Feeling emotional, sad, low after yoga

[Shavasana]

Can any fellow yogi help me understand this phenomenon please?
I did a yoga class on Friday evening. There were a lot of hip opening poses eg lizard. During Shavasana I felt suddenly overwhelmed with an intense yearning for my daughter (young independent adult now). I wanted to hold her, smell her hair, see her beautiful face. I shed a few quiet tears.
When I got home I had had a missed call from her. Surely just an odd coincidence but she was feeling unwell with her period and had gone to bed early. She obviously wanted “mummy”, and I gave her a reassuring few words.
All weekend I’ve felt low in spirits, have cried quietly a couple of times, have not had much energy. I had to cancel a trip with a friend as I actually couldn’t face being with anyone.
I’ve heard of this phenomenon before but never experienced it to this degree. I read online that “our hips store our deep feelings “ (how? Seriously, how does a body part “store emotions”?), and that hip-opening poses can trigger these deep feelings . Again - how? I don’t want to experience this to this degree again after yoga - do I just avoid lizard? I like pigeon and it has never triggered this.
Can any fellow yogi relate to this? Or explain it to me?
Sorry for the long post. This experience has unsettled me.

I was the same after Pilates. Came out feeling all sorts.

and I’m not into the woo stuff either. Just want to be sculpted.

it got better for me and it does regulate me emotionally now. I now do Pilates more for emotional regulation than anything else.

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I can resonate: we have a 2-4 hour yoga retreat session for 40-60 year old women and everyone always cries. Can you embrace the release? I’d try not to over think it and perhaps avoid the hip opening thing. I don’t really understand how or why that works either.

i really hope you’re feeling good soon

I frequently cry after yoga! But not so much with sadness but rather as a release of tension/emotions . There’s no other exercise that has that effect on me

I'm the same after yoga - particularly yin.

It sounds as if I need to start yoga. My 24 year old son left home 3 weeks ago and I miss him so much, feeling like I need a good cry 😢

It’s definitely a ‘thing’ and I’ve heard of hip opening poses making people emotional. I’ve not seen it at my yoga classes nor experienced it myself (but I’m usually thinking about other things during yoga and definitely not embracing it spiritually). I’d avoid going too deep with those poses in future.

I think there is a yoga saying that the Asana you're avoiding is probably the one you need. (That said I don't do headstands!!!)

These are your feelings - you love and miss your DD a lot. And you are sad and grieving for an older life you had with her when she was younger when you weren’t separated.

It’s painful but no need to avoid them. They are part and parcel of love. ❤️

Imagine we didn’t have any grief about separation from our loss of our loved ones. What would that say about our connection and relationship to them?

Always much better to know about all your feelings than not know.

This happens to me right after yoga too. Idk what's the relation between them. But it actually happens.

Feel the feelings, OP! If it’s in there, it needs to come out, and I would say it’s a positive thing that you had this happen.

Maybe you are burying those entirely understandable emotions about your daughter and denying them to yourself. If you don’t want them to come out in yoga, I would say they still need to be processed somehow, through therapy or another means.

Loads of data about how buried / denied emotions can make us ill. And feelings are a red light on the dashboard telling us that we need to take action, for our own highest, best good. Smashing the red light is never the answer.

From what I’ve read, the hips are ‘stores’ for emotions because they hold a lot of the tension of the body. Stretching and loosening that tension can trigger the parasympathetic nervous system (the fight or flight, tension/anxiety/worry one) to relax. As you loosen the muscles the brain is informed that you’re now safe and it’s ok to let the stored feeling be felt.

It’s called the Psoas-Stress Connection. The Psoas is a muscle between torso and legs, it tenses up and can become stiff and tense when you’re feeling stress or worry etc.

That’s beautiful. I really benefited from reading these words today. I feel stupid for feeling so sad and bereft simply because my only child has moved in with his girlfriend. But I love him so what I am experiencing is a kind of grief. I’ll hopefully get more used to the situation!
thank you.

I do yoga a few times a week and now and again I get tearful in shavasana. I think there is something definitely to be said for hip openers releasing deep seated emotions. Mine is usually because I miss my son who lives in Australia, it overwhelms me sometimes.

I’m really overwhelmed with all your replies, thank you everyone! Just working my way through them.
I’m not at all into the “woo” side of yoga either like some of you, but I’m not NOT in touch with my emotions either. I have definitely been “leaning into it “ over the weekend mainly because I have been feeling more reflective, sad, and lacking in energy.
I think what’s surprised me has been that it lasted over 48 hours - feel ok this morning but still tired despite early night - and the strength of my emotions after “opening my hips”. I just don’t “get” how that works - but will accept it for what it is!! Most definitely I’ve been feeling very deeply sad at my children moving on and up. To the poster whose son lives in Australia - I am very sorry for you. I know I’d need to learn to accept it but god that would really cause me deep private pain.
Thanks again for your replies, going to work in my garden now it’s sunny but will check back later. Namaste 💚

This makes sense. Thank you .

@Shavasana I also cry after yoga. I think it’s a positive thing. It’s ok to cry and feel sad, what’s worse is not feeling your feelings.
Happy Baby might be helpful to you as well, I think that releases a lot of stored up emotion.
Embrace all of yourself, good and bad, that’s the way to acceptance and strength.

Yeah I've cried during yoga, it just overwhelmed me. The teacher just carried on like it was the most normal thing in the world to happen and mentioned to me what other people have said about hip openers once the class finished.

I have also been having very detailed and disturbing dream particularly last night. And tired, so tired and lacking energy.

Oh dear, I was thinking about starting yoga or something similar but I don’t think it is for me. I hope you’re feeling better soon OP.

I've practised yoga for years and I do a bit most days including the pigeon posture which opens your hips and I've never cried so I wouldn't avoid it just because you might cry.

I've also never seen anyone in a class cry. I'm not criticising anyone who does obviously, I'm just pointing out its not commonplace.

Yoga is great, give it a go ☺️

I also do yoga pretty much every day too but this is the first time I have had a reaction like this. I’m really not trying to put anyone off, I promise! Just wanted to reach out to fellow yogis to see if anyone could explain it to me.

Do give yoga a try @EveryKneeShallBow It’s helped me enormously over the years I’ve done it. It also helps me stay in some relative shape too.

I wonder if you’ve continued to feel like this a) because you didn’t know why it happened, so were worried about it, and b) it sounds like you really needed the release?

I hope you can take some comfort from those who have shared similar experiences and why it happens?

you’ve raised a wonderful, independent daughter - you can be proud of her AND miss her at the same time - and you obviously have a strong connection with her if she is reaching out to you for comfort.

Perhaps allow yourself a final day to sit with these feelings. and then maybe book something nice for the two of you to do over the summer, so you have something to look forward to?

Can you write down all the details of the dream while you still recall it? Not on here for us, do it in a journal, but there is lots you can do with the material of a significant dream. It might be a way to help you to process the emotions that are happening for you now.

I’ll try to do this. It was very muddled and detailed and confusing but very vivid too.