While in church during a service or reading prayer at home, many wonder why yawning occurs during prayer.
There is an opinion that this is evidence of demonic possession. Evil forces confuse and distract from holy texts. But is this really so?
Observing parishioners in church, you may find that some yawn periodically. This happens not only to parishioners, but also to clergy.
There are a number of reasons why a person begins to yawn after hearing a prayer.
Physiological processes
If attacks of yawning find a praying person regularly in the same place, it may be in the room where the prayer takes place. The stuffiness in the room causes a lack of oxygen and the person tries to take a deeper breath to replenish the losses. This is a physiological process, which means it is not possession by evil demons.
It is possible that the late time of day contributes to yawning during worship. Late in the evening or at night, a person wants to sleep and this affects the body, which is quite natural. If a person does not get enough sleep, his desire to yawn is quite understandable.
Yawning is often accompanied by anxiety. If an important event is coming up, a person experiences anxiety and tension. Excitement produces stress, and yawning acts as a sedative.
Yawning can occur due to a long boring process. For example, at a lecture or while watching an uninteresting movie. Thus, the body relieves itself of emotional stress and relaxes the body. The principle of operation is similar here. If a person has such an attitude towards prayer, then it is logical to assume what reaction will follow.
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Good or bad
Believers often attach a negative connotation to this natural need of the body, noting that while reading the “Our Father” in church, many parishioners begin to yawn synchronously. At the same time, they forget that at the liturgy this prayer is read quite a long period of time after the start of the service.
During worship in the church, a large number of candles are burned, as a result of which oxygen burns. Also, the room may simply be stuffy. Taken together, all these factors can provoke a natural desire to yawn.
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Some believers ask the holy fathers whether it is possible to read the Gospel if sleep does not come. They claim that someone allegedly gave them such advice, wanting to save them from insomnia. Priests say that such an attitude towards reading spiritual books can become a psychological reason for yawning. They warn: “Do not become a hostage to wrong advice, as such reading will not benefit your soul.”
The influence of the evil one
Sometimes yawning takes hold of a person regardless of the time of day and even in a well-ventilated area. Some believe that this is the influence of dark forces. Evil forces often disturb the person praying and send him itching, sneezing and yawning.
There are people who have strong abilities to influence and manipulate people. Such individuals are capable of jinxing. The evil eye, or popularly the “evil eye,” is one of the possible reasons for such sleepy behavior during the process of reading a prayer. Some believe that with a glance you can penetrate a person’s biofield, thereby sending misfortune and illness to him. Yawning, the body develops a defensive reaction to external influences. Therefore, being in church, people are cleansed from the influence of other people’s evil intent.
Esotericism explains spontaneous yawning by the fact that a person needs to cleanse his energy; by yawning, he is trying to get rid of internal negativity.
In the temple
It is interesting that in holy places, where the relics of the righteous are located and the space has been prayed for centuries, a person may yawn. This may be due to spiritual reasons.
The word is energy. A prayer word is a clot of pure energy. For example, if a person has negative thoughts and often swears, then he is filled with energetic dirt. And when he comes to church, he wants not only to yawn, but also to doze. In this case, yawning means the need for cleansing.
The priests' answer
The clergy are not of the opinion that yawning is a sign of obsession or depravity. But they don’t deny it either. The Church has long been skeptical about divination, damage and the evil eye.
Many priests speak out about yawning during prayer. The fact is that this is a common problem in churches, since many parishioners gather during church services, and opening windows during services is prohibited. As a result, there is less oxygen in the room. In addition, candles are lit in the temple, which also burn a lot of oxygen.
The rectors believe that the reason for the sleepy behavior is the disinterest of the parishioners. Perhaps the person came to church not of his own free will, but at the request of a relative, and he becomes bored due to the long process and lack of understanding of what is happening.
The Church considers yawning to be a consequence of loss of vitality and energy. Perhaps the person praying has experienced stress, grief, or has personal problems.
Most often, priests hear complaints about yawning during services from older parishioners. This condition occurs among people from late spring to late autumn.
Despite the fact that the church does not recognize corruption, some people believe that yawning during prayer is an unkind sign. If a person has been damaged, he will feel constantly depressed and sleepy. It will have an unsightly appearance. In addition, the person will be haunted by a series of failures, disturbing dreams and changes in family relationships in a negative direction. In this case, there is no need to look for sorcerers and healers; you need to come to church with a problem and talk openly with the clergyman.
Psychological and physiological reasons
It is known that yawning is a natural physiological process. At this moment, oxygen enters the body, which stimulates muscles and activates brain activity.
Another reason for this phenomenon is simple boredom. You should not recite the prayer rule without a spiritual need, a keen interest, because God does not need the usual reading of phrases. The Almighty needs those who need Him.
Through prayer, a person’s soul is saved, his soul is purified, things and his home are sanctified, and his deeds are blessed. Knowledge of prayer is identical to knowledge of the language of God's saints, the Mother of God, and God.
Prayer at home
If everything is clear with the church, then why do you want to yawn while reading a prayer at home? There is also an explicable reason here.
Due to the concentration on a long text, the human brain works in a stressful mode, so it needs more oxygen.
In addition, staying in one position for a long time during prayer contributes to a lack of oxygen. When a worshiper stands for a long time or prays on his knees, his breathing slows down and acid fasting occurs.
Yawning during prayer
Why does yawning occur during prayer and how to get rid of it? Osman Zagitov, Cherkessk.
Scientists have found that yawning occurs if a person is upset about something, is nervous, wants to sleep, or suffers from insomnia. As a result, relaxation occurs in the body: laziness, inertia, lack of attention. In such a state, the shaitan can easily take over the consciousness of a Muslim and try to lead him astray. For this reason, when a person wants to yawn , one should try to suppress the urge. If there is no strength to resist this desire, then you should close your mouth, wash your face or perform a complete ablution. If you are very tired, it is better to rest.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “ Yawning is from the shaitan. Therefore, anyone of you who wants to yawn, let him try to restrain himself to the best of his ability.” (Muslim). Abu Said al-Khudri reported another hadith: “Let the one who yawns cover his mouth with his palms, because in this way the Shaytaan can penetrate into him” (Muslim). Another hadith says: “If any of you wants to yawn, then let him stop himself and not say “haha.” When a Muslim yawns, the shaitan laughs at him” (Bukhari). These statements are about yawning, which occurs when a person has overeaten, is motionless, or really wants to sleep. All these states please Iblis. The call to cover your mouth with your hand indicates how to behave decently and distance yourself from everything that might please the shaitan.
What happens if a Muslim yawns while performing prayer? This is considered makruh, that is, undesirable, and does not affect the prayer. But if such a desire arose while reading namaz, then a person should prevent it. If he is standing, he must cover his mouth with the back of his right hand, and the rest of the time with his left hand. Such behavior is adab in the performance of prayer . For the Shaitan said to the Prophet (PBUH): “As soon as a person wants to perform a divine service, every time I will stop him with various instructions. If I cannot get the better of him during prayer, then I will come up and blow in his nose. Then he will start yawning. If a believer does not cover his mouth with his palm, then a little devil will climb into it and begin to remind him of worldly problems. After this, the person will obey in everything and listen to my orders” (From the work of Mukhetdin ibn Arabi “The Tricks of the Shaitan”).
If the desire to yawn strongly overcomes a person in everyday life, then you should close your mouth with the palm of your right or left hand. If it is impossible to stop the process, then you need to turn your head in the other direction or bend over.
How should you behave so that the desire to yawn does not arise? There are several tips, including the instruction of Ibn Abedin: “You need to remember that the prophets never did this, and read the salawat for the Messenger of the Almighty (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Kuduri (Rahmatullahi alaikh) confirmed this: “We have experienced this many times and felt the justice of this advice.”
To avoid yawning during prayer, you need to pay attention to some points. One should perform a new abdest (ablution) for each prayer. When the Takbir Iftitah sounds and a Muslim raises his hands, he moves away from himself everything that occupies his attention and distances him from the Almighty. It is necessary to pronounce “auza bismillah” not mechanically, but with an understanding of the meaning. And the most important thing is not to lose insight.
Psychological reasons
Entering unfamiliar territory beyond the church fence, a believer can get too carried away and begin to look for mysticism where there is none. This leads to the development of a conditioned reflex.
After yawning a couple of times during the service, a person begins to worry about this. And so, as a result, he involuntarily does this as soon as he opens the prayer book, enters the temple or venerates the cross.
It is necessary to look at the situation in a new way, try to treat it with irony. Before starting the ceremony, ventilate the room well. If this does not help, you should contact a psychologist or the rector of your parish.
Witchcraft influence?
Today television programs about magic are very popular, they even try to convince people that it is good. In fact, communication with the “other world” for a sorcerer can only end in complete spiritual collapse, which has been proven more than once in sacred history.
But idle speculation comes up with different things:
- Yawning in the temple, according to “experts,” often means exactly the opposite things - both the presence of the evil eye and its removal using the same magic.
- It is recommended to remove “damage” by reading prayers. Everything would be fine, but the only thing in your head will be thoughts not about God, but about bad influences. In this way, distrust of the Creator is manifested, and this is already a sin.
Reasons for yawning during home prayer
However, after leaving the church building, the person returns home. There comes a time when it’s time to pick up a Bible or prayer book. The believer turns mentally to the image of his beloved saint, opens the akathist... And then he also begins to yawn. From what?
- For most people, reading prayers in Church Slavonic takes quite a long time. As a rule, it takes place in a static position, which may not be entirely comfortable - after all, it is customary to read while standing. This causes a slowdown in breathing, as a result - a lack of oxygen, a decrease in the speed of operation of all body systems.
- Intellectual tension takes its toll. Mental focus requires concentration and composure. This forces brain cells to work at full capacity. Such processes take place with the participation of a large number of resources.
To cope with the situation, just take a few deep, sharp breaths.
