Sobbing in Shavasana
The phenomenon of crying during yoga
Have you ever cried during a workout or when stretching?
I never had this happen until two days ago.
I was doing my yoga practice and began sobbing. I sat in Vajrasana pose and it started. Warm tears streamed down my face then the sobs. I moved to Shavasana, looked up at the sky, and a wave of frustration and sadness washed over me.
First, I felt shame. Why am I crying when yoga is supposed to be good for me and my body? Shouldn’t I feel chill? (Ommmm right?)
Second, where are these emotions coming from?
Something was coming up but I repressed it in my day-to-day life. Why now, in a downward dog was I feeling this emotional tidal wave?
To my surprise, this is not an uncommon phenomenon in yoga.
Should you bring a tissue box to a yoga class?
I was curious why this happened to me and if anyone else has experienced it. As I scoured the internet, I found article after article on crying during yoga — which is perfectly normal.
Not only is it normal, but it means that the yoga is unlocking something deeper.
The stretch receptors in the muscles connect directly to relaxation centers in the brain. Profound, even momentary relaxation can release very strong emotions that are usually inaccessible. (full article here)
Yoga can help unleash tension in our nervous system and tissues to unlock latent energy.
Whether it is long-held trauma or emotion, yoga gives the opportunity to slow down in a distraction-free environment.
Additionally, this demonstrates how we hold emotions in our bodies — which can be the root cause of much of our pain. The tissues, muscles, and nervous system hold a lot of information. We can only tap into this when we get present in our bodies and feel it.
Causes of muscle tension, pain and suffering stem from social conditioning, trauma, and psychological stressors. Everything on the Physical plane is a manifestation of something on the Metaphysical plane.
I was in pain and I had a flood of negative emotions. While yoga can also unlock emotions to give us relief, for me it brought up frustration, sadness, anger, and hopelessness.
These were all present but I ignored them. Popped in my headphones. Read a book. Typed on Medium. And ignored.
I wrote an article on the importance of crying but forgot my own advice.
I sat there and thought about what I was feeling and began to process it. And even though I sobbed, cried, and felt intense emotions, I felt better.
Tips on what to do if you start crying during yoga:
- Ground yourself — Transition to a child’s pose or Shavasana to stay grounded in the now. This also helps so you don’t disassociate from the present moment.
- Identify the emotion that is coming up — This will help you better understand what is present for you in your body.
- Talk to yourself like a child — While this seems strange, I began to repeat to myself, “You’re ok.” Talking to myself like I would a child, took a lot of the judgment out of my experience.
- Share — As long as you feel safe, sharing what you experienced could be helpful. Even though I was practicing alone, I did write down how I felt and plan to share it with my therapist and yoga instructor.
Final Thoughts
Many of us don’t show up to yoga class with a desire to cry.
We go to feel the benefits of our practice like feeling more centered, flexible, and calm. However, a component of this practice lies in unlocking emotions that could be stored in the body.
As we delve deeper into our practice, we could gain important insight into past trauma, current situations, or just emotions we are repressing.
While I hope no one sobs in a yoga class, I do want you to know this is normal and you are supported.
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This article is part of the 60-day writing challenge. (№4)
A shoutout to all members of the 60 day-writing challenge especially to:
Maide Marcel Elvie Lins❤️ Brendan — Coaching Apprentice, Judy Derby, Kerrie Gutierrez-Diaz, Frank Sarpong, Sabrina Johnson, Katie @ Awesomely Adept, Gustavo Gallina, Mona Lazar, Nour Boustani, Daria Haller, Amy Sarah King, Nikolaos Skordlils, Diana Meresc, Heather Cooper, Helen Hensell Rachel K. Gause, and Sara Larca.