The Best Yoga Tips for Integrating Negative Emotions • Yoga Basics

Your yoga practice makes you present and aware of all your feelings, including those you are trying to push deeply into yourself. Emotional problems arise during your yoga practice, especially at the beginning. Yoga doesn't always feel good, but it does help you start your inner healing journey. If you experience negative emotions during and after your yoga practice, there are some tips on how to evaluate, accept, integrate and learn from them.

What are negative emotions?

Anger, anger, fear, fear, sadness, feelings of guilt, apathy, and despair are examples of negative emotions that we can feel depending on the people and events around us. When we learn to deal with these negative emotions and develop positive behaviors, we will be able to deal with or deal with them better. Failure to address strong negative emotions can lead to symptoms of depression.

How negative emotions arise in yoga

As we do yoga, we become more aware of our bodies. Strained energy can be stored in areas of your body, hips, stomach, shoulders, neck, and heart. The bending, twisting, and balancing that we do in yoga can help release some of these tense energies and the negative emotions that go with them.

Even if while practicing yoga you cannot remember a memory or cause the negative emotions of tense energies, you may tremble or be moved to tears because the energy released can be so strong.

In yoga theory it is believed that getting stuck in these negative emotions is caused for one of two reasons. The first are samskaras, or karmic knots, which are negative emotional tendencies that arose in your current life or were carried over from a previous life. The second reason is believed to be caused by a disturbance in the flow of prana or vital life force. Yoga helps balance the flow of prana and change our emotional patterns.

How to deal with negative emotions in yoga

Developing positive behaviors can happen in the way we respond to our negative emotions. Exposing yourself to these negative emotions is the first step in developing these positive behaviors so that you can identify the negative emotions.

After you identify the negative emotion, take responsibility for what you feel. Observe and notice the negative emotion that you are feeling, and then reflect on how you came to feel that emotion.

In yoga, we tend to feel like we should feel good while we are practicing. It is important not to feel ashamed and blame yourself for causing these negative emotions to appear while performing yoga poses. As you identify, observe, and reflect, remember to keep breathing. There are a few Specific yoga practices and techniques to counter, process and integrate strong negative emotions.

1. Acceptance and forgiveness. Acceptance and forgiveness are crucial in dealing positively with negative emotions. Accept the feeling for what it is and forgive yourself or whatever it is that makes you feel that way.
2. Viewing and diary. What are some of your negative thoughts related to? School? Job? Relationships? Creating and maintaining a daily journal can be a powerful way to keep track of and better understand your thoughts and feelings. Committing to a daily journal entry gives you the space and time to reflect and contemplate your feelings, and help you understand their sources and triggers.
3. Rasa Sadhana. Emotional fasting, or rasa sadhana, is another positive way to deal with negative emotions. You can do this by promising yourself not to get involved in a less desirable emotion. Instead, focus on one or more of your positive emotions. In order for you to be able to practice this yoga technique, it is necessary to understand the emotions and how they work so that negative feelings are not suppressed. Although Rasa Sadhana may not bring you complete enlightenment, it is a powerful yoga workout that can help you process these negative emotions in a positive way.
4. Be optimistic and patient. It may be difficult to feel happy and light sobbing on your pillow after class, but you know things will get better. This is part of your unique healing process. We have all had different traumas and experiences in our past. We all heal at our own pace. Be kind, compassionate, and patient with yourself.
5. Connect with others. After all, it can sometimes be too difficult for a person to reflect on their negative emotions on their own. It can be more helpful and important to seek help so that a person can process these negative emotions, feelings, or experiences. It is often helpful to talk to someone about the deep feelings you are experiencing. This person can be a therapist, trusted friend, or family member. Remember, there is no shame in seeking help from a professional counselor if it is necessary to deal with your negative emotions, feelings, and experiences.