 times a day, on average. Small consolation, of course, to most of us who grew up laughing at fart jokes. Now that you’ve become the inadvertent center of attention and possibly the, er, butt of jokes, you feel like you just want to curl up and die. You’re not the first one.

Many yoga poses increase the likelihood of yogis passing gas because most movements directly affect the digestive system. One in particular, apanasana (a version of the wind-releasing pose), is known to have some benefits to the digestive system. It is rooted in the word apana, which B.K.S. Iyengar describes in his book Light on Yoga as one of the human body’s five main divisions of the energy form vayu (wind).

Iyengar writes, “Apana (is the wind energy) which moves in the sphere of the lower abdomen and controls the function of eliminating urine and feces.”

During apanasana (two knees bent together towards chest while lying on your back), and pavanmuktasana (another version where knees are bent one at a time), the abdominal organs receive a gentle massage that, with constant practice, is known to relieve wind.

Some medical practitioners recognize this as beneficial to the body. American internist, yoga practitioner and author of Yoga As Medicine, Timothy McCall, M.D. writes that “the Viniyoga pose Apanasana can be soothing for the abdominal region and may be helpful for both diarrhea and constipation.”

For others, the experience of yoga brings more than just physical enhancements or relief from physical conditions.

“One of the teachings of yoga is (about) letting go,” PinoYoga points out. “There’s actually a connection with the physical and whatever emotional baggage you may have.”

Yoga instructor Mark Stephens, who wrote Teaching Yoga, concurs that “(the apana-vayu) is the form of energy that eliminates negative experiences.”

So it’s a good thing. Not that we should ever forget our social graces, though. Nor should we become paranoid about when the next outburst might occur either. PinoYoga shares a few tips for dealing with future internal rumblings:

Keep it in? Or let it rip? You can try to keep it in, but sometimes it just comes out without a warning. We say it’s a better choice to let it out, not just in matters of passing gas, but also in the other aspects of living. If you feel there’s a lot more coming but prefer not to have an audience to witness it, you can choose to step out of class then come back when it has passed.

I let one out. What do I do? It happens. Embrace your bodily functions. If the class is generally in a light mood, you can even join in on the chuckling. If the class has a more serious tone, no need to raise your hand to let everyone know it was you. And no need to give dagger looks to the gigglers in the corner. They can’t help it either.

Someone else let one (or several) out. What now? Can’t help but giggle, we’re sure. Get the feel of things—if the noisemaker can laugh at himself or herself, then it’s probably okay to briefly chuckle along. If not, and you feel you’re about to burst out laughing, step out of the room to compose yourself, take a deep breath and remember your intention for class. Step back in when you’re ready.

Remind yourself that it happens to almost everyone. Let go of ego. Show compassion for yourself and others. Handle it with grace, with humor, with gratitude even. Then continue practicing at home where you can do as much apanasana or pavanmuktasana as you need and, so to speak, fire at will. — Owen Santos, contributor