Crying Your Way to Fitness

If you cry during a workout, it does not necessarily mean you pulled out your back or tore a hamstring. Rather, according to psychotherapists and fitness instructors, exercise can release pent-up emotions that can actually bring you to tears after body-mind workouts such as Pilate's and yoga.

Known as the field of "body psychotherapy", the body holds on to certain feelings, even if the mind has already dealt with them.

New York therapist Karol Ward states, "We use our bodies to physically tense up against pain or negative experiences. So if a person has the opportunity to relax that area, whatever has been held there can come to the surface. The body wants to complete the emotional experience."

Molly Lannon Kenny, a yoga instructor at The Samarya Center for Integrated Movement Therapy in Seattle with a background in speech pathology, offers classes to people who have experienced loss, chronic pain, ADHD and anxiety disorders.

She compares significant emotions to hamstrings that start to loosen up when a person gets moving, saying, "It's our belief that those emotions get stuck in our bodies and that emotions have physical manifestations. We think of the broken heart and the broken mind but we don't think about the broken body."

If you're looking to relieve daily stress, consider physical workouts that incorporate the body and mind, such as tai chi, yoga and Pilate's. Engaging in a regular exercise routine improves the overall well-being of your body, mind and spirit.