Emotional and physical issues arising after yoga??

Good Morning, UKYogi.

I read your post and thought I would reply. Good for you for starting, working on and maintaining your practice for 2 months. I am glad you went to the Dr. to rule out anything serious with your condition.
I remember once way back in my practice that I had a few classes where my “heart ran away from me”, it got really fast and it was very scary. I was under a lot of stress at the time and wasn’t in the happiest place in my life. I went to the Dr. and they did an EKG and laughed at me, my results were so good…they pointed to a number on my chart and said this number is so good *because* of your yoga practice. I pressed and asked them what was wrong when my heart raced. They said, “Well, don’t work so hard”. It was a simple answer that changed my whole practice. I am not sure it will work for you, but it did for me. I backed off some of the poses during the class that I was struggling WAY to hard in and never had the problem resurface.

I had a question re.the comment
“I noticed I was having significant problems catching my breath during the floor series”.
Many people have this issue. Can I ask if it is during the Spine Strengthening Series or elsewhere in the Floor Series?

As far as the yoga bringing emotional issues to the surface, some of the forum threads below will help you see other people dealing with emotions during class or postures. You can also just type emotions in the search tab and see some of the results.
camel pose – strongly emotional
Angry in Rabbit

Yoga allows us to peel back the layers of stress and protective armor we have built up over the years. That process can make us feel a little or a lot vulnerable. When we move through the world with more vulnerability, areas we once balked at feel more tender. When we feel anxious our breath becomes less deep and we can spiral ourselves into a panic attack. The yoga class teaches us to use our breath in class to work through difficult postures and sensations. It is perfect training for “the outside world” when difficult emotions or sensations arise. Return to the breath, that deep in for 6 counts out for 6 counts breath, through the nose deep into the chest and belly. Feel the centering, meditative, calming whatever you want to call it, effect.
I hope this helps.

Warmly,
Ame

Hi Janet and hi Ame

Thanks for that interchange. I certainly agree with the concept to “use struggle as your guide” – which is what I teach (using those words in fact). Sometimes our expectations of ourselves can be quite unrealistic. This particularly happens in the first period of practice when we are relatively new to hot yoga. As a result the idea of being mindful can fly out the window as achievement takes its place. Awareness of that is usually all it takes to make the learning.

As far as locust goes, usually what happens is with all the effort involved (mostly with the double leg lift and it could be because you are face down) that often the breath is held. Could this be the case with you? Also don’t be concerned with how far of the ground your legs are, just keep them straight and strong and long and then lift them even if it is just an inch or 2. Let us know what sounds right.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

PS after maybe 5-6 months of practice (so I wasn’t struggling or working too hard) I actually had to leave one class (and I NEVER leave class) because I was having palpitations and my heart wouldn’t slow down for about 40 minutes. I was a bit scared and lay out in the cool corridor til after the class finished. It never happened again. One of those strange anomalies with no explanation (was it physical? emotional? I will never know.

I am happy for this topic. I am probably on my 10th class and am new to yoga all together. During my first class, I got to Camel pose and lost it. As I leaned into my back bend I literally felt as though something was ripped from me through my chest and shoulders and I just wanted to curl up in a ball and sob. It totally came out of left field. I just sat there struggled to breathe and felt as though I would hyperventilate. The amazing thing was, that when I woke up the next morning, I woke up lighter and happier than I had ever been in my life. I am TOTALLY convinced that something did leave me that day. Since then, in my whole ten days of yoga so far, I’ve had two other emotional outbreaks that have interrupted my practice, caused dizziness and shortness of breath because I was on the verge of tears. I know that eventually, all of this will work itself out… that and I’ve signed myself up for therapy because clearly, something is there that needs work outside of yoga.

Hi Gabrielle!

Thanks for the welcome and kind thoughts. I did think of that and it makes total sense, but I do have some ‘mother’ issues to work out and I think the stress of that being in the now is also having an effect. I’m sure a lot of it is in the past… but, we’ll see! I’m just glad to have my desert space in that room. It’s worth every penny!

Hi Flora

My apologies for leaving you to your own devices. I have an excuse! 😛 Anyway I will stay away from the drama of my own story!

Can you give me an update please? Have you managed to get back into the room? Have you managed to leave that episode behind you?

I don’t really want to psychoanalyze anyone because that’s really not my place so I am not going to come up with why that happened after class.

Sometimes stuff happens and it doesn’t need a reason for happening. Sometimes the acknowledgment that it was a one off event is all that is needed.

[As an aside: I am not sure if I have ever had a panic attack but one time for sure DURING class within the first year of practice I had an episode of such great effect, that I had to leave the room (for the only time EVER) and it took at least 20 minutes for my heart to stop palpitating. I can no longer remember how long I felt differently after the fact but it was definitely scary at the time. It never happened again.]

Of course the irony of the situation is that the meditative aspects of the yoga, of being in the now, are exactly what’s required to get over that kind of problem, because by definition to be anxious about something, you are worrying about something that has happened or that might happen (whether or not it’s a conscious issue).

I have a lovely quote that comes to mind: “Worry is praying for what you don’t want to happen.”

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂