Letting Go of Strong Emotions

Have you ever had a confrontation with someone and hours later your body still feels as tense as it did in the moment? Your mind is replaying the conversation over and over, you just can't let it go. Maybe it isn't a recent confrontation, but something that happened years ago that you never let go of. These strong emotions are toxic and the stress associated with them can lead to disease.

You can't let go of something till you fully feel and process it. Replaying something over and over in our minds isn't processing, but just repeating what happened. Questioning something, wondering how or why it happened isn't helpful either because there isn't always an answer to your questions.

Our emotions have physical reactions in our bodies. Sometimes it's the physical sensation that we notice first rather than the strong emotion. Picture your fist clenching when something is making you angry. Associating something physical to our emotions can help our minds to process it easier. We all know physically how good it feels to let go of a heavy burden, the same thing applies to our minds. The exercise below is a way of connecting the emotions to the physical body so that you can let them go.

Lie on your stomach in crocodile pose (forearms stacked, resting your head on your arms) and begin to think about the strong emotion you want to let go of. Don't think about the specifics, like the actual conversation, but the sensations of the emotions, like tension in your chest and shoulders or perhaps a feeling of anxiety.

Once you have a sense of the emotion come into locust pose. Locust pose works well because it engages a lot of muscles. As you contract your muscles imagine all the tension you feel is that strong emotion. Feel it fully, perhaps squeeze a bit harder into the pose and hold it as long as you can with that emotion fully present in the mind. When you are ready completely let go. Let go physically and emotionally and just focus on the breath while you relax back in crocodile pose. If the emotion tries to come back in, don't focus on it, but just on the breath. You will probably have to do this exercise a few times, or perhaps many if the emotion is deeply rooted. You will want to practice it daily until you feel the emotion as completely left your body.

Practicing tense and release with the body teaches us how to physically let go of tension. By associating our emotions with it we are teaching our minds how to let go as well. Learning to let go is essential to our health. You don't have to do locust pose as any tensing of the body will do the trick. You can even do it while you are sitting at your desk. Don't let strong emotions rule your life, let them go before they take root and do damage to your health. You are in control and have the tool to let them go.