One time, in a dark room somewhere in Greenpoint in Brooklyn, I started crying out of nowhere during yoga class (silent tears, don’t worry). This hadn’t happened before, so I made it my mission to answer this question: does yoga, with its dedication to controlled breathing, core work and flexibility, have the ability to “unlock” pent-up emotion? Or am I just a big baby?
For people who’ve studied yoga, considering yoga as a practice that can “awaken” other aspects of our overall well-being may be a no-brainer. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, yoga originated in Northern India about 5,000 years ago and began not just as a form of exercise, but as a mental and spiritual practice in enlightenment or discipline.
While yoga has branched off and developed into many forms (more meditative practices vs. more athletic ones, for example), yoga’s footprint in wellness continues to solidify as a practice with certain health benefits, such as decreased blood pressure and overall stress reduction. It may also be used as a complementary therapy for anxiety disorders and depression as one of the more effective relaxation techniques. What is the direct connection to “releasing emotion?” Is there any special pose that unlocks what you can’t quite put your finger on, or does a good-quality yoga sesh provide the perfect placebo effect for whatever you were going to do or feel anyway?
According to Julie Bindeman, a reproductive psychologist and co-director of Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington, it might be all of it. She recommends yoga or body movement, more generally, to her clients “all the time.”
“When our body is in a pose, it might bring up a feeling — feelings of vulnerability,” Bindeman said. “And that vulnerability can cause release.” In addition to crying, it’s also not uncommon to burst out laughing as another type of release, she adds.
Beyond the pose, yoga also relies on breath work, for which there is “robust” evidence in its relationship to the nervous system, according to Dr. Gregory Scott Brown, a psychiatrist and author of the book The Self-Healing Mind.
One thing Brown wishes people would embrace more wholly is the relationship between the nervous system and the way it’s coupled with the mind — including emotional responses.
“That sounds almost cliche,” Brown said. “But it’s something a lot of people, and a lot of doctors, don’t fully appreciate.”
Breathe to release
If fight, flight or freeze is run by the sympathetic nervous system that sets the house on fire, the parasympathetic response is “like pouring water on the fire,” said Brown, who has had training in trauma-informed yoga. Practices like yoga, mindfulness and meditation that are generally pleasant and lower stress can put us in touch with that system. Yoga also relies on a regulated breathing technique (traditionally called Pranayama), which helps regulate the parasympathetic nervous system.
In a more relaxed parasympathetic state, emotions may be easier to manage and feel, like they’re rising to the surface and becoming suddenly more clear.
In addition to yoga’s focus on breath, Brown added that movement in general has been connected to an increase in the protein BDNF, which helps optimize serotonin, norepinephrine and other chemicals in our brain that have been associated with mental health.
Some research supports yoga’s impact on overall emotional well-being, including this small study that compared adolescents who practiced yoga and those who didn’t, finding differences in things like emotional regulation and self-esteem.
While this doesn’t speak to the exact ways in which you can “unlock” your emotions, it’s an opportunity to bridge evidence of breath work and evidence for movement in a relatively risk-free way that may put you further in touch with your emotions and give you new clarity. (Talk to your doctor if you have an injury or a health condition that may prevent you from certain exercises, of course.)
“If anyone’s skeptical, I would just encourage them to practice a little curiosity before judgment,” Brown said. “Give yourself permission to be honest with yourself about how you feel.”
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What’s stored in a yoga pose?
Based on someone’s history, specific yoga poses could bring them back to memories that are physically stored in the body, according to Bindeman. Those poses or feelings in the body can bring back “thematic” or “emotional” memories, she said.
In some cases, it may even cue a person’s body to go into fight, flight or freeze mode, universally known as the human nervous system’s response to escaping a threat.
In more welcome emotional responses, the other thematic elements of yoga and the poses — such as music, lights and even the words of the yoga instructor — what would be the first domino to fall and trigger a person’s nervous system?
“I don’t know what that first domino might be,” Bindeman said.
“When we think about emotional life, in the West, we have a very recent understanding of it,” she said. Another way yoga is beneficial, according to Bindeman, is its bilateral stimulation, or reliance on both sides of the body and brain.
Read more: 5 Breathing Exercises That Can Help Ease Stress
Yoga poses to unlock your emotions
There’s no evidence to show that one yoga pose would unlock emotions better than the next; by nature, emotions are subjective. So experimenting with different flows you find online (CNET’s sister site Healthline has one of many YouTube channels offering yoga tutorials) and different poses is probably the best way to go. Before you start bending on the mat, familiarize yourself with the basics of breathwork to maximize the physical and mental and/or emotional benefits you’ll get from your exercise.
Personally, on days when I’m more in tune with my breath and pairing it well with movement, there’s a noticeable difference in how good I feel after practicing yoga. (Yes, the day I cried was one of those breathing-on-point days.)
Other elements of yoga practice, including the music, smells and lighting, may also elicit strong emotional responses. If you’re not interested in trying it out in a yoga studio or group class, try experimenting with music you enjoy or sounds that help you focus or relax. Certain tones, for instance, may help improve people’s well-being and get them into a relaxed state, primed and ready to receive whatever they’re willing to.
If you’re pregnant, if you have an injury or you otherwise need to be cautious about starting a new exercise, be sure to talk with your doctor before getting started on any yoga moves at home. Also, be sure to stop if you’re experiencing pain or discomfort. With that in mind, here are a few common poses that people of all yoga levels may attempt to start greasing the emotional wheels and a very brief overview of each.
Upward facing dog
Upward facing dog position.
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While in an upward dog position, your chest should feel high and open and your head should be tipped to the sky. Your wrists, elbows and shoulders should be “stacked” in a line, according to Yoga International.
Downward facing dog
Upward facing dog.
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Upward-facing dog and downward-facing dog often flow from one to the other, so it may feel natural to you to come out of upward-facing dog into downward-facing dog, moving from an inhale to an exhale.
In downward dog, your head is tucked inward and your legs and spine are elongated. As Yoga International reports, this position “facilitates balanced effort” between the upper and lower parts of the body. For some people, it may be a more restful pose.
Fish pose
Fish pose.
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In the fish pose, the throat and chest are opened up and muscles in the abdomen and front of neck are stretched. While in this pose, there should be a minimal amount of weight on your head to avoid hurting your neck. (A beginner’s tip from Yoga Journal is to keep a folded blanket under your head for added cushion.)
Standing forward fold
Forward fold or standing forward bend.
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Think of the forward fold as a deep stretch. While it may improve your flexibility, it’s about more than touching your toes, Yoga Journal reports. Some people might find it more comfortable to cradle their elbows and allow their head and top half to “sway.” This pose often flows into the mountain pose.
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Happy baby is exactly what it sounds like if you’ve ever observed an infant grab their feet and roll around. This pose often relieves tension in the lower back and may feel more playful and light.
Child’s pose
Child’s pose.
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Child’s pose has you leaning back on your calves and heels, arms stretched ahead with your forehead on the mat, if that’s comfortable for you. As Yoga International notes, this may be a good pose to notice the places in your body that move with your breath.
After considering what I heard from the experts about the ways we may respond to certain body positions, the relaxing effect of yoga on emotional expression and well-being, as well as the outside elements that feed into the yoga experience, I’m not sure what exactly triggered my first random crying episode at a yoga class. Given our increasing understanding of how physical well-being reflects in emotions, and vice versa, I hope it won’t be my last.