Have you ever participated in a yoga class and felt yourself suddenly compelled to cry? Yoga helps with recovery in many ways, from physical reduction of stress, to increased spiritual well being, and a sense of mental calmness. It can also be used as a form of emotional release.
Yoga Releases Stored Up Energy Through Different Poses
Asana is the term for “pose” in yoga practice. Each asana is designed to activate certain muscles, which can activate certain emotions. In eastern traditions, everything is connected, mind, body, and spirit. Yoga is meant to be a preparation of all three categories for deep meditation. When the mind is cluttered with unreleased emotion, it has difficulty meditating.
Heart-Opening Poses
The chest can hold a lot of emotional pain. If you’ve ever felt tight in the chest when you are anxious, scared, or fighting back tears, you know that we experience emotions in the chest. Heart opening poses are those which stretch the chest open, thereby releasing the stored energy in the chest. Often, our chests are tight when we’re avoiding, creating distance, or ignoring pain. Quite literally, these poses help us open our hearts, which can be an emotional process.
Throat-Opening Poses
The throat also holds a lot of energy. Our throats become tight when we aren’t speaking our truth, communicating our authentic feelings, or sticking up for ourselves. Poses which bring the head back to expose the throat help us to find strength in our voice and more openness toward using it.
Resting Poses
After a long sequence of yoga poses or at the very end of a practice, a resting pose helps the body settle into all of the energy it just created. No longer moving, all the emotional energy which has been released has a chance to process.
Hip Opening Poses
We hold most of our emotional energy in our hips. Yoga teachers advise doing hip stretches every day for good physical and emotional health. Various hip opening stretches which activate hip flexors, the gluteus muscles, and the pelvis can help stagnant emotional energy flow more naturally.
Spinal Twist Poses
Doing a spinal twist is like wringing out a dirty washcloth. Our spines can hold a lot of toxic emotional energy which is why so many holistic practitioners believe that back pain is associated with memory.
Recovery is about creating wellness in mind, body, and spirit. At Avalon By The Sea we offer trusted treatment programs for total healing so you can trust your recovery for a lifetime. For a confidential assessment and more information on our programs, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.
