Yoga and Your Emotions

by Nina

La Sagrada Familia (a detail) by Brad Gibson

I once bet an old friend of mine, a long-time yoga student who expressed some doubt when I told him that yoga poses can have strong effects on our emotions, that I could change his mood by putting him in a yoga pose. He said, “You’re on!” So what I did was set him up in a supported form of Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana) and left him there for three minutes (the amount of time needed for most supported poses to really take effect). When I told him it was time for him to come out the pose and he slowly lifted his head, I knew just by the look on his face—you know, that classic “yoga” look—that I’d won the bet hands down. And my friend did, in fact, concede quite gracefully, because the quieting power of a long forward bend (if you are set up comfortably) was undeniable.

Yes, various yoga poses and practices can have a strong effect on your moods and emotions, and this is something you should take into consideration when you practice on your own. I decided to write about this subject today because earlier this week another friend was surprised to learn that doing Sun Salutations before bed affected her ability to sleep. Knowing that certain poses like Sun Salutations and standing poses are stimulating can not only help you chose which poses to do at a particular time of time, but when you know something about how the poses effect you in general, you can actually practice to balance your emotions.

So today I’ve grouped the yoga poses into general categories, and for each category, I’ll list some of the typical emotional effects. In the end, however, don’t just take my word for it. You should always rely on your personal experience to guide you. Baxter and I once had a student who said that twists made her sleepy. That’s not the traditional view of how twists effect us, but if this woman felt they made her sleepy, well, that’s what they did!

Standing Poses. These are considered to be very grounding poses, which immediately engage your body-mind and bring you into the present moment. So they are good poses to do when you are worried and distracted or agitated. Standing poses are also stimulating, because being upright raises your blood pressure and increases your heart rate (ha, ha, the reverse of being inverted). So while these are great poses to do in the morning or afternoon, these are not good poses to do before bedtime if you have trouble sleeping.

Sun Salutations. Poses that are linked together with the breath, including Sun Salutations, moving from Paschimottanasna to Halasana and back, and even just moving from Tadasana to Uttanasana and back, can energize your emotional body and can help lift you out of lethargy, depression, or sadness. Like standing poses, Sun Salutations are stimulating. Moving with your breath increases your oxygen intake and up to standing and then back down again can raise your blood pressure. So like standing poses, Sun Salutations are great in the morning or afternoon, but not good to do before bedtime if you have trouble sleeping.

Backbends. These are considered to be energizing, uplifting poses. They may help create more energy when you are tired and may help lift you out of depression or sadness. On the negative side, they may actually make you too hyper if you are already nervous, and some people have difficulty falling asleep after practicing backbends. Because they literally open the heart area, they may cause strong emotions to arise—sometimes people find themselves crying after doing a lot of backbends. One way to access the energizing, uplifting quality of these poses without over-stimulating yourself it is to do passive, supported backbends.

Twists. These are considered to be cleansing poses. They can help release stress from your body-mind. On the negative side, twists may also release difficult feelings or emotions, so that they may actually leave you feeling a bit yucky—that’s a technical term—although that has never happened to me.

Forward Bends. These are considered to be quieting, introverted poses. They are restful poses that can calm you down when you are feeling agitated or hyper and rest you when you are feeling fatigued. On the negative side, the inward-turning quality of the poses may cause you to brood or feel claustrophobic. Supported versions of these poses that remove the physical resistance from the pose can be extremely quieting and calming.

Inverted Poses. These poses are considered to be soothing and centering poses. Although Headstand is a fiery pose (it warms you physically), it is also very calming. And any pose where you head is on the ground, such as Supported Downward-Facing Dog, Supported Standing Forward Bend, and Supported Wide Angle Standing Forward Bend, is considered to have the same benefits and can be substituted for Headstand. Shoulderstand—if it is at all comfortable for you—is more cooling than Headstand and is considered the ultimate soothing pose (the mother of all poses). Viparita Karani is also very soothing for almost everybody. I think a good reason to do the work to become comfortable with Headstand and Shoulderstand is because the benefits they provide are so valuable.

Arm Balances. Handstand and the other arm balances fully engage your body-mind as they demand your immediate presence of mind. This can help distract you from concerns outside the yoga room and therefore lift your spirits or at least give you a break from your obsessions. (Patricia Walden recommends them for depression for people for whom backbends are very easy.)

Hip Openers and Seated Poses. These poses are considered to be very grounding and centering. They seem to release tension, especially from the legs, and bring you into the present moment. On the negative side, opening your hips can sometimes feel really yucky—both mentally and physically—who knows why?—and you might not feel up to it some days.

Readers, what are your thoughts about the emotional effects of various yoga poses?

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