You’re on your yoga mat, flowing through postures and feeling good about your practice. Suddenly, you find yourself covered in tears. What went wrong? You may be surprised to learn that nothing went wrong, and in fact, you may have just had an emotional release.
While this is a positive experience for many, it may not be for trauma survivors. I invite you to read why crying during yoga happens, when it’s beneficial, and when it may be a sign to seek additional support while on a trauma healing journey.
Benefits Of Crying
Before I explain what crying means during your yoga practice, I’d like to dispel the stigma associated with crying.
I wish our society was more accepting of crying because it’s a release just like laughing. When many people cry, they also feel shame. I welcome you to know that crying is not shameful. We experience crying as part of our human experience for a reason, and that reason is to serve you.
Beyond this reason, crying calms your body. This review discusses how crying activates your parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system. This relieves stress and why you have that relaxed, calm feeling after a crying session.
Why You’re Crying During Yoga
Unless you’re crying from physical pain (which I recommend you stop your practice if that’s the case), you may be confused why you had a sudden rush of emotions. You may not even be able to explain the emotion, but more of a general release.
There is nothing to worry about because what you experienced was an emotional release, which is part of a trauma release. I invite you to read the common signs you’ve had a trauma release in this blog post.
What Is An Emotional Release?
Your mind and body are connected, and when you release tension from trauma in your body, you can also release emotions.
Many yogis experience the strongest release when working with hip openers because this is your spiritual and emotional center. This is the reason you may cry the most in poses like pigeon, baddha konasana (butterfly), deep lunges, and other hip stretching poses.
I invite you to explore more poses to release trauma from your hips and psoas.
When Crying During Yoga Is Beneficial For Trauma Survivors
To feel is to heal. Processing and releasing trauma may mean many tears. This isn’t a sign you’re failing. It’s a sign you’re letting go of something that doesn’t serve you anymore.
This is a clear sign of progress! I invite you to take your time and know that you don’t need to cry every yoga class to holistically heal from trauma. Bringing your body back into a neutral state still works wonders for letting your body know you are safe.
When Crying Isn’t Supportive For Trauma Survivors
While crying is wonderful for release, it’s something to be mindful of if you’re doing yoga while healing from trauma. If you haven’t done processing work with your support team and you cry, you may face confusion, stress, or overwhelm.
Here are a few signs you may need to reach out to your support team or take a break from your yoga classes:
- Your practice brings up powerful emotions that you don’t know how to manage
- You constantly feel emotionally worse after your practices (trauma and emotional releases result in feeling lighter and at peace – not more stressed)
- You feel you’re awakening a trauma that you’re not ready to heal from – which is 100% okay. You’re allowed to heal when you’re ready.
I invite you to explore support options to give you the most well-rounded care plan on your healing journey.
What To Do After Crying
The best part about trauma-informed yoga is that you have full control over your practice and choices. If you feel exhausted after crying, you’re welcome to end your practice.
If you wish to rest in one pose for the rest of class, that’s welcome too! Sometimes, you may have a moment of quick emotion, then feel fine to continue your practice.
Once your practice is over, you have the option to journal your experiences. You may notice trends. Maybe you always have a release during a specific pose, or when a certain thought enters your mind. Understanding yourself is a supportive first step on your healing journey.
Overview
Crying during yoga releases emotions, calms your body, and allows you to process your feelings in a healthy setting.
You don’t need to cry every yoga class to heal, and you don’t need to worry if you’ve never had an emotional release. Many people don’t experience this – you’re still receiving all the benefits of your practice.
Thank you for spending this time with me, and take good care on your healing journey.
