Gas and constipation often go hand in hand, and both can usually be relieved at home with a combination of movement, dietary changes, and simple positioning tricks. When stool moves slowly through the colon, bacteria have more time to ferment it, producing excess gas. Tackling constipation typically reduces gas as well.
Change Your Position on the Toilet
One of the fastest things you can do is adjust how you sit. When you’re seated upright on a standard toilet, a muscle called the puborectalis stays partially flexed, creating a kink between your colon and rectum. Elevating your feet on a footstool (or a stack of books) bends your knees higher, relaxes that muscle, and straightens the pathway for stool to pass. Your torso should angle slightly forward. This mimics a squatting position, which the body is naturally designed for, and reduces the need to strain.
Use Movement to Get Things Going
Physical movement stimulates the muscles lining your intestines. A few yoga-style poses are especially effective because they create gentle pressure on the abdomen or stretch the lower back and hips, both of which help move trapped gas and stool through the bowels.
Knees to chest: Lie on your back, bend both knees, and pull your thighs toward your chest. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. This compresses the abdomen and can help release gas almost immediately. Rocking gently side to side adds a mild internal massage.
Child’s pose: Kneel on the floor, sit back onto your heels, and stretch your arms forward with your forehead resting on the ground. The weight of your torso pressing against your thighs creates steady abdominal pressure. Breathe deeply and hold for as long as it feels comfortable.
Seated forward bend: Sit with your legs straight in front of you and fold forward from the hips, lowering your chest toward your knees without bending them. This stretches the lower back while gently compressing the belly.
Spinal twist: Lie on your back with knees bent, then lower both knees to one side until you feel a gentle stretch across your lower back. Return to center and repeat on the other side. Twisting motions can help move gas through the intestines.
Even a 15 to 20 minute walk can make a noticeable difference. The rhythmic motion stimulates the colon and often triggers the urge to go.
Try an Abdominal Massage
Massaging your abdomen in the direction stool naturally travels can encourage movement. Using gentle, steady pressure, start on your lower right side (near your hip), move upward toward your ribs, across to the left, and then down toward your left hip. This follows the path of the large intestine. Repeat for several minutes. You can do this lying down with your knees bent to keep your abdominal muscles relaxed.
Adjust Your Fiber Intake Carefully
Fiber is the most reliable long-term fix for constipation, but the type of fiber matters. Not all fiber works the same way, and choosing the wrong kind can actually make gas worse.
Fiber that resists fermentation by gut bacteria is the most helpful for constipation because it reaches the end of the colon intact and adds bulk to stool. Coarse wheat bran, for example, stimulates the intestinal lining to secrete water and mucus, softening stool and speeding transit. Psyllium husk (the main ingredient in products like Metamucil) forms a gel that holds water in the stool and prevents it from drying out as it moves through the colon. Both have genuine laxative effects.
Highly fermentable fibers, on the other hand, get broken down by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids and gas. If bloating and flatulence are already a problem, loading up on beans, lentils, or certain supplements like inulin can make things worse before they get better. Psyllium is a better starting point because it ferments slowly and is less likely to cause excess gas.
The general guideline is 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories you eat, which works out to roughly 25 grams for most women and 38 grams for most men. Over 90% of women and 97% of men fall short of this target. If your current intake is low, increase it gradually over a couple of weeks and drink at least 2 liters (about 64 ounces) of fluid daily. A sudden jump in fiber commonly causes cramping, bloating, and gas.
Peppermint Oil for Trapped Gas
Peppermint oil relaxes the smooth muscle in the intestinal wall by reducing calcium flow into muscle cells. This eases spasms that can trap gas in pockets along the colon, letting it pass more freely. Enteric-coated capsules are the best option because they dissolve in the intestine rather than the stomach. When peppermint oil releases too early, it can relax the valve at the top of the stomach and cause heartburn.
Over-the-Counter Options
For gas that’s already trapped, products containing simethicone (like Gas-X) work by merging small gas bubbles into larger ones that are easier to pass. They don’t reduce gas production, but they can relieve the pressure and bloating you feel right now.
For constipation, polyethylene glycol (sold as MiraLAX and similar brands) has the strongest clinical evidence of any over-the-counter laxative. It draws water into the colon to soften stool and typically produces a bowel movement within one to three days. Senna, a plant-based stimulant laxative, directly triggers contractions in the intestinal wall. Both carry the highest grade of recommendation based on multiple controlled trials. Senna works faster, often within 6 to 12 hours, but is better suited for occasional use rather than daily reliance because the gut can become dependent on stimulant laxatives over time.
Probiotics and Gut Transit
Certain probiotic strains can speed up how quickly food moves through the colon. In one controlled trial, people with chronic bowel symptoms who consumed a daily yogurt drink containing the strain Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12 saw their total colon transit time drop from about 30.5 hours to 21.3 hours over six weeks. The placebo group showed no change. That’s roughly a 30% improvement in how fast waste moved through the system. Probiotic effects are strain-specific, so a generic “probiotic blend” may not deliver the same result.
What to Watch For
Most gas and constipation resolves with the strategies above. But constipation lasting longer than three weeks, blood in your stool (whether visible in the bowl, on the toilet paper, or as dark/tarry stool), severe abdominal pain, or unexplained weight loss all warrant a medical evaluation. A noticeable, persistent change in your bowel pattern is also worth bringing up, even if none of those other signs are present.