When yoga brings up your stuff

By: Cristina Trette

​​I was 20 years old when I attended yoga teacher training. I stepped into training with eagerness and joy. I had replaced my dream of being a professional surfer with a new dream of facilitating wellness and healing. ​

I started with gusto. But several weeks in, I was surprised with the amount of sadness I was feeling and some of the memories that surfaced. Emotions that had been stored in my body were making their way into my consciousness.
 
Looking back, I remember the collective expression of feelings within the group of practitioners. Some broke out into hysterical laughter at inopportune times, others broke down in tears. Most of us found soothing through turning to one another, to talk about our experience, and what was happening on the inside (and the outside).  
 
There is no way around it, immersing in yoga will bring up material and can release a whole range of emotions. This process is healthy and often launches positive transformation. For many, the way up is to go down first, and for some it can be a wild ride.
 
I thought it may be helpful to share some emotion basics that can be supportive for anyone experiencing intense feelings as they embark on their yoga journey.
 

1. Name feelings. The process of identifying and naming feelings is integrating and soothing to our nervous systems. Pausing long enough to notice the feeling and stating out loud (or in a journal) “I am feeling scared”, for example, tends to lower the intensity of emotion.
2. Feel feelings. All feelings are meant to be felt. This includes anger, sadness, fear, and hurt. When we allow feelings to run through us, this allows them to be released naturally instead of held on to, suppressed, ignored, or stored. When I want to feel my feelings I like to close my eyes, notice where in my body the feeling lies, touch this part of my body, and bring awareness to my breath.
3. Listen to feelings. Our feelings have important wisdom to share. When I am feeling sad, for example, I find time to sit with my sadness, and begin an investigation of what my sadness is trying to tell me. When I listen deeply, I almost always get an intuitive nudge or inspiration to act in a new way.
4. Talk about feelings. I prefer to navigate my feelings on my own. I notice them and allow them to come and go. I explore what they are trying to tell me. If I am really struggling, generally speaking, yoga and pranayama will bring me back to balance. Yet, sometimes I just can’t shake it. This is when I turn to others to talk about what is happening.

Hi, I am Cristina Trette. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Founder of Integrative Family Therapy. I help others improve their most important relationships. If you have any comments or questions, please let me know in the comments box below.