Most yoga practitioners seek relief from or enhancement of physical symptoms or health. Only some people understand Yoga’s powerful ability to quiet the mind. Thoughts are clear and focused while the mind is at ease but become clouded and scattered when mental activity increases.
To achieve this state of inner peace and equilibrium, the ancient Indian discipline of Yoga devised a series of techniques involving the mind, body, and breath. The basic goal of Yoga is to control and manage the fluctuations of the mind (known as ‘vritti’) through a process known as ‘chitta vritti nirodhah. The external manifestations of the mind that create sadness and discord can be learned to be controlled via Yoga, according to many wise people.
When sadness is gone, the mind is free to explore new avenues of thought. Keeping one’s feelings, wants, goals, and passions under check are crucial to being an objective observer. This witnessing mindset involves critically looking at the material world rather than letting it overwhelm your senses.
How Does Yoga Heal Emotions?
There are many motivations for taking a yoga class, but the most common ones are stress relief and improved physical health. However, only some people are ready for the emotional roller coaster that frequently comes with yoga practice, which can include the release of tears, joy, anger, and other negative and positive emotions.
The repressed feelings, traumas, and memories that might lead to “energy blocks” are all things that Yoga can help you overcome. Doing so can be therapeutic for letting go of pent-up feelings. But why do individuals think Yoga may help them let their feelings out? The following are some hypotheses that could explain this phenomenon:
- If you’ve been holding onto emotional sorrow in the form of physical strain, Yoga is a great way to let it all go finally.
- Focusing on the physical parts of Yoga can help you tune into feelings on a deeper level, ones you may not have been mindful of before.
- If you’re having trouble expressing your feelings, Yoga can help you connect with yourself and others meaningfully.
Are there specific triggers for emotional responses? What I mean is, how can we make meaning of our emotions? Let’s delve deeper into two possible causes that could be causing people’s energy and emotions to be released during Yoga.
Factors That May Cause An Emotional Release During A Yoga Session
#1 Release Tension From Your Muscles
Have you ever experienced the feeling that no matter what you do, things will never go as planned?
- Choosing nutritious foods will give your body the fuel it needs to function optimally.
- Regular exercise; and
- Keeping in shape and feeling great is a byproduct of all the “healthy” things experts encourage.
And yet, you’re still physically and mentally drained.
It’s commonly held that one’s “soul,” “mind,” and “body” are all inextricably intertwined. This means that we need to release any tension in our bodies before we can feel the emotional release we’re after. The memories of our past experiences, both physical and emotional, are stored in our bodies forever…
- Trauma
- Guilt; or
- Even happiness.
Awareness of one’s body can reduce mental chatter by highlighting the physiological signs of stress. As a result, you may find yourself with greater mental bandwidth to tune into your feelings.
#2: You Must Allow Your Mind To Let Go Of Emotions
The physical exertion of a yoga session can provide an outlet for pent-up emotions and energy related to traumatic experiences and old memories. Inducing an emotional release that you didn’t know you needed, Yoga can have a dramatic effect even if you haven’t undergone extreme trauma:
- Meditation, Yoga, or just taking some quiet time to focus within can all help you feel more at peace with yourself.
- Nothing, not even modern conveniences or the stress of daily life, can detract from this moment, which is all there is, and in which your mind can relax and receive the emotional release it needs.
- A mix of dim lighting, quiet music, and a serene mood creates the optimum setting for many yoga sessions.
- These methods trigger the relaxation response, making it easier to feel and express specific feelings (especially those stored in the subconscious mind).
Emotional release in Yoga can help you feel more at peace with yourself because it links your mind and body. Some examples of such connections are:
- Anger has a direct effect on the liver.
- Anxiety can make people feel sick as if their nerves and heart were knotted up and filled with dread.
- The human heart represents joy, one of the strongest feelings humans feel.
- Kidneys and anxiety go hand in hand.
- Sadness is associated with the lungs, and
- The spleen has been linked to anxiety.
It’s common for people to experience any of the emotions mentioned above during Yoga practice.
Emotional Release Through Yoga
Pratyahara: Inward Focus
Pratyahara is a very inner concentration on the felt experience of breathing and the body. When we focus on the physical body, we can experience sensations that normally go unnoticed. When maintaining a yoga pose, paying attention to how your body feels is important. Investigate the sensations’ origins, destinations, and pathways, and pay special attention to the accompanying mental and emotional experiences. Feelings of emotion can be processed more effectively if attention is directed towards the physical experience of the emotion rather than the thoughts, behaviours, or memories that arise in response to it.
Pranayama: Breathing Techniques Used In Yoga
Several breathing exercises in Yoga are designed to help you feel your feelings, bring them to the surface, and then let them go. The profound feelings stored in the body can be released with the help of dirge pranayama, which brings vitality and focus to the chest, belly, and hips. The intense stimulation and movement of Kapalabhati pull up and out of the body emotions that are close to the surface.
When negative feelings like sadness and loss are pushed to the surface, mouth breathing is a powerful tool for expressing and releasing them. When you’re angry or frustrated, try doing some Hara breathing (letting out an audible “Ha” as you exhale).
Vocalize: Utter Sounds
Making sounds during a yoga pose can help release pent-up emotions and stress from the body by opening the throat chakra. A deep sigh, anxiety by a hum, fear by a groan, and despair by a howl reduce stress. Using one’s voice is crucial for a full emotional release whenever feelings begin to rise to the surface.
Asana: Hip Openers And Backbends
Emotional stress accumulates in the hips, chest, shoulders, and throat. Take note of these locations as you perform asanas or a body scan before your practice to check for areas of tightness. Locating the source of your emotional strain in the body will help you zero in on the yoga positions that will provide the best.
Intensity: Holding The Positions
It’s crucial to go to your physical and emotional limits when you find a position that releases tension and stirs up strong feelings. Any time you push yourself to your physical or mental limits in a yoga posture, you will experience a cathartic emotional release. This is especially true with the tensive poses.
Use all the methods mentioned above while in these positions for maximum benefit and therapeutic catharsis. Props and restorative postures and the physical support of a yoga instructor or therapist can allow for longer hold times.
Yoga Poses For Emotional Release
While any yoga stance has the potential to trigger an emotional response, there are a few that are more common.
- Pigeon Pose (Pada Rajakapotasana)
- Fire Log Pose (Agnistambhasana)
- Extended Dog Pose (Utthita Svanasana)
- Fish Pose (Matsyasana)
- Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)
- Downward Facing Frog (Adho Mukha Mandukasana)
- Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana)
- Chair Twist (Parivrtta Utkatasana)
Managing Your Mind
The ability to think clearly and act accordingly is hampered over time. This is a primary contributor to low morale and anxiety, which in turn causes a cascade of other mental and physical health problems. Raja yoga’s primary goal is to teach its practitioners how to correct these kinds of mental discord.
According to Sandeep, peace is Yoga’s ultimate goal. When one’s physical and mental health are both optimal, one can work on learning to moderate their intense feelings while keeping their expectations, goals, and objectives in check. This is why Antar Mouna is so great as a daily ritual.
Antar Mouna
The name Antar Mouna means “inner silence” in Arabic. Mindfulness is paying attention to one’s internal and external experiences without judgement or interpretation. Antar Mouna is a comprehensive method for training one’s body, breath, and mind to be more present. It’s a systematic approach to our preferences, complexes, and inner conflicts. Internal peace and harmony are the results.
Purpose
The point is to see the mind at work by witnessing how it connects sensations, ideas, and emotions and responds to its internal and external contexts. Through dissociation, a regular practice not only aids in developing introspection but also releases the intensity of troubling ideas and emotions.
Preparation
Being Aware Of Sensations From The Outside
The process begins with the reception of impulses from the outside world. This permits us to be open to and aware of our immediate aural, olfactory, and tactile environments. In this stage, we work to reduce the effect of environmental stimuli on our perception. Disinterest is inevitable due to prolonged, deliberate exposure to the outside world. The mind is better able to detach from and ignore distractions.
By training this way, we reach the level of pratyahara, the separation of the senses from the external world, which readies us for the next step, the inward journey.
Spontaneous Thought Awareness
Let the random thoughts arise to the level of awareness and see the connections you make between them. At this point, you will begin by paying attention to your stream of spontaneous thoughts. The mind is unaffected by its surroundings and free to think for itself. The ideas that come up should not be pushed down or judged harshly. The mind allows the thoughts to exist, even if unpleasant, and notes the related emotions.
Thoughts gradually diminish in quantity over time. Drowsiness is possible, but there is a better time to give in. If you are sleeping through Antar Mouna, you’re trying to keep your thoughts at bay. The goal is to get to this point and then keep exploring until no new ideas appear. As we move through this phase, we may get insight into new facets of our character, both positive and negative. We must learn to love and accept ourselves exactly as we are, not as we would ideally like to be.
Thoughts Are Freely Generated And Discarded
At this level of consciousness, one’s thoughts can be generated and assessed in depth.
During this phase, fixed ideas begin to emerge. The goal is to access hidden, subconscious ideas and bring them to the surface. Over time, this method clears the subconscious and restores the mind by removing psycho-neural blocks.
This procedure is tedious and difficult. Issues from past lives may also contribute to negative and repressed thoughts. One must use patience and care to get over this phase and continue developing and broadening one’s thinking.
In its later, more developed stages, Antar Mouna prepares the mind for Dhyana by putting it in a condition of thoughtlessness. The purpose of Antar Mouna is to quiet the mind by filtering out distracting thoughts and feelings. It’s a method for training one’s mind to become steadier and more attuned over time.
Conclusion
Yoga is a powerful technique that helps in emotional healing by focusing on the mind, body, and breath. Its primary goal is to control and manage the fluctuations of the mind, known as ‘vritti’, through a process called ‘chitta vritti nirodhah.’ This allows the mind to explore new avenues of thought and maintain an objective observer mindset.
Yoga can help individuals release negative and positive emotions, such as tears, joy, anger, and other negative and positive emotions. It can help overcome repressed feelings, traumas, and memories that may lead to energy blocks. Two possible triggers for emotional release during yoga sessions are releasing tension from muscles and allowing the mind to let go of emotions.
The physical exertion of a yoga session can provide an outlet for pent-up emotions and energy related to traumatic experiences and old memories. Meditation, yoga, or taking quiet time to focus within can help people feel more at peace with themselves. The optimum setting for yoga sessions is dim lighting, quiet music, and a serene mood, which triggers the relaxation response, making it easier to feel and express specific feelings.
Emotional release through yoga can help individuals feel more at peace with themselves because it links the mind and body. Examples of emotions experienced during yoga practice include anger, anxiety, joy, kidneys, sadness, and the spleen.
Pratyahara, an inner concentration on the felt experience of breathing and the body, is an important aspect of yoga practice. By paying attention to the physical body, one can better process and process emotions more effectively.
Yoga involves various breathing techniques to help release emotions and stress from the body. Pranayama, a deep breathing technique, brings vitality and focus to the chest, belly, and hips, while Kapalabhati stimulates and moves the body. Mouth breathing is a powerful tool for expressing and releasing negative feelings, while vocalizations like sighs, groans, and howls reduce stress.
Asanas, such as hip openers and backbends, help release emotional stress in the hips, chest, shoulders, and throat. Holding poses that release tension and stir up strong feelings is crucial for therapeutic catharsis. Props and restorative postures, along with physical support from a yoga instructor or therapist, can allow for longer hold times.
Yoga poses for emotional release include Pigeon Pose, Fire Log Pose, Extended Dog Pose, Fish Pose, Happy Baby Pose, Downward Facing Frog, Wheel Pose, and Chair Twist.
Managing the mind is essential for maintaining mental and physical health. Raja yoga aims to teach practitioners how to correct mental discord and maintain peace. Antar Mouna, a comprehensive method for training the body, breath, and mind to be more present, aims to see the mind at work and release the intensity of troubling ideas and emotions.
Preparation for Antar Mouna includes being aware of external stimuli, spontaneous thought awareness, freely generating and discarding thoughts, and preparing the mind for Dhyana by putting it in a state of thoughtlessness. This practice helps to quiet the mind and become more attuned over time.
Content Summary
- Yoga practitioners seek physical relief and mental tranquility.
- Yoga quiets the mind and enhances focus.
- Yoga employs techniques involving mind, body, and breath.
- Yoga aims to control fluctuations of the mind.
- Chitta vritti nirodhah is a key goal in Yoga.
- External manifestations of the mind can be managed through Yoga.
- Sadness and discord can be controlled via Yoga.
- Yoga helps the mind explore new avenues of thought.
- Witnessing mindset enhances objectivity.
- Emotional roller coaster in yoga practice.
- Yoga can release repressed feelings and traumas.
- Yoga helps connect with oneself and others.
- Yoga aids in expressing and processing emotions.
- Yoga can release emotional sorrow stored as physical strain.
- Yoga deepens emotional awareness through physical focus.
- Yoga helps in understanding and expressing emotions.
- Yoga triggers emotional responses during practice.
- Pratyahara focuses on breathing and bodily sensations.
- Investigating sensations aids emotional processing.
- Breathing exercises in Yoga bring emotions to surface.
- Kapalabhati stimulates emotional release.
- Vocalization in yoga poses aids emotional release.
- Certain poses target emotional stress accumulation.
- Holding poses to push physical and emotional limits.
- Intense poses lead to cathartic emotional release.
- Yoga poses like Pigeon and Fish trigger emotions.
- Yoga balances mental and physical health.
- Raja yoga corrects mental discord.
- Peace is Yoga’s ultimate goal.
- Antar Mouna cultivates inner silence.
- Antar Mouna enhances mindfulness.
- Antar Mouna leads to internal peace.
- Antar Mouna reveals mind’s workings.
- Sensation awareness initiates the process.
- Disinterest reduces impact of environmental stimuli.
- Pratyahara separates senses from external world.
- Spontaneous thought awareness in Antar Mouna.
- Thoughts arise without external influence.
- Thoughts are acknowledged without judgment.
- Gradual decrease in spontaneous thoughts.
- Fixed ideas emerge in Antar Mouna.
- Subconscious thoughts come to the surface.
- Antar Mouna prepares mind for Dhyana.
- Antar Mouna filters distracting thoughts.
- Steadier and more attuned mind through Antar Mouna.
- Yoga aids emotional release through physical awareness.
- Emotional processing in yoga deepens understanding.
- Yoga poses release emotional stress in hips and chest.
- Mind-body connection established through yoga.
- Yoga balances intense feelings and emotions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Yoga Help Emotional Healing?
Unexpressed emotions become stored and held in the body and, over time, create physical tightness, stress, tension, and sometimes pain. Yoga is the perfect tool to release emotional tension in the body and to experience the healing that comes with this release.
How Does Yoga Make You Feel Emotionally?
The lighting, relaxing music, and quiet atmosphere during many yoga sessions. ○ These can trigger your body’s relaxation response, allowing certain emotions (particularly from the subconscious mind) to flow more freely. A yoga emotional release may even be connected to your organs.
What Yoga Pose Promotes Emotional Stability And Strength?
Triangle Pose is a classic standing yoga pose that inspires inner strength, emotional balance, and mental clarity. Physically, the pose increases strength and flexibility in the legs, hips and spine. It also helps to improve posture, balance, and stability by activating your core muscles.
What Effect Does Yoga Have On Emotional Intelligence?
Yoga helps individuals become more aware of themselves and their world by focusing on breath work and body movement. For all these reasons, yoga can help to make someone more emotionally intelligent. We’ll discuss different ways to improve emotional intelligence in this article.
What Are Emotions In Yoga Philosophy?
These emotions include kindness (Maitri), compassion (karuna), joy, wonder, awe, delight (mudita) and acceptance (upeksha).