Emotional Release

At one point or another in our lives we’ve all had some type of emotional release. Emotions are building in our bodies from the time we are born. If we don’t process these emotions they will stay in our bodies. If a child is upset about something they will cry, if you are upset about something you will either cry or talk to someone about it. That is processing. However, if we have a strong emotion and we don’t cry, yell or talk about it the emotion will be stuck in our bodies till we do something about it.

Today was my daughters first day of kindergarten. My husband and I, as well as my daughter, were very excited about this day. I’m not the nostalgic type of mom. I’m always excited and happy for milestones in Madelyn’s life. I live in the present and am optimistic about the future. So what happened after drop off took me a bit by surprise.

The drop off went great, Madelyn ran into the room and never looked back. As a parent I was so proud, my girl was excited about her new transition. As I was walking to the car I felt the emotions starting to well up inside of me. By the time I was driving away I was sobbing. The intensity of these emotions took me by surprise, so much so I had to stop and think about where they were coming from. It didn’t take me long to figure it out.

My husband works in the ER. His schedule is varied. Nights, days, weekends, it’s never the same. Due to this I am the primary caregiver for Madelyn. I stayed home with her for three years. We had recently moved so we didn’t know anyone and the closest family was two hours away. We had lost our freedom. It was a difficult task to get out for the things we needed to do, let alone out to do something fun.

I eventually went back to work which took life from boring day to day to chaos and it stayed that way till today. I was constantly fatigued and had high anxiety. Today, with the beginning of school, was the day my husband and I got our freedom back. All the anxiety, anger and frustration of the last five years came pouring out of me. My body was letting go of the intense emotions that had built up within me since I had lost my freedom with the birth of our beautiful girl.

The cool thing about this is that my body knew when it was ok to let it go. It didn’t wait a week, month or year after school started to recognize that all was well in the world, it knew instantly. I think this is in part because I am so aware of my situation and I knew both physically and emotionally that it was over. I could let it go.

If this isn’t the case for you then there are certain things you can do to help your body and mind process a strong emotional event. Be it the death of someone close to you, a change in careers or the end of a relationship. There are many things in our lives that fall into this category.

Meditation is wonderful. It allows you time to sit with the body and see what is going on in there. What are you thinking and physically feeling. Yoga will help to free up the emotions in the body. Any intensity that you feel within your practice, be it physical or emotional, do a forceful exhale, like a sigh or a scream. If you feel the urge to cry, cry. Don’t hold it in, you never know when it will surface again. Try to find a quiet place if you can so you can really let it all out. Talking with someone, be it a friend or a professional is also very helpful.

Letting a strong emotion go can be scary, but it’s worth it. Afterwards you generally feel tired, but free. Your body and mind can now relax. It is better for our health to process and let go of these emotions as they come. However this isn’t always possible. With a consistent meditation and yoga practice it will make it easier for you to let go daily of your negative issues and focus on the positive in your life.