In my work I see it often: people deeply involved with yoga, meditation, breathwork, or mindfulness, yet still stuck in the same patterns. Doubt, physical tension, unprocessed grief, or feeling lost about life direction. One key reason behind this is spiritual bypassing.
What is spiritual bypassing?
Spiritual bypassing means using spiritual practices to avoid facing raw emotions or uncomfortable truths. It’s about seeking calm, softness, or insight without really allowing feelings like
grief, anger, or fear. On the outside it looks conscious and mindful, but underneath something stays stuck.
The difference lies in intention: do you use spirituality to come closer to yourself, or to avoid what’s really there?
Softness and emptiness in one system
In sessions I notice how people fill their days with yoga, breathwork, slowing down, and self-reflection practices. Yet at the same time, their minds keep spinning: doubting, analysing, filling
in answers, searching for solutions. There’s a kind of double movement: slowing down outwardly while speeding up inwardly.
The body often shows this through signals like pain, tension, or fatigue. Even while someone believes they are taking good care of themselves, the deeper layers remain untouched.
Why your mind takes over
Spiritual bypassing usually links back to old survival strategies. If emotions once felt unsafe, your mind takes over as the control center. Through thinking, structure, or spiritual routines,
you avoid feeling fully. But the mind cannot resolve what belongs to the body and heart. It keeps searching endlessly, without bringing real peace.
How to recognise spiritual bypassing in yourself
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You practice yoga or meditation regularly but still feel restless inside
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You struggle with simply being, without filling time with a practice or tool
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You avoid topics like grief, anger, or deep loss
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You constantly look for new workshops, books, or methods but don’t feel true change
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Your body sends signals like pain, tension, or exhaustion despite “taking care” of yourself
What helps to break through
Real spiritual growth happens when you combine it with raw human experience. That means allowing moments where you do nothing. No yoga, no meditation — simply sitting with what is.
Ask yourself honestly:
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“Am I doing this to really feel myself?”
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“Or am I doing this to avoid feeling something uncomfortable?”
Sometimes that means choosing stillness without a technique, writing without affirmations, or allowing grief or confusion without wanting to fix it.
Bringing mind, heart, and body together
Spiritual bypassing isn’t a reason to abandon spirituality. It’s an invitation to integrate both worlds: head and heart, softness and rawness. In my work as a reader and therapist, I always
observe whether someone is truly in contact with themselves, or mostly following spiritual form without real depth. If you recognise yourself in this, I invite you today to pause. Set aside
all tools and practices for a moment. Not to give up, but to create space to feel yourself as you are — without filling it in, without needing answers.
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