Why You Cry During Meditation: Understanding Energetic Purging

When you think of someone meditating you probably picture some tranquil being with their back straight and legs crossed in a lotus position, smiling peacefully.

That is most peoples’ understanding on meditation…and there are real examples of that. Meditation can be full of heightened level of calm, joy and bliss. But it isn’t always that way! In fact a lot of the time it is confusing and disorienting.

When we observe ourselves we inevitably notice some things that we do not want to – stuff that is deeply buried and painful. There is a necessary shadow work that takes places once we get still.

That is what I want to discuss in this post. Is it normal to cry during meditation? Plus what you should do if your experience is not all positive or ‘peaceful’.

Is it normal to cry during meditation?

I have been meditating consistently for the last 6 years (almost everyday) but on and off for 11. One of the first phenomena I experienced was spontaneous crying.

I would sit down to meditate and start to feel tears falling within five to ten minutes. Oftentimes there was no obvious ‘trigger’, no harsh memory coming up to the surface, and no obvious discomfort.

I got curious and did some research. This was such a common shared experience that I knew there was nothing to worry about. Crying during meditation, crying is general, is a very natural thing.

There are times where this could be a cause for concern. Undiagnosed medical/emotional issues that might require more specialized treatment or therapy.

If you do have any major worries, I suggest getting professional help.

However I will explore the spiritual/energetic reasons for crying, although they are not exhaustive. Remember that sometimes deepening your self-awareness and becoming more present in the body will highlight real health issues you have overlooked – because you are no longer ignoring your bodies signals.

If you read accounts of those who took part in a Vipassana meditation retreat, there is always at least one instance of a fellow participant sobbing uncontrollably throughout the 10 days!

Whenever I do a deep breathwork session (which is usually once a week on a Sunday) I find myself finishing by either crying or laughing. There is a great peace that comes after.

I sense that in a lot of ways mindfulness/meditation brings us back to default settings. We communicate in a way that is most natural, without words or language, but as eruptions from the body itself.

Why do we cry during meditation?

So we know that crying during meditation is natural, but why do we do it? Is there a specific cause or purpose?

There are several important functions of tears during meditation that I will cover below.

Emotional release & old memories

The first and most common reason you experience crying when meditating is due to emotional/energetical release.

In the introduction I said there is a necessary shadow work that must take place when we get still. What did I mean by that?

The shadow is a part of our psyche that is hidden from conscious view. It contains all of the traits and qualities we possess but do not “own” within ourselves.

These can be negative traits such as anger, fear, self-centeredness, lust, negativity in general. They can also be our positive traits such as an intuitive nature or creative muscle that we don’t put to good use.

The shadow contains old memories and traumas that have led us to hide or repress certain aspects of our personality. When we meditate, sit in silence, we start to see ourselves more clearly and all of these wounds can be brought to the surface for examination.

The goal of meditation is to observe the thoughts and sensations that come but do not stay attached to them.

Oftentimes when meditating I’ll start to think about certain past events, certain people I am no longer in touch with. “Problems” because apparent that weren’t day to day.

What I like to do is sit with those memories in the moment but not try to troubleshoot them. Once I get out of meditation, if a memory resurfaces again, then I will reflect on it and perhaps write a journal entry about how it made me feel and ways I could overcome it.

It’s important not to get too attached to meditation experiences. They can be amazing, affirming, beautiful in a lot of ways, but the point is to be present.

If an issue is important enough it will resurface in a way that causes you to pay attention. If there is a specific reason for meditation phenomena, trust the answer will come once the time is right – but don’t rely too much on the logical mind to ‘figure it out’.

Awe & oneness

Another reason you might find yourself crying during meditation is a ‘positive’. Although all experiences can be understood as positive once we’ve got the full context and had enough time to process them.

You might be experiencing a joy and bliss so great that it is simply too much to contain. The body looks for alternative ways to express and release all of that happiness.

I’ve had this experience many times. A spontaneous peace or joy takes over my body and it just feels right to cry, to let this energy overflow.

While our spirits are infinite, our human self is limited. We can only hold so much at one time, and sometimes we are over-capacity.

Physical reasons

There are other more obvious physical reasons why we might cry during these times. I know personally I have a habit of crying whenever I yawn, and I yawn more frequently when I am relaxed.

Sometimes you are crying simply because your body is in a state of relaxation, and so everything that is bottled up can be easily released. The muscles in your face and body are taking a break, and there is no supernatural or extra-personal reason.

What to do if you cry during meditation

If you cry during meditation there’s usually no reason to worry. This is a completely natural part of the process.

I have phases where I cry each and every time I meditate, and others where I do no cry for weeks. This heavily varies based on the person. Some people have more to release than others.

So let yourself cry!

If there are any heavy memories or emotions that do come up while meditating, the most important thing you can do is to accept them. Allow them. Sit with them, before analyzing them and trying to find a source or judging yourself for having feelings.

If crying during meditation starts to get overwhelming you can always stop and come back another time. You can lessen the time you meditate or meditate less frequently for a few days or more.

If things get really bad, seek out the support of a trusted spiritual guide or medical professional. Your health, physical and mental, is the priority.

Practice deeper self-acceptance

Self-acceptance is the key and includes being ok with all of your emotional states. The negative ones like anger or sadness, but also the positives ones like happiness and excitement.

I encourage you to practice accepting yourself more often. Spend a few days noticing every time you fall into self-denial or self-judgement. Are there any commonalities?

Are there certain spaces that bring you into a more critical state? Certain people or activities? Get an idea of where your self-acceptance grows and where it flounders.

Do some shadow work

Well, everyone should be practicing shadow work 😉 but if you’re noticing old emotions & memories surfacing it might be time to put some focus on it.

I’ve already discussed what shadow work is, but what does a practice look like?

Shadow work can include working with specific journal prompts, to get an overview of where you are energetically; what is blocking or exciting you.

Mirror work is another great shadow work exercise which involves standing in front of a mirror without any preconceptions and observing “who you are” in that moment through your reflection.

Observing your triggers day to day is the ‘ultimate’ form of shadow work, as where pain is buried is where our shadow lies. Get comfortable being with your ‘dark’ side and you unlock a lot of lightness too.

Learn about the Kriyas

You can take your studies further by learning about the Kriyas. These are specific yogic practices using breath, postures, different meditation styles, that are intended to clear and balance the body.

You may have heard about these in relation to awakening the kundalini energy; techniques that target very specific blockages in the energy body to allow deeper flow.

Sometimes we are crying more often because there is more “stuff” we are holding onto internally that needs to released, other times we’re holding onto too much of other peoples’ “stuff”.

Learning how to clear your own energy but also the energy of your spaces is very important!

Have you experienced this?