5 Yoga Poses to Connect to the Throat Chakra

Are you expressing yourself freely? Are you in touch with your authentic self? Connecting with the throat chakra, vishuddha in Sanskrit, allows you to open up and speak your truth. 

The fifth chakra located at the base of your throat is home to your inner voice. Blockages can appear in the throat chakra, causing an imbalance in your flow. Check out these five yoga poses for opening up the throat chakra and returning your mind, body, and soul to sweet harmony. 

Cat-Cow – Chakravakasana

As one of the primary warm-up postures for a vinyasa practice, Cat-Cow offers a juicy spinal stretch while also releasing any tension in the throat, according to Yoga Journal. 

Begin on all fours with your shoulders stacked over your  wrists and hips stacked over your knees. Inhale while dropping your belly, open your chest and allow your throat to elongate. Exhale and  round your back, drawing chin to chest and contracting your spine to lock in the posture. Repeat as many rounds of cat-cow as you want while you focus on expanding the throat area each time you enter cat-cow pose to open up the throat chakra. 

(fizkes / Shutterstock.com)

Baby Cobra Pose – Bhujangasana

The Baby Cobra pose invites you to connect your  lower body with your mat as you rise and  open up through the entire upper body. BeYogi explains that adding bhujangasana to your practice can deepen your breathing, open up space in the front of your body, and ignite the energy within as a way of connecting to the throat chakra.

To practice this pose, simply lay your body entirely on the yoga mat pushing into the earth with your hands. Lead with your head as you push the upper body up and off the mat. Elevating here, focus on lengthening your neck as your shoulders drop creating space between the chin and chest. Take a few moments for deep inhalation and exhalation. Try adding a throat chakra mantra here to focus your attention on healing such as, “I express myself honestly with clear intent.”

(Prostock-studio / Shutterstock.com)

Camel Pose – Ustrasana

The Camel pose encourages confidence and empowerment, as explained by Yoga Journal. This activating pose embodies opening up the throat chakra through lengthening and expanding the front of your body.

Begin the camel pose, in a kneeling position as you reach your arms back towards your toes in a slight backward bend. Lift through the heart space with your head elevating upwards. Stretch through your neck as you allow your head to gently fall back, gazing above. Stay here for a few deep breaths with your attention on the space created between your chin and chest honing in on the throat chakra.

(fizkes / Shutterstock.com)

Lions Breath – Simhasana 

Lion’s breath is a form of pranayama (breathing technique) that you can add to a yoga practice as a way of connecting to the throat chakra and igniting self-expression. According to Greatist, simhasana can enhance mindfulness as you focus your attention on every exhale and connect with the breath.

To practice the lion’s breath pose, come onto a seated kneeling position with your knees wide on your mat. Turn your fingertips inwards and press down into the earth. Keeping integrity in the spine, rise up through the crown of the head to lengthen through the throat. Deeply inhale and as you exhale allow the tongue to drop out of the mouth as you express a “haaaa.” Repeat for five breaths.

(Irina Nedikova / Shutterstock.com)

Fish Pose – Matsyasana

The fish pose focuses on opening up the neck and connection to breath explained Ekhart Yoga. Due to the nature of this pose, you can really tap into opening up the throat chakra as your body lays unearthed to the space above. In this position, you can embrace self-expression and strength. 

To enter this yoga pose, lift through the navel as you create space between your lower spine and the mat. At this point your head stays as it is, connecting with the mat below. Be mindful not to put pressure on your head. Instead, push through the palms of your hands. Extend your head in a slight tilt backward to open up the throat area and create space for expansive breathing. Stay for five breaths before gently returning to full body relaxation on the mat.

(Sonsedska Yuliia / Shutterstock.com)