Yoga For Piles (Haemorrhoids): What Mr Iyengar, The Yoga Doctors And The Research Say

Sore, itchy, bleeding a little, and too embarrassing to mention? Piles are one of the commonest problems nobody talks about. Straining, sitting for hours and a sluggish bowel all add pressure low in the body, and yoga works on all three. This guide brings together what Mr BKS Iyengar, the medical doctors who worked with him and the research say about piles (haemorrhoids), and how yoga for piles, or yoga for haemorrhoids as some call it, fits into an ordinary week. It also covers hemorrhoid exercises you can do at home (the US spelling of haemorrhoid) and yoga for piles in Darwin and online. Last updated: 7 November 2026.

Get 2 Free Yoga Classes And 2 Free Ebooks

Does yoga for piles help? The short answer

Yes. Yoga helps piles by working on what drives them: straining, constipation and blood pooling low in the pelvis. Mr Iyengar lists a set of poses for piles in Light on Yoga, led by Headstand and Shoulderstand. Dr J. T. Shah, a medical doctor who was also an Iyengar yoga teacher, who worked closely with Mr BKS Iyengar for many years, lists those same two poses for piles, because they help blood drain from the legs and pelvis. No trial has yet tested yoga for piles directly. But yoga three times a week eased constipation in older people in a trial, and weekly yoga helped the pelvic organs settle back after childbirth. Yoga moves the bowel, calms the urge to strain, and teaches you to breathe out as you make an effort.

Piles are common, often come back, and can make daily life miserable. For a problem like that, yoga is a way to help manage it and improve things week by week, and the studies below are the reason we can say so. Then there is what the experts say: Mr Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar and the medical doctors who worked with him. Feel free to check with your professional advisers if you wish, but also give yoga a try.

One thing to keep in mind: most yoga trials test “yoga” of many styles, taught by teachers with very different training. In our view, well-taught Iyengar yoga, with props and adapted poses, is likely to go further. Why the kind of yoga matters.

The bottom line: five key moves for piles

1. Go to a yoga class at your level, two or three times a week. Movement moves the bowel. In a trial of older adults, yoga three times a week for three months eased constipation and improved sleep.
2. Stop straining, on the toilet and on the mat. Breathe out slowly as you make an effort, and let the belly stay soft. No pushing, no bearing down.
3. Keep the stool soft. Fibre and water matter: in a review of seven trials, fibre cut lasting pile symptoms by about half, and bleeding by half.
4. Take the weight off the pelvis. Legs Up The Wall, supported Shoulderstand and other inverted poses help blood drain back from the pelvis. Learn them with a teacher, step by step.
5. Start now. New to Flametree, or away 3 months or more? 2 free classes, then 10 at half price, in Darwin or LIVE online.

Iyengar yoga is the style we teach at Flametree. During the 20th century, Mr BKS Iyengar was the major person who codified traditional Indian yoga, through his seminal books and widespread teaching. He also pioneered the use of props, so poses can be adapted to almost any body. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga. This guide is part of our encyclopaedia of yoga for health conditions.

This guide in short

• Overall evidence: Limited. Best study: Shree Ganesh 2021 compared yoga three times a week for three months with a waiting list in 96 people aged 60 to 75. Yoga eased constipation and improved sleep. It looked at constipation, not piles themselves.
• Mr BKS Iyengar: a list of poses for piles in Light on Yoga, led by Headstand and Shoulderstand, with backbends, twists and breathing.
• Dr J. T. Shah: Shoulder Stand and Headstand for piles, because they drain the legs and pelvis.
• Dr Timothy McCall, an American medical doctor and yoga therapist who studied with Mr BKS Iyengar, author of Yoga as Medicine: piles are on his list of 117 conditions yoga helps. Stress less, move more, and the bowel follows.
• Dr Krishna Raman, a medical doctor in Chennai who trained in yoga under Mr BKS Iyengar and has used yoga in his medical practice for decades: his own poses for piles, fissures and constipation, and no pranayama straight after a meal.
• Geeta S Iyengar: keep the abdomen soft, and never strain.
• The research: no direct trial yet. Yoga eased constipation, helped the pelvic organs recover after childbirth, and eased pelvic floor symptoms in pregnancy.
• Day to day: a steady routine, feet up on a stool on the toilet, less sitting, calm meals, and a practice that changes with the stage.

Piles sit where two other guides meet. Our guide to yoga for IBS, constipation and digestion covers the bowel, and our guide to pelvic floor dysfunction covers the muscles that hold everything up.

Supported inverted poses for piles

“With problems, go down, stretch, but don’t strain.”

What are piles (haemorrhoids)?

Everyone has cushions of blood vessels just inside the back passage. They help keep it closed. Piles are what people call those cushions when they swell, stretch or slip down. They are very common, especially in pregnancy, after childbirth, and from middle age on.

• Internal piles sit higher up. They often bleed a little, bright red, after a bowel movement, and may slip down and go back up again.
• External piles sit near the opening. They can itch, ache or feel lumpy, especially after sitting a long time.

The things that make them worse are mostly about pressure: straining on the toilet, hard stools from constipation, bearing down while lifting or pushing, long hours sitting, and the extra weight low in the body during pregnancy. That is where yoga comes in. It works on the pressure, the bowel and the habit of straining.

What did Mr BKS Iyengar teach about piles?

In short: take the weight off the pelvis with inverted poses, keep the belly and spine supple, and breathe well.

In Light on Yoga, his first book, Mr Iyengar’s appendix of poses for ailments has an entry for piles (p. 430). In our words, it is built like this:

• Inverted poses first. Headstand (Sirsasana) and Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) with their families of variations lead the list.
• Lying poses that work the belly and legs. Revolved Belly Pose (Jathara Parivartanasana), a lying twist, and Reclining Big Toe Pose (Supta Padangusthasana).
• Backbends. Fish Pose (Matsyasana), Locust (Salabhasana), Bow (Dhanurasana), Upward Bow (Urdhva Dhanurasana) and a supported inverted backbend (Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana).
• Lion Pose II (Simhasana II), a seated pose with a wide-open mouth and a strong out-breath.
• Breathing and rest. Ocean breath (Ujjayi) and alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Sodhana), and Corpse Pose (Savasana) to finish.

That is his list for a practitioner who already knows these poses. Several are advanced, and an Iyengar teacher builds up to them step by step.

In Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health, his later book of courses for ailments, he gives no separate course for piles. His nearest course is for constipation, built on Downward Dog, forward bends, standing poses, Headstand, Shoulderstand and supported Bridge Pose. That fits: constipation and straining are the main things that drive piles.

We do not publish his sequences. A sequence needs a teacher who can see how your body is on the day, and adapt each pose, which is what a class is for.

“Relax the abdomen. Learn to make the abdomen soft.”

What does Geeta S Iyengar say?

In short: a soft abdomen, no straining, and care for the pelvic organs, especially for women.

Geeta S Iyengar, Mr Iyengar’s daughter, wrote Yoga: A Gem for Women, the classic Iyengar book on yoga for women. Piles are very common in pregnancy and after the birth, so her approach matters here.

• Constipation and piles. She returns to constipation and piles at several points in the book, among the problems the right poses help.
• A soft abdomen. In her classes she taught that the abdomen should be soft, not gripped. “You can’t fight with your abdomen,” she told students in Sydney in 1996.
• No straining. With a problem, she said, go down, stretch, but do not strain.

What does Dr Timothy McCall say?

In short: piles are on his list of conditions yoga helps, and the way in is a calmer mind and a moving bowel.

Dr McCall is a US medical doctor who trained in Iyengar yoga, author of Yoga as Medicine and former medical editor of Yoga Journal. His June 2019 list of conditions helped by yoga includes hemorrhoids (no. 41). His book has no chapter on piles, but his views on the bowel apply directly, in our words:

• Movement moves the bowel. Like any physical exercise, yoga can ease constipation, because moving the body speeds food and waste through the bowels.
• Stress less, suffer less. Stress makes constipation and other gut problems worse, so calming practice matters.
• Twists, from practice. Yogis have long held that twisting poses help move waste through the system. He notes this is known from practice and not yet studied.

For piles, his 2019 list cites one conference presentation from 2008. We could not find it published as a paper, so we report no result from it.

What does Dr Krishna Raman say?

In short: piles get their own poses, and the breath and the meal need their own timing.

Dr Raman is a Chennai physician who trained in yoga under Mr Iyengar. His question-and-answer book, Yoga and Medical Science: FAQ, has a section on the digestive tract. His views, in our words:

• Piles, fissures and constipation together. He groups them together and gives poses for each, rather than one routine for all (Q358).
• Not straight after a meal. He lists indigestion, practising straight after eating and practising soon after surgery among the times not to do pranayama (Q69).

What Dr Shah recommends for piles: an Iyengar doctor’s list

In short: Dr J. T. Shah lists Shoulder Stand and Headstand for piles, because they help blood drain from the legs and pelvis, with forward bends and resting poses for the constipation behind it.

Who Dr Shah is: Dr J. T. (Jawahar) Shah, a Mumbai ear, nose and throat surgeon, practised yoga from 1963, studied with Mr BKS Iyengar and taught yoga himself from 1985. His book Therapeutic Yoga carries a foreword by Mr Iyengar and colour-codes every pose by the body systems it works.

His chart has no row for piles. Instead, two pose pages name piles outright, and his row for dyspepsia, constipation and peptic ulcers (p. xix) covers the bowel side. The poses he lists:

• Shoulder Stand (Salamba Sarvangasana), p. 53: he says it reduces swelling of the feet and legs and pelvic congestion, and lists it for “oedema of feet and legs, and piles”.
• Headstand (Salamba Sirsasana), p. 65: he says it “helps venous drainage from lower extremities and pelvis”, and lists it for varicose veins, swollen feet and piles.
• Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana), p. 43: he says it relieves pelvic congestion and calms the mind.
• Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana), p. 23: he says it relieves pelvic congestion and tones the pelvic organs.
• Knees To Chest Pose (Pawanmuktasana), p. 49: he lists it for wind and constipation.
• Crocodile Pose, lying face down (Makarasana), p. 47: teaches easy belly breathing; he lists it for constipation.
• Head To Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana), p. 89: on his constipation row.
• Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana), p. 91: on his constipation row.

The body systems they work: the heart and circulation (his red C) and the belly organs (green A).

Dr Shah’s cautions, kept as he gave them:

• Upside-down poses: Dr Shah says people with high short-sightedness (high myopia), high blood pressure, glaucoma, a detached retina, discharging ears or cervical spondylitis avoid inverted poses (p. xiii). With cervical spondylitis he allows them only with supports and an experienced teacher (p. xiii).
• Practise on an empty stomach: two hours after a light meal or four after a heavy one (p. xii).

Known from practice; not yet tested by trials. This is clinical and teaching experience. No trial has yet tested his list for piles.

Tell your teacher. If piles are flaring, tell your teacher; inverted poses are set up with props, and some poses are done more gently on those days. That is how Dr Shah himself said therapeutic work should be done: with an experienced teacher. Classes run in Darwin and LIVE online.

Source: Dr J. T. Shah, Therapeutic Yoga (foreword by Mr BKS Iyengar), Vakils, Feffer and Simons, Mumbai, 1999, chart p. xix, general instructions pp. xii to xiii, pose pages 23 to 91. Summarised in our own words.

Reclining Bound Angle Pose: rest for the pelvis

Other yoga voices on piles

• Strong belly breathing is a later step, not a first one. Our own posts on Breath of Fire (Kapalabhati) and bellows breath (Bhastrika) explain why these forceful breaths come last in Iyengar teaching. The pranayama we teach first is slow, smooth and nasal, which suits anyone who is learning not to push.
• The pelvic floor is part of the picture. The muscles that hold up the bladder, womb and bowel also support the back passage. Leslie Howard, a New Zealand teacher and author of Pelvic Liberation, teaches that a pelvic floor can be too tight as well as too weak. More in our pelvic floor guide.

“The strain of modern life can lead to physical pain and illness.”

Living with piles: the yogic approach, day by day

In short: a steady routine, a soft belly, no straining, less sitting, calm meals, and a practice that changes with how the piles are on the day.

Yoga is not only what happens on the mat. Mr Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar and the yoga doctors all describe a way of living that keeps the body regular. For piles, in our words, it comes down to this:

• A regular rhythm. Dr Shah asks for practice on an empty stomach, best early in the morning, at least half an hour a day (p. xii). A steady daily rhythm of practice, meals and sleep tends to bring a steady bowel with it. Many people find the urge comes after the morning practice or after breakfast; answer it, rather than putting it off.
• How you sit on the toilet. Put your feet on a low stool so the knees are higher than the hips, lean forward a little with a long spine, and let the belly be soft. It is close to the yoga squat (Malasana), and it lets the bowel empty without pushing. Breathe out slowly. Do not sit there reading or scrolling.
• Less sitting. Long hours in a chair or a car let blood pool low in the pelvis. Get up every half an hour or so, stand in Mountain Pose (Tadasana), walk, and at the end of the day lie with your legs up the wall.
• Eat for an easy bowel. Plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and water, and meals that are not rushed or heavy late at night. Mr Iyengar held that practice itself makes you more sensitive to what the body needs to eat.
• Calm the nervous system. Stress tightens the belly and the pelvic floor and slows the bowel. Restful poses and slow breathing switch on the rest and digest side of the nervous system.
• Rest. Supported lying poses, such as Reclining Bound Angle Pose and Legs Up The Wall, take the weight off the pelvis and quieten the mind at the same time.

“Asana practice guides one in having sensitivity for eating what the body needs each day.”

What does the research show about haemorrhoids and yoga?

In short: no trial has yet tested yoga for piles directly. The trials closest to it are good news: yoga eased constipation in older people and during chemotherapy, weekly yoga helped the pelvic organs recover after childbirth, and yoga through pregnancy eased pelvic floor symptoms. All of these studied yoga in general, not Iyengar yoga specifically. Why the difference matters.

Yoga and piles directly

No trial has yet tested yoga for piles. Not yet studied is not the same as not working: Mr Iyengar, Dr Shah and Dr Raman all set out poses for piles, from long practice.

Indirect studies: constipation and the pelvic organs

These studies did not measure piles. They measured two of the things that drive them.

• Yoga eased constipation and improved sleep in older adults. Yoga three times a week for three months, against a waiting list. Shree Ganesh 2021, a trial of 96 people aged 60 to 75. Indirect: constipation and straining drive piles. Read the study.
• Weekly yoga helped the pelvic organs, including the lower bowel, sit higher under strain after childbirth. On ultrasound while bearing down, women who did yoga had better positions of the bladder neck, womb and rectum at three months than women who did not. Sixty-minute classes once a week from the first week after the birth. Li 2024, a study of 128 women. Indirect: it measured the pelvic organs, not piles. Read the study.
• Yoga through pregnancy eased pelvic floor symptoms, including bowel and back-passage symptoms, more than usual care. Twice-weekly classes in person and online sessions five days a week for three months, from mid-pregnancy. Sharma 2024, a trial of 200 pregnant women, with no complications in either group. Indirect: the questionnaire covered bowel, bladder and prolapse symptoms together, not piles alone. Read the study.
• Breathing, relaxation and gentle joint exercises eased constipation, tiredness and poor sleep during chemotherapy. Practised twice a day at home through six cycles of chemotherapy. Prakash 2020, a trial of 100 women with breast cancer. Indirect: constipation from medicines, not piles. Read the study.
• Slow, low belly breathing eased constipation in two trials. Both are set out in our digestion guide (Habu 2022 and Liu 2022). Indirect.

Reviews and the wider picture

• Regular moderate exercise, yoga included, was linked with better bowel function, including in constipation. The review also found that very hard or long exercise can upset the gut, which fits the steady, moderate way yoga is taught. Al-Beltagi 2025, a review of 231 studies. Indirect. Read the study.
• Yoga lowered body mass index in people who were overweight. Lauche 2016, a review of 30 trials and 2,173 people. Indirect: extra weight adds pressure low in the body. Read the study.

Not yoga, but it matters: fibre

• Fibre cut the risk of lasting pile symptoms by 47% and bleeding by 50%. Alonso-Coello 2006, a review of 7 trials and 378 people. This is diet, not yoga, and it is why “keep the stool soft” is one of the five key moves. Read the study.

Who should take care, and what to leave out for now

Most people with piles can come to an ordinary class at their level. A few things are worth knowing first.

• Inverted poses are learned with a teacher. Mr Iyengar and Dr Shah both list Headstand and Shoulderstand for piles. They are learned step by step, with props, and Dr Shah says people with high blood pressure, glaucoma, a detached retina, high short-sightedness, discharging ears or cervical spondylitis avoid them (p. xiii). Legs Up The Wall and a supported bridge give some of the same draining effect with far less load.
• The breath, as we teach it. In class the breath stays smooth and unhurried, and pranayama starts lying down, with the chest supported on a bolster and the out-breath long and soft.
• Forceful belly breathing waits. Breath of Fire and bellows breath push down on the belly and pelvis, so they come last, if at all.
• Tell your teacher. If piles are flaring, poses are changed for you, and sitting poses can be done on a folded blanket or a block.

Locust Pose: from Mr Iyengar’s list for piles

How does this come together in a Flametree class?

Everything above points the same way, and it is how we teach in Darwin and online. If you are looking for hemorrhoid exercises, piles exercises or yoga for haemorrhoids in Darwin, this is the yoga side of the answer: regular classes, supported inverted poses and a soft, unstrained out-breath.

• Regular classes keep the bowel moving. Standing poses, twists and forward bends, two or three times a week, chosen for your level.
• Supported inverted poses, taught step by step. Legs Up The Wall and supported bridge first, then Shoulderstand on folded blankets when you are ready, and Headstand later, with props.
• A soft belly and a long out-breath. Every class ends in rest, and our pranayama classes teach slow, smooth, nasal breathing, lying down first.
• Classes adapted to the people in them. No one-size-fits-all. Tell your teacher about piles, pregnancy or recent surgery, and the poses are changed for you. Our restorative yoga and gentle yoga classes suit flare days.

Headstand: Dr Shah’s second pose for piles

Yoga, pranayama and mindfulness: how they work together

Some of the studies above tested slow breathing, not yoga poses. That still counts for our classes. Mindfulness is steady, present attention, and yoga poses and pranayama (yogic breathing) are old routes to that same state. So the research on slow breathing for constipation also shows what a good yoga and pranayama class can build. No trial separates which part does the work.

We suggest coming to both a yoga class and a pranayama class. Mr Iyengar taught that asana (poses), pranayama and meditation are not divided, and in our experience the two together do more than either alone. See every class time. We trace the history and the links in Yoga And Mindfulness: Why The Mindfulness Research Points Back To Yoga And The Breath.

Read more on piles, the bowel and the pelvis

• Yoga for constipation and digestion
• Legs Up The Wall: what it does and how to set it up
• Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) and Headstand
• What is restorative yoga?
• How to calm your nervous system
• Related guides: IBS, reflux, constipation and colitis, pelvic floor dysfunction, circulation and varicose veins, pregnancy and after the birth and hernia

Take it further

• Classes, in Darwin or LIVE online: new, or away 3 months or more? 2 free classes, then 10 at half price. Already practising yoga? See the non-beginner half price pass. See every class time.
• Masterclass: the pelvic floor is one of our 2027 Sunday Arvo Masterclasses with Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and certified Yoga Therapist. Come for the poses, the sequences and the breath work that put this into action. Bookings are open.
• Retreats: a week of daily yoga, pranayama and good food in Bali. See the retreats.

Other conditions are in our encyclopaedia of yoga for health conditions.

Yoga for piles: questions people ask

Can yoga help piles?

Yes. Yoga helps piles by easing the things that drive them: straining, constipation and blood pooling in the pelvis. Mr BKS Iyengar and Dr J. T. Shah both list inverted poses such as Shoulderstand for piles, and yoga three times a week eased constipation in older adults in a trial. No trial has yet tested yoga for piles directly.

Which yoga poses help with piles?

Dr J. T. Shah lists Shoulder Stand and Headstand for piles, because they help blood drain from the legs and pelvis, plus Reclining Bound Angle Pose for pelvic congestion. Mr Iyengar’s list in Light on Yoga adds a lying twist, Reclining Big Toe Pose, Fish, Locust and Bow. Beginners start with Legs Up The Wall and supported bridge, and learn the full inverted poses with a teacher.

What causes piles?

Piles are swollen cushions of blood vessels just inside the back passage. Pressure low in the body makes them worse: straining on the toilet, hard stools from constipation, bearing down to lift or push, long hours sitting, and pregnancy. Yoga works on the straining, the bowel and the pooling of blood.

Are yoga exercises for haemorrhoids safe when they are flaring?

Yes, with some changes. Tell your teacher, and gentle, supported poses are chosen for you, with sitting poses done on a folded blanket. Restful poses such as Reclining Bound Angle Pose and Legs Up The Wall suit flare days, and stronger work waits until things settle.

Is it safe to go upside down with piles?

Mr Iyengar and Dr Shah both list Headstand and Shoulderstand for piles. They are learned with a teacher, step by step, with props. Dr Shah says people with high blood pressure, glaucoma, a detached retina, high short-sightedness, discharging ears or cervical spondylitis avoid inverted poses. Legs Up The Wall gives some of the same effect with far less load.

Is Kapalabhati or Breath of Fire good for piles?

Not as a starting point. Forceful belly breaths such as Kapalabhati and bellows breath push down on the belly and pelvis, and in Iyengar teaching they come last. Start with slow, smooth, nasal breathing, which also teaches the long out-breath that replaces straining.

What piles exercises can I do at home?

Lie with your legs up the wall for five to ten minutes, keep the belly soft, and breathe out slowly. On the toilet, put your feet up on a low stool, breathe out slowly, and do not push. Walk every day, and eat enough fibre and water. Then learn the full poses in a class, where a teacher can set them up with props.

Can yoga help piles in pregnancy or after the birth?

Yoga helps the pelvis recover after the birth. In a study of 128 women, weekly yoga from the first week after the birth helped the pelvic organs, including the lower bowel, sit higher under strain at three months. Inverted poses are changed in pregnancy, so tell your teacher. More in our pregnancy guide.

How should I sit on the toilet with piles?

Put your feet on a low stool so your knees are higher than your hips, lean forward a little with a long spine, and keep the belly soft. It is close to the yoga squat, and it lets the bowel empty without pushing. Breathe out slowly, do not strain, and do not sit there for long.

Does stress make piles worse?

It can. Stress tightens the belly and the pelvic floor and slows the bowel, which means harder stools and more straining. Restful poses and slow breathing switch on the calming side of the nervous system, and Dr McCall’s view is simple: stress less, suffer less.

What did Mr BKS Iyengar say about piles?

In Light on Yoga (p. 430), Mr Iyengar lists poses for piles: Headstand and Shoulderstand with their variations, a lying twist, Reclining Big Toe Pose, Fish, Lion Pose II, Locust, Bow, Upward Bow and a supported inverted backbend, with ocean breath, alternate nostril breathing and Corpse Pose. Several are advanced and are built up to with a teacher.

Where can I do yoga for piles in Darwin or online?

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin, and LIVE online across Australia, with bolsters, blankets and chairs in every class so poses can be made gentle. New, or away 3 months or more? You get 2 free classes, then 10 at half price.

Where this comes from: BKS Iyengar, Light on Yoga, Appendix II, Piles (p. 430); Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health (Dorling Kindersley), the Constipation course and the Foreword. Geeta S Iyengar, Yoga: A Gem for Women, and her Sydney classes, 1996. Timothy McCall MD, Yoga as Medicine (Bantam), his June 2019 list of health conditions helped by yoga (no. 41) and its bibliography. Krishna Raman MD and S. Suresh MD, Yoga and Medical Science: FAQ, Q69 and Q358. BKS Iyengar, Yoga Wisdom and Practice, Yoga and Diet. Dr J. T. Shah, Therapeutic Yoga (foreword by Mr BKS Iyengar), Vakils, Feffer and Simons, Mumbai, 1999. Leslie Howard, Pelvic Liberation. Studies as linked above. Everything is summarised in our own words.

This page is general information, not medical advice. Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and LIVE online.