E-motion

Emotion, e-motion, energy in motion.

Let’s remember that the words and labels we've given to the physical states and feelings we go through are merely just a concept, a word. If you haven't already watched it, you may want to put the E-motion documentary on the top of your 'to-watch' list.

When we are asked how we feel by health practitioners or friends, people often answer 'I feel stressed, anxious, sad or angry', but do these words encapsulate what we're truly feeling?

'Okay, you feel 'anxious', but what do you actually feel? What sensations are you feeling in your physical body?' (you see, you can't actually 'feel' with your mind). Many different people will describe the feeling of 'anxiety' completely differently. Some feel a heat rising in their chest, some may get clammy + shaky hands, others will feel a block in their throats, and for each individual the feelings in their body may move and evolve as they're experiencing it.

We all experience emotions differently and the very simplistic, limiting (but okay, yes, helpful) labels we've given to these powerful experiences is less than sufficient.

When we are young children, we feel and react to whatever is present in our current situation. When we are hurt we might cry, when we are excited, our eyes get big and we jump up and down, when we are angry may we want to hit something and if we do want to, we will! We aren't thinking about HOW to express ourselves, we're just EXPRESSING, no matter who's watching. Usually, after a tantrum is had, the child will return to playing or laughing or whatever they want to do.

As we grow older we are conditioned by the world around us and learn that hitting our friend for sticking their finger in our ice cream maybe isn't the best thing to do (very valid - ice creams are sacred). However, sometimes we learn that a certain way of reacting to a situation has worked and begin a pattern of masking and suppressing what's trying to come out instead of expressing the energy in a healthy way.

When an emotion arises, if it doesn't feel good or is considered a 'negative' emotion (viewed this way by society, ourselves or our family), our tendency may be to push it away, suppress or even judge ourselves for feeling it and maybe even hold it against ourselves as being wrong or even sinful (depending on our upbringing).

We know that different emotions are expressed through our physiology (nothing in the body works independently!). Different emotions can activate different areas of the brain, increase blood flow to different organs and they can even shut down certain systems. E.g. when your fear response kicks in after seeing a lion running towards you in the wild, your cortisol (stress hormone) rises and your body enters a sympathetic nervous system state of survival, all the blood rushes to your limbs so you can run fast and escape. The energy moves away from your gut and digestive system because assimilating food right now is just not a priority! The big cat is coming!

In our current systems of society and conditioned ways of relating to others it's almost too easy to be moved into a survival state (financial worries, relationship stresses, work deadlines etc), and by blocking the flow of energy that is wanting to move through our physical body, there is a suppression, avoidance or separation from the feeling, meaning that the energy of that feeling becomes stifled, stuck and stored somewhere in our being. Energy can neither be created or destroyed.

We suppress and stifle these emotions for a myriad of reasons... perhaps it's not socially acceptable? Everyone knows you're 'not a cryer', perhaps you've 'never been an angry person'... maybe you don't want to be seen as the 'crazy one'... or you don't 'feel as many emotions compared to your friends'. We create stories around who we are and these beliefs about identities subconsciously dictate our reception, expression and reactions to the world, relationships and self.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine you will find that different emotions are related to certain organs which might help you to understand a bit more about how emotional states relate to our physical body. See this chart of the Five Element Theory and emotion.

NOW… if EVERY emotion you felt were actually your friend, whether it be joy or intense anger, what would it say to you? What would it want you to see about yourself? This energy is arising to be acknowledged and expressed in some way. When jealousy or longing comes up around seeing someone's social media post, what is that showing you about yourself? Is it teaching you more about what you value or love in life? Is it showing you the type of goals you are wanting to work towards? Is it encouraging you to develop more compassion towards someone or yourself? Who knows, but there can be a lot to explore by the hint (or slap) of our emotional teachers, and whether we analyse them or not is not relevant, in fact, all we need to do is FEEL.

Let the energy you feel flow through you, take a moment to sit, to stop and recognise what you're feeling in your body. Just feel, without analysis or judgement. Perhaps there is a way to honour the feeling through deeper expression of it… dance? shake? scream like a monkey? sigh? We have a body to express through and there are many ways to move the energy; boxing? Writing a heartfelt letter to someone that you may not send? Going for a barefoot walk on the grass? Or scrunching up your face in the most ridiculous way possible. 

This infra-red image was derived from a study of over 700 participants from Sweden, Finland and Taiwan, to show how certain emotions manifest in the human body. Our mind, body, spirit and emotions are not separate, all are interconnected and influence each other.

When you find yourself in a moment of discomfort, remember your breath. The simple medicine we can't live on this earth without! Our breath connects us to our physical body and our physical body is always in present time... it teaches us to come back to presence.

An invitation: (one that’s helped me so much in my own journey)

• identify what emotion is most present for you now

• notice where and how you feel it/how it shows up in your body

• connect to your breath and let it flow through you

• allow your breath to carry this emotional energy, swirling, softening or deepening into the sensations (you may want to use sound and movement here)

• release with each exhale breath