Is Your BODY Talking To God Or Why Do I Yawn When I Pray?

I bet you came across this article because you Googled: “Why do I yawn when I pray?” – congratulations on noticing that, welcome to the club! Let’s find out what’s going on, shall we?

Why do I yawn when I pray? Anya Andreeva praying in the forest

Why do I yawn when I pray?

When I was a little girl, perhaps 7-8 years old, I was taught to pray to God, probably like a lot of people in the world. I never really considered myself religious, but that’s not the point of this story, on rare occasions I would still pray in the traditional way. My grandmother once saw me yawning after a prayer and laughed, she told me that she and her mother would also ALWAYS yawn after or during a prayer.

That sounded funny to me, so of course I had to test it…and sure enough, EVERY time I prayed, I would yawn. If I tried rushing it or doing it without feeling, I would not yawn, and that somehow felt like I wasn’t reaching God. Fun thing for a child to notice. But one thing I was still unsure of at the time was why do I yawn when I pray?

Now I also yawn when I meditate

A few years ago, when I found my spiritual path in life, I stopped praying and started meditating. To my great astonishment, meditation had the same effect on me – and don’t start making jokes about meditation being so boring that I was falling asleep! I only yawn during meditation at very specific stages.

For example, when doing the Unity Breath meditation (as taught by Drunvalo Melchizedek) – you connect to Mother Earth, Father Sky and Yourself. The point is to send your love and gratitude to each, and wait for a reply back, they will send their love to you too. Well you probably guessed it by now, I get my replies via a yawn, often followed by other sensations.

It’s not just about yawning, listen to your body for other signals

It truly fascinates me how my body sends me signals, and it can happen in all sorts of ways, you just need to watch out for yours. It doesn’t even have to be a similar experience to mine, maybe your body reacts to certain living conditions, or certain foods (that’s particularly good to notice).

Perhaps it will be just a twitch or shivers going up your spine, or you may smell something or hear a noise. A lot of people have ringing in their ears. My body gives me this particular feeling in my stomach, that I know that if I eat anything whilst I have this feeling, I will get sick. Or my ear lobe hurts in a specific way when the weather’s about to change (I get that from my grandma also!), though I’ve recently realised that it has other meanings too.

Anya-Andreeva-mudras-meditating-in-a-forest,-yoga,-spirituality

I’ve also noticed that the same body response doesn’t have to be limited to one definition. I used the example of yawning as a form of talking to God/Universe/Spirit. Though it started off being that way for me, I now realise that it is a way of letting me know several things:

  1. I’ve reached whomever I wanted to reach, e.g. Mother Earth or
  2. I’m doing something right during my meditation or the goal is complete. For example, I was taught how to control my sexual energy and during a specific stage, on the 3rd breath exactly, I ALWAYS yawn.

So there you have it guys, my funny body responses to meditation and why do I yawn when I pray! I’m sure you have something too, it all begins by WANTING to notice (or having someone point it out, but not everyone’s signals are as obvious as mine).

Try to interpret what your body is telling you at a particular time, if you notice that you get a heavy sensation in your solar plexus and need to put your hand over it for “no good reason”, think about what preceded or followed that. Maybe you got bad news or you feel frightened. This is a very common body reaction as your solar plexus is kind of like your “gut instinct” centre of your body, it will react when you’re nervous, depressed or scared.

The Universe is always looking for ways to communicate with us, in any shape or form, it is up to us to LISTEN!

Oh, and if I happen to yawn next time we’re having a conversation, don’t get offended – I’m probably just talking to the Universe.

This Post Has 51 Comments

  1. Som

    I yawn, i get big yawns, while i pray and meditate. There is serious spiritual activity happening. I dont know of youve ever known a shaman. Talk to one.

  2. KAJOBA MOSES

    For almost a decade now I realized I have been yawning when am deep in spirit, I kept thinking the moment I yawn the rest of my prayer 50 seconds from the start is never heard by God. I felt bad even when it is coming I tried to keep up praying to have it stop. But then I realised I couldn’t control it. This led my way to this page and now am so much relieved. Glory be to God.

    1. Glory H

      I noticed of late each time I am praying I yawn in the midst of the prayer and yet when I finish praying the yawn stops. I googled to find out what other saints were experiencing am glad it all comes to one thing The Holy Spirit will be present during intercede.Amen

  3. Ciza

    Hey………………!, am just from praying and just after I’ve finish i yawn then i thought that my prayer might have been rejected by GOD, But what i kown now is that yawning after or during prayer is a super natural way through which GOD communicate with HIS People. Thanks to you MY GOD Continue speaking to me because am ready to do What you want me to do for you AMEE.

    1. nxn

      Hi CIza. I have the same experience. Just immediately after my prayer (not necessarily to God but to the universe, as I’m not religious), I yawn. How did you know it’s an acceptance or rejection of the prayer? Thanks!

  4. david cebard

    Comment… but am crying a lot of tears and also yawing..and there is no any answer in my meditation

  5. mark

    Thank you guys for the information i thought yawning while praying is that the holy spirit it entering our body just my observation.

    1. Sreya

      I think the same too

      1. Rweb Dan

        True, yawning means u need much spiritual power, the more you yawn, the more spiritual power you need and at that moment God is hearing to u.
        Amen!!!

  6. Lakshya

    Hi Anya, Am Lakshya from India. Love to see ur passion towards meditation. Yawning is adjustment of our body energy towards cosmic energy.

    It is suggested that if you yawning during meditation then its good sign and you are progressing in meditation. As par eight limbs of yoga ( the basis of meditation) given by Maharishi Patanjali, its come under Pranayam. the eight limbs of yoga are

    1. yam

    2. Niyam

    3. Assan

    4. Pranayam

    5. Dharna

    6. Dhyan

    7. Samadhi.

    stay health, stay happy and keep smiling. May mother nature fullfil all your desires.

    1. Sylvana

      Does anyone know I was praying the rosary I kept yawn none stop tears going down anyone can tell me why

      1. Kamini Bhatiya

        Me also
        and I search it to know reason

  7. Latavia

    I have just recently looked up why do i yawn after i pray and i am kind of relieved about the responses. I dont pray as often as i should which I am getting better at but becusse of that i always assumed that the reason i yawned was because my prayers were being blocked and not heard. But i am glad to see that is most likely not the case and that I’m not the only one who does this.

  8. Moses

    Well all said, when ever i pray i do yawn and tears fall out of my eyes but at the same time i feel relieved and then after I feel a super natural kind of energy falling onto me and then i feel like someone is opening up my skull pouring in anointing. Can any one of you explain this to me? Moses.

  9. kaate Mike

    thanks for explanations, this has always puzzled me, when ever I try to pray I have yo yawn even in day time, that’s why I tried goggling it, but am not alone and have the right info now

  10. Heeni

    Yes…I too yawn n cry while praying n doing healing…so good to know its normal…i feel its also a release of energies within…but lately I’m yawning alot more then usual, even when I’ve had a great nights sleep…thanks for this site, it has helped me to know many others do the same x

  11. Jude

    Honestly I had thought I had a problem with God that’s why I always yown while praying, it has started long ago as a little boy till now, I thought it will stop but it continued, I have asked questions about it but no one gave me a good answer. But I think I’m satisfied now. Thank you

  12. Debbie

    Am in a country where I have never seen a Bible or a church am almost making two years here so I follow my prayers on internet but when am praying I yawn after praying it stops I thought I was sleepy but when my prayers end I don’t experience yawn at all so I thought of getting an answer on Google then I have that positive oooh God use me mightily Amen

  13. Nadine

    Hello..interesting to find out I am not alone, I am a muslim I yawn when I pray, I yawn when I read our holy book, I also use other spiritual tools from across the globe, so I yawn when I use the pendulum I yawn when I meditate, I yawn when I use EFT tapping.

    I even read that in pshychotherapy sessions patients yaw when they start to heal.. I think it is a form of releasing negative energy in the body. My problem is when I do any of the spiritual stuff in excess..I end up with a feeling like I want to yawn but I cannot ..has anyone experienced that?

  14. Richlove

    Comment…I just finished praying and during the prayer I yawed more than two times actually tears rolled down …I got bored at myself with the thought that am being too lazy ..so I Googled ” why do I yawn when I pray ” and this article came first, so I thought , why not , lemme check it out and am happy with the answers …and ohh thank God am not the only one it happens to

  15. Alina

    Please help me…i can’t study due to yawning and tears..and people often take me wrong !

  16. Bernard Johannes Sleijster

    Wow, so many things are starting to make sense now…its scary how many things we don’t notice about ourselves..if only we would listen to our bodies more carefully…
    ~ Bernard Sleijster

  17. Thanks now I know why I yawn.This has started only recently.But thank you very much and seeing the comments I know I am not alone

  18. ultimo

    I believe there is higher reason than just body tiering or getting bored. I have seen many people either praying or mediating and myself as well , yawning and Its not just regular yawn, it has something different and longly stretched labium opening. My experience, I don’t yawn always but at some point I do and I wish it to last longer because its so soothing. Still to find that pattern you talked about and I am looking forward to find the higher reason I believe. Thanks for the article.

  19. Roger

    To me, my experience w/yawning is what Christians call the Holy Spirit. I ask for guidance & enthusiastic yawning are an indication of ‘yes’, as, for example, in whether I should go into surgery; it actually happened. Trust the yawning …. my suggestion. On the reverse side, ask for guidance & you may hear ‘silence’. I interpret that as a ‘no’. There is nothing that is more silent than not hearing the Holy Spirit. I hear silence, & that is a sign of ‘caution.

    1. Peter Mados

      Hi Roger,

      Hmm…The first thing came into my mind was also that has to be a ¬¬ yes¬¬ indication. Then …I prayed to win the win of the lottery, yawned again as usual… but I am still poor, nothing happened. So why is not happening? I believe it means sg. else, possibly only an indication that someone inside us let`s us know that his listening.

      Let me know though, if in your case is going to work and hope you will remember that I am very,very poor:))) Good luck!

      God bless!
      One of the lowly.

    2. Sitanshi

      Hi Roger… I wanted to know whether you got the answers true if you followed them ever…

  20. Rafael

    Thanks for this.. I thought it may be something bad.. as it interrupts ones prayer… thanks

  21. Arup India

    I have always felt guilty when yawning while praying, as it seemed so disrespectful. However, I explained it to myself, as the onset of an inner calm and peace that triggered that release …. Good to know that others have encountered the same yawning as well

  22. Anjali Sethi

    Thanks ☺

  23. cybernautsri

    Oh ya, Anya i had 3 OBE experiences:). That changed the whole thing on how i look at this world, the existence of us. Its exciting when you become ethereal and can travel at superfast speed.

  24. cybernautsri

    Hi, well yesterday i went for a heart meditation training. I met about 30 participants. Towards the end our master requested to give a brotherly hug to each other and we did. When i started leaving the place , i felt very heavy specially at the back. And after some moment i started to yawn and burp. I think i have burped about 2 hundred times. The longest and after that i felt relieve. Apparently my friend told me i took the people’s bad energy and let them out. Is this make sense? Prior to this i have been yawning for few months, whenever i visit temples and pray. I believe the yawning is part of cleansing when we reach a certain level spiritually. Everyone of us carry some kind of entity / energy in us through-out our life. If its a bad energy we need to cleanse them i believe.Yawning / Burping is one of the way i guess. Thanks.

    1. Mahe

      I do completely agree with you cybernautsri. All the negatives will be expelled during yawning and we will feel better after expelling negative energy

    2. Ginger

      Thank you Cybernautsri for your input. I also believe yawning while praying releases the bad energies … plus some of my life’s negativities (guilt & sins).
      Experiencing a feeling of relief of also calm & a very relaxed peace after yawning. I notice my mind in thought of prayer to Our Father God has more clarity to focus when talking to Him. I also believe & feel when I start yawnIng during the start of my prayer time, I do experience a deeper release and “cleansing with openness”. All of these yawning experiences I truly feel are release & cleansing of myself. GOD’s love to all!

  25. Didem

    Its weird. I am a muslim, and eachtime i pray i yawn. When we feel bad and heavy we make some one pray on us.. As just i did ten min ago….because my husband, the praying and me, the prayed on yawned like crazy, tears coming…but this yawning had a healing effect that my migrene looking like headache got very very soft now… I felt amazed and made a search but now i see that rather than the religion . The pray makes it happen

  26. kaira

    Thank you so much, God’s children for all your posts.. I also yawn when I pray and I feel guilt and bad because I didn’t understand why I just happen when I pray. Now I know the interpretation.

  27. VED

    There was a particular incident in my life that made me start praying from a lifetime of no prayer I noticed that in most of my prayer events, I do yawn. I mean when I pray in solitude.

    However, I need to mention something more. It is just that there is indeed a supernatural software content in our body, language and in the universe. There is indeed a communication between the superior intelligence that design this software and us.

  28. Hegire

    Hi everyone.

    Is obvious for me that all people who leave a comment on this site are deeply spiritual. Was thinking to look for a bit more common ground though.
    Has anyone had an out of body experience perhaps a vision over here?
    Hm…I also read that yawning can lead to epilepsy apparently.

      1. Hegire

        I am pretty sure you can not get the Spirit otherwise. I had a vision about 10 years ago, while I was listening Beethoven 5. Shortly afterwards everything changed and keeps changing, thanks God.

        What about you darling?

        ps: About 5 years ago became vegetarian, but nowadays switching to vegan for a change. Do you think helps in Spirituality, and is so in what way? What is your experience?

        Sweet dreams
        peter

  29. Hegire

    Funny enough I also started yawning since a year now, while I am praying at home or in the church. Definitely is a higher stage in Spiritual life. In my case came after feeling a kind a strong vibrancy wherever the blood circulates in the body, especially in the head. Hm… curious to see what is going to be later on…

    Sole Deo Gratia!

    ps:
    I have read also about the idiotic comments of Mohamed.

  30. Portia Zondi

    Thanx a lot. I have been experiencing this for years now but only if I am in church or with praying people . I think I have an answer now

    1. Hegire

      So what is the answer, if is not a secret?

      1. Anya Andreeva

        Cool, sounds like you’ve noticed something interesting going on there, I guess just keep observing and see if you can spot any patterns as to when and why it happens.
        There is no definite answer, we are all different, but one thing I can say from experience is that it’s definitely a sign, a way of your body telling you something. In my case it’s always a “yes” to whatever I’m asking or thinking about, or a confirmation that I’m on the right track. For others it may be something else, it’s just a matter of patiently watching it happen.

  31. Jessica

    You will find that most people yawn during prayer. From a islamic point of view .. its stated in our books that yawning is from the devil … when you pray the devil wants to stop or distract you and when you open your mouth he comes in.

  32. Stella fonkeng

    Thank you for the post. I yawn when I pray, and teary too. Happy to know that I’m not the only one. To God be the Glory. Thanks,
    Stella

  33. Bob St Arnauld

    Thank you for this answer. I did google about yawning when I talk with the creator and found this page as the first link. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that I was yawning when talking to the Creator and it started to puzzle me. Good answer, thanks again.

  34. tony

    hi is interesting because I also yawn when I pray and know I know why it happens thank you for your page and God bless you .

  35. Maria Lua

    Lovely! Very interesting about the yawning. Maybe I’m not getting bored in my meditations after all 😉
    I get loads of messages about what my body needs to eat, or not eat, that’s for sure. I am starting to listen more and more and it really pays off 🙂
    But the biggest messages I’m getting these days is to get OUT of my day job and start living the life of my dreams. 8 days to go, and counting…

    1. Anya

      Oh woow youre getting out of your job?? Thats fantastic, Im so happy for you 🙂 Go live your dream woohoo!!! I totally know how you feel, before I quit my job I physically felt ill, my body was just refusing to go to work haha!

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