Yoga exercises to get over a break-up

By Paige Greenfield

Whatever the grounds, break-ups hurt. In fact, the pain must rank somewhere between the sting of getting a tattoo on the forehead and genital piercing—three experiences we'd like to skip, thank you very much. However, a 2008 study found that, actually, people overestimate how devastating a split with their loved one will be. Northwestern University researchers followed 69 couples over nearly a year and asked them to report how in love they were and how crushed they would be if they broke up. They found that even those couples who reported being most deeply in love in the beginning of the study and broke up over the course of it weren't as distressed as they'd originally imagined they'd be. In other words, you're more resilient than you realise.

That's not to say that breaking up doesn't, to be frank, suck. But just as small tears make a muscle grow stronger, emotional bruises can lead to substantial resilience gains. What's more, your new solo status affords you a rare opportunity to revitalise and reconnect with yourself. What better way to do that than through yoga, whose very meaning is "union"? Whether you've never stepped onto a mat or are a seasoned practitioner, yoga can be an integral part of relationship recovery. "Break-ups often stir up emotions that can throw us off-centre, leaving us vulnerable, insecure, doubting, scared, and even angry," says yoga instructor Rainbeau Mars. "There is nothing more important than staying grounded, and finding a sense of safety and security despite the emotional rollercoaster."

That's why we called on our yoga experts to create three distinct fitness workouts. "Practising yoga is time to recalibrate, self-connect, and heal a broken heart," Mars says. The first sequence heals the heart, the second sets you up with a revenge body, and the third works to rid your system of the wallow- and sob-inducing toxins. Each has the same ultimate goal: turning loss into gain, providing a time and place for reflection, offering a little wisdom, and supplying a sleeker, stronger head-turning post-break-up body. You're clearly no stranger to commitment so dedicate yourself to these workouts and rebound better.

Sequence #1: Heart-healing yoga
Sequence #2: Revenge-body yoga
Sequence #3: Clean Break Detox