I woke up angry this morning. As I write this I'm still angry. The frustrating part is I'm not really sure why I'm upset. Something in my life is gnawing at me and I need to figure out what it is and soon! While investigating my anger I'm going to need an outlet so that I don't hurt my friends and family and possibly cause issues at work. This outlet is called the Kick of Fury. Just the name of it makes me feel better.
When we think of yoga helping us deal with anger one might picture a person sitting in perfect meditation, learning to let go of their anger, once they come out of their practice they can go on their merry way happy as can be. Good luck with that. Anger is an intense emotion. Meditation can be helpful in dealing with it, but sometimes it isn't enough.
As humans, when we're angry, we like to use our bodies to express it. You can see this clearly in kids. When they're upset they like to kick or hit things. As adults, we try to have a little more reserve, but we still feel the need to express it physically. Some people will run or go to the gym, others slam their fists down on the desk or stomp the floor. Anything to work off the negative energy they're feeling. Our minds can't work it out all on their own as the emotions are stored not just in the brain, but in our bodies. We need to get the intense emotions out before they build to a dangerous level and explode.
The kick of fury is simple and effective. Stand in high lunge, bring your back foot forward and kick through to stork (standing tall with your leg extended straight out like you're going to kick something). Repeat many times on your right and left side. Kick a few times with your right leg, then switch to your left. The beauty of this pose is not just the kicking, but the control you have while doing it. This pose teaches you to control your anger and not let your anger control you. Make sure while you're doing it that you regulate your breath, a nice even inhale and exhale. Exhale on the kick.
Start slow and don't speed up till you can do the kick through without wobbling. As you gain more control you can speed it up, but if you start to wobble, meaning your anger may be taking over the pose instead of you taking over your anger, you need to slow down again. Make sure that you aren't tensing your body, relax it as much as you can while staying strong in the pose. You have the option of yelling or speaking loudly while doing this. I like to yell Ha! as I kick. Another option to yelling is to say a positive mantra like "I'm in control of my anger." or make it more specific to your situation. "I won't let my co-worker take advantage of me.".
Once you finish your kicks come into tadasana with your eyes closed and notice your breath. Were you able to keep it under control or are you breathing hard? If you're breathing hard, when you do the kicks again, try to keep the breath calm. Feel you body, notice if the anger has lessened or if it still remains. Are you in control or did the practice make you feel out of control? If it did, were you deliberate in your movements or were you letting the anger control your movements? Perhaps you need a round two. If anything has come up for you (like in my case the actual reason I'm angry) you can journal about it.
Controlling our anger before it hurts others is important. Once something hurtful comes out of our mouth it takes a lot to repair it. When I'm having a bad day I tell people I'm having one, especially my kid. I want her to know that my anger isn't her fault. Never be ashamed of your anger, it is there for a reason, but how you deal with it is up to you and you own the results of that anger.
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