Each time I do “emotional releasing” work I feel lighter. The more I release the better I feel so I’ve learnt to create space to allow feelings expression.
It might be joy but more often than not it is anger, grief, rage, sadness, vehemence, loss, helplessness, shame, you name it – whatever is there is there - so I allow myself to have that feeling and express it, really express it, give it a voice, form, movement.
Often the emotion cannot really be named (and I certainly can’t articulate where it came from or how to fix it with my head), but it is felt so deeply by the body and the body needs me to hold myself in that.
Emotions are a part of our life force, so allow them room. It is really important when you do this, to feel the feeling then move it out, so shake it out, dance it out, stomp it out, cry it out, sigh it out, then breathe and let "it" go.
This is not about wallowing, but allowing and giving witness to. So it can be moved on and no longer trapped inside.
How this feels for me is it’s like I’m telling my being that I am loved, cherished, accepted and able to take care of myself.
That is really what we as toddlers and growing children ideally would have been helped to learn but most of us weren’t. Instead, emotions were out of bounds and had to be repressed, stifled, or shamed or kept under wraps because who knows what could happen if you expressed yourself! It might be embarrassing for the parent, or inconvenient for the school teacher, or you were told it is wrong.
All kinds of stories which created a whirlwind inside which you didn’t know how to handle and importantly you didn’t learn that you and I are all ABLE to and SHOULD be responsible for taking care of ourselves.
You can tell whether this works for you or not by how you feel. Do it regularly and it’s a bit like weeding the garden. You know the weed seeds are in the garden bed and when they pop up, deal with them.
So when you notice something bubbling up, make a plan to set aside a little time to do this work (on your own). You will feel as if a little weight has been lifted from inside.
