How I Learned to Stop Apologizing and Love the Yawn

I was first exposed to the beneficial practice of yawning when I began exploring the craniosacral system with Janet Evergreen. Craniosacral therapy (CST), for those who may not know, revolves around tuning into and tracking the flow of cerebrospinal fluid as it bathes the nervous system. Cerebrospinal fluid is produced in the ventricles or spaces within the brain and is pumped down the length of the spinal cord and back up again. As this wave of fluid travels the length of the skull and torso the paired bones of the body rhythmically expand and contract. This process, and the fluid itself, has been called the breath of life. Craniosacral therapy uses a very light touch to follow this breath and input gentle suggestions to encourage greater ease in the flow.

Throughout thirty-some years of treating and training Janet has had the opportunity to discover many helpful complementary practices to the basic work of CST. And so as our small group gathered we would often begin by learning a somatic (body awareness) exercise or two. One of the first and simplest that we explored was the practice of yawning. And we discovered that yawns feel good! Not only that, when we used them during our practice sessions the yawns appeared to bring movement and energy into places that felt stuck, allowing us to feel a greater capacity for expansion and contraction come into these areas as we tracked them with our light touch. It seemed that yawning helped these changes to happen more quickly so that we could move on to practicing the deeper work.

Animals naturally and instinctively use tools like this in order to self-regulate. When I told a friend about my interest in this topic she related to me her observations of her beautiful yet high-strung dog Chance. Chance is capable of getting extremely excited and worked up about his favorite things, food and exercise. However, she said, when he is required to be patient and wait he is able to calm himself very quickly using a yawn. Human animals come into the world with many of the same instincts but we learn from our parents and our culture which behaviors are acceptable or undesirable and thus which instincts to act on and which to suppress. Julie Henderson, the visionary creator of Zapchen Somatics and Janet's teacher in this particular arena, weaves together psychology, movement and buddhist practice with instinctual behaviors that she has observed in herself, children and animals. In her book "Embodying Wellbeing: How to Feel as Good as We Can in Spite of Everything" Julie has this to say about the power of yawning, the very first exercise that she describes: "Yawning is one of the easiest, best things you can do for yourself. It relaxes your throat, palate, upper neck, and the base of your brain. It helps balance the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, which helps keep brain and spine clean and flexible. It helps you to 'come down out of your head.' It increases production of saliva and so improves digestion and enhances flavor. It increases fluid flow to the eyes, which washes and soothes them. It triggers the making of 5-hydroxy tryptophan (5HTP), which is the precursor of both serotonin and melatonin. So if you yawn in the daytime, you make more serotonin, which is likely to brighten you up. If you yawn after dark, you make more melatonin, which will help you sleep. Reasons enough, in all faith, to give yawning a try." 1 

Physiologically, yawning for wellbeing makes sense. The diaphragms are horizontal thin sheets of tissue that form partitions across the body between one area and another. Treating the tension in these tissues is a foundation of craniosacral therapy because very important things pass through all of them. The vocal diaphragm, located in the throat, includes the vocal chords, hyoid bone or Adam's apple, and upper part of the esophagus. The respiratory diaphragm is a dome that sits below the lungs. The esophagus passes through this diaphragm as well on its way to the stomach, as do the aorta and vena cava, the largest blood vessels in the body, and the phrenic nerve which controls the movements of the diaphragm, producing breath. These structures are all tubular pathways and it is easy to imagine how tension in the diaphragms could squeeze on these tubes, limiting their function. Another major structure is the pelvic diaphragm which forms the floor of the abdominal cavity, supporting the organs. The rectum and urethra (and vagina in women) pass through the pelvic diaphragm.

As I began to look into what other people have said about yawning I learned that while scientists seem to agree that all vertebrates yawn and that in humans the behavior can occur inside the womb as early as 11 or 12 weeks after conception there are only hypotheses when it comes to exactly why we do the behavior. (For some amusement try searching for animal yawns on youtube - you will find footage of yawning fish, sharks, bunnies, goats.) According to brainfacts.org, "Yawning is both familiar to everyone and totally mysterious, as scientists continue to puzzle over its possible functions." 2 The hypotheses have included bringing oxygen to the brain, temperature regulation, and more recently activation of cerebrospinal fluid. However, "Many worldwide cultural beliefs and myths portray it as socially and singly offensive". 3 Why humans have stigmatized a behavior that carries all of these benefits would be the topic of a larger exploration, yet it seems clear that this unpopular activity bears reexamination. I decided to write this article because I noticed so many people apologize for yawning, even on my massage table. Just to be clear: when I hear you yawn I take it as a sign of fuller relaxation and receptivity.

It is widely know that yawning can be contagious. Perhaps reading this has already encouraged you to yawn. During my research for this article I found reference to several studies correlating contagious yawning with empathy. Apparently schizophrenic individuals, who may have a reduced sense of empathetic resonance, are less likely to catch a yawn. 2 There is also research to indicate that people with autism spectrum disorders catch fewer social yawns (this is also related to difficulty reading facial cues.) 4,5 "Atypical yawning behavior" can be observed as well in people with multiple sclerosis, migraine headaches, epilepsy, stress and anxiety as well as autism and schizophrenia, all of which are related to brain health (and generally treated with drugs which may play a role in diminishing the ability to relate with others.) People who score higher on empathy tests are more likely to yawn socially. In one study psychology students both scored higher on the empathy tests and responded to social yawning almost five times as often as the engineering students tested. 6 

A natural question would be whether these psychology students were naturally more empathetic or if they had simply encouraged that capacity within themselves by focusing their attention on helping others. My guess would be some of each. Craniosacral therapy helps to balance the paired bones of the skull, releasing pressures on the brain and allowing the two hemispheres to communicate more easily. Autistic people can benefit hugely from CST. Imagine that your brain is being squeezed, inflaming the nerves and overwhelming you with sensation. Then imagine trying to be attentive to the person next to you. It seems natural for the capacity for empathy and helpfulness to grow as we become more resourced, comfortable and able to self-regulate. 

To me this concept of empathetic resonance points to the heart of craniosacral therapy in general. When I come to a session with Janet Evergreen she enters into a state of deep present being and this is contagious as well. Janet will gently make contact with my body and allow me and my energy field to "ping" off of hers while she brings her many hours of meditation and a powerful connection to nature into the room. She imagines her connection to the river that flows behind her house, to the rootedness of the trees, the vast expanse of sky and even the cosmos to model a way of being in relationship to all of these things. This relatedness to the other citizens of the universe helps to build a container for the challenges of working through trauma. Now that I have grown less inhibited about making noise, moving and yawning in the treatment room I notice that I feel the urge to yawn at the beginning of most sessions. Have you ever experienced a yawn that feels like it's not quite finished? I certainly do. When my yawn begins it often feels like I am just scratching the surface and as I open my mouth wide to let the tissues expand it grows and grows until I have a super-satisfying huge great-granddaddy of a yawn. Then I feel my energy start to move and I am riding on the breath of life, ready to work with the subtle suggestions that Janet will offer. Because of the empathetic resonance between us I am able to "catch" a sense of groundedness and deep wellbeing - and the more I am exposed the more I am able to access these qualities and integrate them into my own energetic matrix. With gratitude I celebrate the contagious nature of an often unsung hero: the yawn. 

1 Henderson, Julie. 1999 "Embodying Wellbeing: Or How to Feel as Good as You Can in Spite of Everything," Page 27.

2 (http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/sleep/articles/2012/yawning/)

3 http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Yawn)

4 (http://news.discovery.com/human/health/yawning-social-behavior.htm)

5 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6988155.stm)

6 (http://psychcentral.com/lib/researchers-tackle-the-mystery-of-yawning/0001416)