Why Yawning Might Be the Most Healing Thing You Do in Therapy
If you’ve ever found yourself yawning during a therapy session — even when you weren’t tired — you might’ve felt embarrassed or confused.
But here’s the truth: yawning is a powerful somatic sign that your body is shifting out of survival mode.
What Yawning Really Means
In somatic therapy, yawning is a sign of nervous system regulation — specifically a shift from sympathetic (fight/flight) or freeze responses into parasympathetic (rest, digest, and restore).
This is a good thing.
When we’re stuck in stress mode, our breath is often shallow, our jaw is tight, and our body is on high alert. Yawning disrupts that. It signals:
Your breath is deepening
Your jaw is relaxing
Your system is releasing stored activation
You’re starting to feel safer in your body
That’s why it often shows up after practices like pendulation, bilateral stimulation, or gentle body awareness exercises.
Other Signs You’re Coming Out of Freeze
Yawning is often accompanied by other somatic cues of thawing out, such as:
A sudden feeling of heat or warmth
Tingling in the hands or feet
Spontaneous shaking or movement
Emotional release (tears, laughter, sighs)
These shifts are signs that the body is processing and the nervous system is re-regulating — not that something is wrong.
Why This Matters
When someone has been in survival mode for a long time — due to chronic stress, rejection wounds, or emotional overwhelm — their system might get stuck in freeze.
And in freeze, it’s hard to think clearly, feel emotions, or make decisions. Your system is focused on protection, not presence.
Therapy that focuses solely on talking can keep people stuck here. But when we work with the body —
— We help the system complete what’s been incomplete. — We make room for choice, clarity, and connection.
And often, yawning is one of the first signs that something is shifting.
How I Support Nervous System Regulation
In my integrative therapy work, I use a variety of tools to help you move from freeze to flow:
EMDR to reprocess overwhelming experiences and access a felt sense of completion
Safe and Sound Protocol to support vagus nerve function and auditory integration
Somatic therapy to work with stress responses physiologically so the body can begin to discharge stored energy and return to a sense of safety
Work With Me
I offer online holistic therapy for women across California, including Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Carmel Valley, Encinitas, and Marin County.
If you’re curious about how somatic therapy can help you thaw out, feel again, and start to trust your body — click here to learn more.
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or therapeutic advice. Reading this post does not establish a therapist-client relationship. If you are seeking clinical support, please visit somaticspiritualtherapist.com for more information about therapy services available to California residents.
