Crying in yoga

Last night I took a Yin Yoga class. I love this class and take it often; however, last night we focused on the hips, and we stayed in hip openers for a long time. After about 3 minutes in a particular stretch, I started crying, especially when I was stretching out my right side. Why is this happening? I felt so much grief and sadness at once. So, I had to dig a bit.

The hips are often referred to in yoga and somatic therapy as a “storage unit” for unprocessed emotions, particularly stress, grief, fear, sadness, and trauma. The psoas muscle (a deep hip flexor) is connected to your fight-or-flight response. When it’s chronically tight, it can hold emotional energy. Long, sustained yin poses can gently release that tension, and with it, the emotion stored there.

Parasympathetic Activation

Yin yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest and digest” mode — which allows your body to let go of guardrails, including emotional suppression. When your body feels safe, it’s more likely to release what it’s been holding onto.

Stillness + Vulnerability

Yin yoga is slow and inward. You’re often left alone with your breath, thoughts, and sensations, without distractions. This introspection can stir memories or feelings that have been quietly lingering under the surface.

Energetic Pathways

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver and gallbladder meridians run through the hips. The liver is said to hold anger, frustration, and repressed emotion. Stretching along these lines may trigger an emotional “detox” or shift in energetic flow.

I cried because something was finally releasing. It was healing in motion. Yin yoga has a way of wringing out the body like a sponge, not just physically, but emotionally and energetically as well. It was exactly what I needed. It was grief that has taken residence for years and finally got moved and processed just a little bit more.