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But once I stopped moving, the urge to cry overtook me and tears started their own strong flow.
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I’m not one who cries easily, and certainly not in public.
So I had no idea what was going on.
My mascara is running (vanity, I know).
Everyone for sure will know I was the crier.
What will they think?
Will anyone say anything?
What is going on?
She told me she was honored that I felt comfortable to cry in her class.
“The body remembers everything and holds unprocessed tension,” she says.
“When we move our bodies and breathe, it gives us an opportunity to work out that tension.
As it releases, so too does the emotional story or baggage.”
Maybe that’s why I felt like crying in Pigeon pose one other time.
However, both Caplan and Moore say the tears can come at any point during your flow.
Moore would cry her entire practice when she was grieving the death of her father.
“I used yoga to process my dad’s death,” she says.
“On my mat, I gave myself permission to cry and move through that grief.”
However, yoga isn’t a replacement fortherapy, Caplan cautions.
However, put the two together, and you have a complete tool," she says.
So the next time you feel yourself about to cry in yoga class, welcome it.
“We shame crying in our society,” Moore says.
But it’s important to let your emotions outno matter what they are.
Don’t venture to stop or judge whatever arises.
Nobody will be harmed by your crying, and you perhaps will be healed by it."
When you cry, the teacher may check on you, or he or she may give you space.
Either way, most won’t mind a bit, Caplan says.
“The body just needs to release sometimes,” she says.
“Allow it to happen and don’t make too much of a story.
Let it be and trust it’s a positive thing.”
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