Yoga Poses for Moving Through Emotions


The Best place to move through Difficult or painful emotions is on the mat.

I’m currently learning a style of yoga that I would love to share with others someday, because it truly explains the reasons why I practice and teach yoga. The style of yoga is grief yoga, which is a practice dedicated to physically moving through painful emotions. 

In my classes, I often talk about the energy of the poses, and the mind body connection that exists in each of them. When we hold onto stuck emotions, stresses, negativity, fears, pain, and traumas, they don’t just disappear. Trauma stays trapped in the body and manifests physically, science has literally proven that. But when we allow ourselves to move through these experiences and reconnect with our bodies through yoga, that’s where all of the healing begins. 

We carry so much emotion in our joints, tendons, muscles, and even in our very cells. If we don’t give ourselves the space to feel and move through these emotions, they remain stuck in the physical body. We must feel them, and we must release them. Below are a few simple but effective postures to help you in this process.

  • Child’s pose: The head is below the heart in this pose, so it’s considered an inversion. In these poses, blood and oxygen flow to the brain to provide energy, comfort, and safety. This pose represents taking care of yourself, by using the earth as your support. If you are experiencing vulnerable or uncomfortable emotions, consider this pose. 

  • Cat/cow: Whenever you are processing or experiencing an emotion, you must let it flow through you. If you think about emotions getting stuck in the body, these poses shake any stuckness loose so that they can be released. This flowing movement allows you to quiet the mind and move through pain, while also relaxing the back muscles and strengthening the spine. 

  • Downward dog: Similar to child’s pose, this is also an inversion where the head is below the heart. In this inversion, both the hands and feet are rooted into the earth for support.

  • Runners lunge: The hips are the house for all of our emotions, both good and bad. So when bottled up emotions get stuck in the body, they typically manifest in the hips. All hip openers are used on an energetic level to release stuck and negative energy. Runners lunge helps us embody the intention of moving through painful emotions, and prepares the body and mind to do so. 

  • Ragdoll/forward fold: Another inversion that is used predominantly as a low back release. The low back is another area of the body where we hold onto stress and emotions, so we must work to release it as often as we can. 

  • Spinal twists: Twists create space between the vertebrate and boost blood flow, aka energy, throughout the spine. Energetically, twists represent “wringing out” stuck toxins and emotions from the body. If you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, twists can help you feel more grounded, stable, and balanced both physically and emotionally. 

And if you are looking to deepen your yoga practice and/or move through any repressed emotions or pain, I would love to be of service. Please reach out for more information or schedule a virtual session on the “Work With Me” tab!

Namaste friends!

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