yoga, & emotions

there are some strange ideas about yoga and our emotions

I went to a talk recently whereby the speaker was saying that the purpose of yoga was to 'let out' the emotions. This was the main message. That our emotions were too withdrawn, we need to express them.

Generally, in the yogic scriptures, the message is, that 'yoga is the management of the mind'; 'the cessation of the mental fluctuations is yoga'. And other similar sayings. Included in this, is management of the emotions. When we are practicing the yoga that suits us best, we will be happier. The yoga practices should be doing this. If not, then there is something that we need to manage, or sort out, in our life. The other probability is that we are doing the wrong yoga practices for ourselves.

daily yoga practices is a boon for our emotions

A small daily sadhana (sadhana means spiritual practice), and adhering as best as possible to yoga principles and guidelines, (such as the yamas and niyamas), will change your life beyond most people's expectations. 

When we start to feel good from the yoga, we start to let go of things in our lives that are making us not feel good. Messy emotional situations are included here. We start to want to be away from difficult emotional situations, and that includes emotionally difficult friends, teachers. Anyone. It is unrealistic to assume that just because a person is seen as a spiritual teacher, that they are perfect, knowing beings. If you come across a yoga teacher who is not emotionally stable, or who likes to point out your failings......run!! They are not 'the real deal' and will create inner conflict for you.

When you are doing the practices that make you feel good, and stable, you will have found a valuable tool. A  good yoga teacher can definitely assist you with this, creating a good daily practice for you.

how the practices help us with emotions

The postures: 

• moving poses release blocked energy, and create energy too
• still poses create calm, and bring us to a point of equilibrium. 
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Pranayama (breathing practices) produces deep relaxation in the brain, as do meditation and deep relaxation. 

All rewire the nervous system, and brain. We get new pathways in the brain, and each time that we do our daily practice, these pathways get strengthened. They start to become stronger than the stressed, emotionally unstable pathways, so an integrated practice definitely will up your happiness quota. 

You won't need to 'express' blocked emotions. Singing is a wonderful outlet. If we think of emotions as an energy, we can release that pent-up energy with music, dance, kirtana (yoga singing). It will absolutely lift your spirits.

Usually when we have blocked emotions, they are emotions such as anger, fear, trauma etc. Underneath them, are the happy emotions. And, when you do deeper spiritual practices, such as working with the chakras, you will discover a source of bliss inside of you. You will experience sublime happiness.