Poses painfully, emotionally overwhelming

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi Yogis :D,

I’m a relatively new yoga fanatic. I have been doing it for a few months :). In the past I used to do about half an hour a day - which would have a calming effect on me. The poses didn’t feel very intense, emotionally or physically. After practice, yoga would make me feel better - calmer, happier with more clarity.

I stopped for a bit, then got back into it. This time around, I feel like I stretch my body more. I can often feel the strain (it’s not painful physically but I can definitely feel the stretch). It doesn’t feel calming to be in the pose like it use to - all the way through. But parts of the pose can feel really beautiful, blissful, peaceful, yielding to life. But a lot of the time my body shakes VERY intensely - I feel a huge, intense swell of emotion sometimes I feel like it’s so intense it will overwhelm me. I can only hold my poses now for normally around 7 seconds (unless I am in the corpse pose or child pose) when before I usually held for about 15.

Okay, this would offput me - because it’s very strenuous and sometimes the emotion feels like it will destroy me, yet I feel intutively that I NEED to get through, but then I get spent emotionally and physically and need to drop the pose. But since doing this more intensive yoga, I have been experiencing intense sporadic states of bliss. I feel JOYFUL, and that brings tears to my eyes, because I have had CONSTANT depression - from very extreme, can’t function depression to the feeling that there is a raincloud following me all day everyday since I was 15. And I feel good in myself :slight_smile: - and I love myself :frowning: and I haven’t felt that…ever. And I am confident and magnetic like I was as a teenager, and this is from like doing yoga for like 2 weeks in this intensive way? It feels strenuous, my body like aches as I stretch, and my emotions are crazy intense. This make me wonder if I have got it right. What do you guys think :)?

I’d really appreciate if anyone could share their wisdom and experience :)? Do you know what is going on here? Should my body ache? Should poses feel overwhelming sometimes? Like when I fully get into my stretch - my body always starts to shake with emotion - it’s like pain and fear often I think - or like indescribable bad emotional states. But when I come out of the pose I feel stronger and much better emotionally. After practice I feel a rush of elation and confidence often :).

I hope this is good, it;s just I find it quite a challenge -the idea of practice, often the stretches feel very challenging…I wonder will this stop? Is it ok? Is it normal? Am I maybe doing it wrong?

Okay, sorry for this boring ramble :D. I just wanted to make sure I got in as much as I could about my experience in the hopes someone could explain it for me - or give it a crack at least :)! Excited for your replies :)! Thank you :slight_smile:

#2

It’s just yoga, honey. Chill out, don’t overdo it. Learn to breathe, maybe find a teacher or a class. Yoga is a marathon, not a sprint. Get into it for the long haul.

#3

Emotional responses to specific postures are normal; yoga is about learning to deal with the emotions that have been embedded in various places throughout the body. If you find yourself shaking uncontrollably, start by 1. easing back, don’t go so far so fast. 2. returning to the breath; keep it deep and rhythmic. 3. step outside yourself for a moment, as if you are an eagle viewing the scene from high above. Observe what is happening from an impersonal, or objective perspective.

Keep practicing, and always move with awareness of what’s going on inside. The surest way to accomplish this is to link the breath with each and every movement.

#4

Also, it is common for practitioners who are just getting into yoga to experience emotional turbulence, as if you are riding a rollercoaster! If you can perservere, being patient with yourself without straining your physical body, eventually you will feel more even keel, and your emotions under a greater degree of control. At least this has been my personal experience.

#5

@storminateacup

I’ll try and answer your questions.

Body ache can occur in several instances. The first is from the release of toxins into the lymphatic system for egress from the body. The second is when we are using muscles we have not been using, and the third is from over doing or exhaustion, though this usually manifests in the joints rather than the muscles.

The first case is remedied by nutritional changes and movement, the second should go away after a few days, and the third requires an adjustment in the alignment, the doing, and the approach.

Should poses feel overwhelming? That has been well answered here already. The short answer is that the poses individually AND poses properly linked together have a psychology. Yes that can bring up emotions but the practice is not designed to be overwhelming. It should be the exception rather than the rule. But it is completely okay to have emotional release. When one is in a well-managed class the environment should be and feel very, very safe.

Uncontrollable shaking is not a desired effect of asana (poses or postures). It is a symptom. In this case there could be release in a long-standing contracted muscle, an agitation in the nervous system from violent doing (over doing, inappropriate doing, et al), or an energetic release in the chakra system.

To answer more deeply from a teacher’s perspective would require contact hours between teacher and student. Try a more gentle approach, a more gentle style, and if these do not help please consult with a properly trained teacher.