

5 Best Yoga Poses For An Emotional Release
Since starting my workout journey, I have tried almost everything to reach my health goals – HIIT, cardio, etc. Fortunately, I quickly realized I am a weightlifting warrior who likes to throw in yoga occasionally. Now, in true “new to this, not true to this” fashion, I hopped on YouTube to learn some simple yoga moves and their alternatives I could practice during warm-ups and post-workout stretches.
After nearly two months of practicing different poses, I remember one day, I suddenly felt “different.” I did not cry, but I experienced what felt like a release, and when I was done, my back and shoulders felt lighter. Additionally, my spirit felt a little more at ease. Since I did not fully understand what happened, I decided to tap on an expert’s shoulder.
Divinity Gaines is a yoga instructor, dancer, personal trainer, and content creator. In our talk, she explained the release I experienced and shared the best poses for an emotional release. “When we talk about yoga, people associate it with just poses, but it is much more,” Divinity explained. “Yoga possesses eight limbs.”
The eight limbs of yoga, or Ashtanga, are:
- Yama (Self-restraint)
- Niyama (Observance)
- Asana (Movement and posture)
- Pranayama (Breath)
- Pratyahara (Withdrawal of senses)
- Dharana (Concentration)
- Dhyana (Meditation)
- Samadhi (Union)
When explaining to me the "why" behind my emotional release while doing yoga, Divinity noted that the physical movement of my practices is the limb called asana. She continued, “The emotional release you feel is just that. We hold tension within our bodies throughout. We have energy channels on both sides of us. These channels run through our bodies, and people associate different energy points with their chakras. And yoga opens those channels.”
Not all emotional releases look the same; therefore, you do not necessarily have to worry about an “ugly cry” while doing poses. For example, sometimes, an individual will experience samadhi, which is “ultimate bliss.” However, regardless of your pose, you will not experience that release if you are not breathing throughout.
“If you are using your pranayama (breath), then you will experience that release,” Divinity stated.
Top 5 (Physical) Yoga Poses for An Emotional Release
Even though you can practice many yoga poses for an emotional release, Divinity has provided her top five poses to get us started.
1. Lizard Pose/Utthan Pristhasan – The lizard pose is a deep hip flexor opener perfect for someone experiencing high stress and can release unconscious trauma. It deals with your second chakra – Svadhisthana (sacral chakra), which is linked to confidence, survival instinct, creativity, and a feeling of generosity.
Begin on all fours in Downward Dog, ensuring your feet are hip-width apart and your chin stays tucked under your chest. Next, step your right foot forward to the outside edge of your right hand, entering a lunge position. Next, lower your left knee to the ground and press into your hips, keeping your arms and back straight. Then, slowly lower onto your forearms, keeping your back flat and your head aligned with your spine. Finally, press up onto the ball of your left foot as you straighten your left leg. Hold the pose and then repeat on the other side.
2. Pigeon Pose/ Eka Pada Rajakapotasana – The Pigeon Pose is another hip flexor opener that deals with our second chakra. It can be an intense emotional release and tension release.
Start with your knees under your hips and your hands slightly before your shoulders. Bring your left knee forward and out to the left, position your left foot in front of your right knee, and rest the outside of your left foot on the floor. Slide your right leg back, straighten the knee, tuck your toes under, and push through the fingertips to lift your torso and lengthen the spine. Keep your hips squared, press your tailbone down and forward, open the chest, and gaze up.
3. Supta Baddha Konasana – For anyone experiencing anxiety, stress, or a scattered mind, then the Supta Baddha Konasana is an excellent move for you. It stimulates your sacral chakra, which is associated with your sex organs, and root chakras, which are responsible for your sense of security and stability.
Lie on your back. Bend your knees, keeping the soles of your feet on the floor. Next, open your knees out to either side, bringing the soles of your feet together. Your arms can be in any comfortable position—out in a T shape, overhead, relaxed by your sides, or resting on your thighs are some options. Stay here for several minutes as gravity works to deepen your stretch. Breathe naturally throughout the pose. To come out of the pose, reach down and help your knees come back together. Then roll over to one side and use your hands to support you as you sit up.
4. Camel Pose/Utrasana – The Camel Pose is for anyone with a hurting heart. It involves your heart chakra and heart opener. For example, if you recently experienced a breakup and want to release that pain, then try this move.
Place your knees hip-width apart in kneeling, and tuck your toes. Engage your inner thighs, draw your lower belly in and up, and roll your shoulders back. On an inhalation, lengthen through both side waists, and lift the chest. With the lower body stable, on an exhale, start to come into your backbend, lifting the chest without crunching the neck or lower back. As you lean back, find your blocks or heels with your hands – or you can do this one side at a time by circling one arm up and behind you. Keep your inner thighs engaged, firm the shoulder blades into the back, and stay for a couple of breaths. Use your inhalation to help you back up, then sit on your heels with a neutral spine for a moment.
5. Inversion Pose – The last pose releases trauma, promotes emotional growth, and re-toxifies your blood. These poses allow your blood to circulate. An Inversion Pose is any move where your heart is higher than your head, such as a headstand.
Although yoga is a great tool to help with emotional release, incorporating other activities, such as therapy or journaling, can also help.
Divinity Gaines is a former NBA dancer turned Yogi. Her website offers a mind and body release program and a 21-day fitness challenge (all levels welcomed). In addition, she teaches yoga at Core Power in Hollywood on Mondays and Wednesdays.
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Feature image courtesy of Divinity Gaines
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Russell and Nina Westbrook Dish On The Key Ways To Avoid Resentment In Relationships
Russell and Nina Westbrook are one of those low-key, unproblematic couples we don’t talk about enough. They met in college and got married in 2015. They also have a beautiful family with three kids. While Russell is an NBA star, Nina is a licensed family and marriage therapist and a mental health advocate.
She recently launched the podcast The Relationship Chronicles with Nina Westbrook, and in the latest episode, she had none other than her husband on as a guest. The college sweethearts dived into important topics from marriage to children and how they navigate it all.
One of the topics they touched on was dealing with resentment in your relationship. The former MVP highlighted the sacrifices his wife has had to make in order for him to pursue a career in the NBA, and that’s why it’s also important for him to support his wife whenever he can.
“For me is respecting and understanding what your partner do and the time it takes,” Russell said. “Not kind of downplaying what they do, understanding the time and energy and effort they're doing to make sure whether it’s their job or making sure home is taken care of, and understanding that, I think that is the challenge of not being resentful.”
Nina agreed and also shared her thoughts on resentment. According to her, one of the best things couples should do is have their own identity and passions outside of the relationship in an effort to be fulfilled.
“I also think that when you’re in a relationship, that’s why it’s so important that each individual kinda pursue their own passions and follow their own dreams as I feel like it only becomes or leads to resentment when one person is not feeling fulfilled in what they're doing in their lives,” she explained.
“And so, they will start to look at the other partner who’s happy or excelling or promoting or moving along in their journey, then they’re left feeling stuck like they sacrificed themselves, their happiness, their career, their future and have not pursued it in the name of the relationship or their partner. So, it’s so much easier to avoid those feelings of resentment when you’re each equally pursuing your passions.”
The couple has many passions that they work on together and separately. Outside of basketball and his family, Russell has become known for his eclectic style and started the fashion brand Honor The Gift. Nina has her podcast, and she also started the mental health website Bene. Together, they run the Why Not? Foundation, which works with kids in underserved communities.
“I’m a firm believer that one person can’t be everything to you, so you have to sort of seek out those different friendships or groups or hobbies or activities that help to fulfill you,” Nina concluded.
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Feature image by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Religion of Sports