“The light that lies beneath longs to shine.”
We all go through emotional ups and downs, vacillating between ecstatic laughter, sorrow, anger, fear and everything in between and often all in one day!
Sometimes however, an emotion can creep in and take up residence in our psyche, out of the blue; an uninvited guest that we don’t have the courage to ask to leave. We at first tolerate its presence, but the weight of sadness or the corrosiveness of anger becomes heavy over time. The light that lies beneath longs to shine.
Have you ever felt like this, as if you are wearing your emotions; literally walking around shrouded in anger, shame or sadness? It’s like your shadow, it follows you everywhere and no matter what you try, you can’t shake it. I’m not referring to individuals who suffer from depression or emotional disorders, I’m just talking about the emotional distress that we all experience during our lives to a greater or lesser degree.
Our outer demeanour defies our inner turmoil. We’d give oscar winning performers a run for their money, acting as if happy, carefree and even doling out the occasional witty remark; but what other way would we act? The alternative is to drown in self pity and doubt, which let’s face it is far worse than portraying a light hearted You amid the heaviness that you are carrying around. If we were to feed into this negativity, we might drown in despair; but no, we continue on, trusting that the weight will be lifted and we can breath a sigh of relief once we emerge out the other side.
What if it didn’t have to be this way? What if there were other options; an alternative to the waiting game and not knowing when we might see the light.
The good news is that there are options. The bad news is that there isn’t a magical quick fix but if you’re prepared to put in some effort, you’ll reap the rewards. These suggestions are not so much a short term solution but rather a way of life. And if you choose to adopt them, you will notice a marked difference for the better.
1. What do I need to learn from this?
When emotions surface, they are coming up for a reason. Often it is to learn something and to move on once the lesson is integreted, but so many of us get caught up in the emotion itself that we miss the learning opportunity altogether. Asking “What do I need to learn from this emotion” can help us to gain perspective and to move on.
2. Don’t run from it
We so often think “why me”, “why now” and other such questions. In our rush to escape from our emotional discomfort we miss out on the valuable insight that we can gain. Of course, none of us relish discomfort but if we grow to welcome it and learn from the experience rather than running from it, we’ll gain a lot more perspective and ultimately find peace.
3. Practice allowing without wallowing
Allowing is a state of ease, welcoming emotions as they come and go but not getting caught up in them. Our habitual reaction is to analyse the emotion, identify with it and react to it or wallow in the pain. The “poor me” frame of mind does nothing to help, only exacerbating our emotional discomfort. Practice observing the emotion without engaging with it and you will learn so much about yourself.
4. Meditation
There are so many benefits to meditation. It is scientifically proven to improve health, boost the immune system, aid sleep, alleviate anxiety and depression and calm the nervous system helping to relieve stress and bring about emotional balance. If you find that your emotions tend to get the better of you, meditation is an absolute must. And if all these benefits weren’t enough, there is so much more to be gained. Learn more about the unexpected benefits of meditation.
5. Yoga
It took a while to convince my husband to try yoga after he injured his knee and was unable to jog. He was dubious at first but after a few classes and to his surprise, he found yoga really enjoyable and a lot more challenging than he had expected. That said, there are many different styles of yoga from gentle, restorative yoga, and the more challenging types such as hot yoga, ashtanga and vinyasa flow amongst others. I urge you to try a few kinds to decide what you enjoy before settling on one. As for the benefits of yoga, there are too many to mention them all here. If you are interested in learning more, this article from Deepak Chopra explains some of Yoga’s Health Benefits.
6. Spend time in nature
Nature has such restorative properties. Our lifestyle today means however that many of us work in offices and spend very little if any time outdoors each day. And while a Saturday stroll in the park is of course beneficial, spending time in nature every day is essential to ground, revitalise and restore. Walking, jogging and cycling are simple and enjoyable ways to spend additional time outside. There are also many more creative and exciting activities to do, particularly in Ireland where we have so many sports on our doorstep such as surfing, hiking, wake boarding, golf, kayaking, mountain biking, sailing, football, rugby, the list goes on.
7. Deep Breathing
This is more so a culmination of the last few points, as we practice deep breathing during meditation, yoga and when out walking or running but it is also something that can be used to instantaneously release stress and bring about relief. We tend to forget this one simple practice however.
Ujjayi breath as Yogis refer to it, is known to release tension, reduce pain, and strengthen the nervous system. The good news is that you can practice Ujjayi breathing on or off the mat and it is so easy to learn.
8. Healing
If you are still experiencing emotional unrest, you may need additional help in clearing heavy energies from your system and restoring equilibrium. Energy healing, for example, Reiki or Angel Healing has enormous benefits and works very quickly. An experienced healer will be able to identify where energies are stuck, clear the blockage and infuse your energy field with healing, positive frequencies. Often, after just one healing session you will notice a considerable improvement.
If you follow this guidance, you will very soon have emotional freedom and be feeling more peaceful, balanced and happy. You will still experience varied emotions but you will now have the tools to deal with them.
If you have any other suggestions or tips that have worked for you, please share in the comments below.
0
0
0
0
4 responses