Hips and Emotions

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Namaste,

I have found that every single time i do any deep hip openers, i become uncontrollably emotional. Its the strangest thing. Sometimes i get angry or irritated but i always figured it was because i get frustrated with how tight my hips are. Yesterday i was breathing and gradually moving deeper in upavistha konasana, patiently even though there as a little discomfort and as i came up i just started crying. i wasnt sad or angry or in pain. i couldnt really understand why that happened, and then i remembered something that my yoga teacher said to me a while back. She was telling me about some lady that she was with during her TT who appearantly had very tight hips. One of the teachers there took a strap to somehow inwardly rotate her hamstrings, i didnt really understand exactly what she did but as soon as she did that the lady burst into tears, not from pain or saddness but i guess some sort of release of emotion. Evidently she held alot of negative emotion in her hips. My question is if anyone knows whether this is true, that we hold emotion in certain areas of our body and is that why that certain area becomes tight? Do you think that we release that emotion through regular yoga practice and meditation as we become more flexible? Im not sure how true this is, this is just what ive been thinking about lately, but do you think that that is part of the reason why we become inflexible, through storing negative emotion in those areas? Just thought it might be an interesting topic for discussion here.

#2

Does anyone know? Yes everyone knows. You know.

The body is the diary of our lives and we write everything to it.
The pelvis girdle is especially interesting as the muscles deep in the abdominal cavity - psoas and illiacus - are incredibly powerful, incredibly deep, and hold some of the most potent of our stuff. This is a very large topic and one I beleive we’ve discussed before.

But yes, splaying open the energetics of the pelvis can be very emotional.

#3

hi,

every experience we have ever had is registered in the body and the pelvis is one of the most complex areas of the body. Through our habitual daily movements energy blocks can be created.

just letting e-motion be without giving it a label as negative or positive, without trying to attach thought processes to it can be a liberating realease. In my experience this kind of release creates a subtle shift that is perhaps indefinable but with time and practice and loving kindness towards myself it has built into something noticeable.

For example having no doubt in my intuition, trusting my inner voice as a guide-this faculty has and is continuously refined through my practice.

#4

Namaste Kripaluyogaistanbul and InnerAthlete,

Thank you both for your replies. Im finding lately that its getting more and more difficult to get myself to the mat. Once im there its fine, although there is alot of discomfort when i do alot of the poses because of my tight hips. Ive tried to increase my practice to once in the morning for about an an hour and 30 minutes and again in the afternoon for about the same time so that i can speed up the process because of how uncomfortable it is. Am i pushing myself too hard or is this discomfort something that i need to push through? Could it be that my body and mind are resisting the liberating of these negative emotions stored in my hips? I read one time that certain asanas that open anahata chakra are very scary for kids to practice because of the emotion that gets released so they tend to cry when they do those asanas as well as want to avoid them. Is this the same thing thats happening to me?

#5

Namaste,

I strongly belief that out body usually can tell us much about the issues and problems in our lives, the trick is do we listen and what do we do about it. The hips are very complex: it is the human body’s inner centre of gravity and the source of breath (energy). According to Japanese belief, it is here that profound vital forces reside, which they call Hara. In yoga we work with many of these forces when we do certain asanas involving the hips and balancing.

I have noted over the years working with people that tight hips is closely associated with the fear of making decisions and moving forward in life. These fears may be so deep seated that it might take a lot of emotional work to release it, but once released the hips start to flower and open and less pain is experienced. As long as we ignore the underlying emotional and karmic issues contained in the hips and think it is only a physical issue, we will experience pain when we do asanas.

Once you have do the inner work, then find a teacher who can help you with specific asanas to assit hip flexibility.

Good luck and I trust this will add to your practice and recovery.