Dealing with Feelings
Happiness depends on feeling good. Beyond being well-fed and pain-free, your well-being requires peaceful thoughts and flourishing emotions. Yogis know that every thought generates a feeling. That’s a lot of emotions! After years of yoga practice and working as a life coach, I have come to understand that emotions are a vital part of our body-mind-spirit sensory equipment. Just as your five physical senses serve to navigate your body, you have emotions to explore and understand how life is going for you here on Earth. Your emotions are allies and guides, leading you toward feeling Divine amidst the challenges life brings. Skillfully navigating the dark, yet rich world of feelings brings freedom from early trauma, unresolved issues, nagging doubts, confusion, anxiety, and frustration. With awareness, you can gain control over what you are feeling and learn more about what you need to be happy. Think of emotions as the Senses of the Soul, serving your spirit to flourish. As with any friend, you can build your relationship with them with some quality time – attention and communication.
Start right now!
Sit comfortably and set a timer for 11 minutes.
Close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly. Create clarity and stability by feeling support from the earth below, then vast and expansive through your mental/spiritual self above. Shift your attention to emotional sensations. Let any and all feelings flow through your body without resisting or trying to make anything happen. Be in rapport. You will discover that difficult feelings actually ease up when you allow them to just “be.” Equally, allow positive feelings. Play with evoking all kinds of emotional sensations by calling on thoughts and memories. Don’t be surprised if you feel uncomfortable. Keep breathing as you work with your emotions until peace comes. Try asking them what they want you to know. Ask if there is something you can do to feel better. Take note of answers, which may be more of a feeling than a thought. Inhale deeply and finish your session with the most uplifting thoughts and feelings you can create.
Mastery comes with small steps and repetition. Practice this exercise daily and watch how your life improves. Know that you have taken the first step on the road to learning about your emotions and their relationship to your Soul.
