How to Meet and Process Your Emotions
A gentle guide to allowing emotions to move through the body.
Step 1: Allow the Feeling
Remember this, according to neuroscience, all feelings will naturally diminish after 90 seconds if the natural process that happens in the body is not interrupted.
But often we do not allow space for this process to complete because our mind gets involved, we analyse the feeling, rationalise it and create a narrative around it. This keeps us in the emotional state because we ruminate on it and we do not allow the energy of the feeling to flow in and out.
So when you experience a feeling:
First, have the feeling without resisting it, venting it, fearing it, condemning it or moralising about it. Drop judgement and see it as just a feeling.
Step 2: Come Back Into Your Body
Come out of your thoughts attached to it and drop into your body. Be with the feeling and surrender to all efforts to modify it in any way. Resistance keeps the feeling going. Let go of wanting to resist it. This is how it shifts and dissipates.
Observe how it arises in your body and view it with curiosity, noticing where you feel it in your body and the physical sensations that accompany it.
Step 3: Let the Emotion Move
Let the feeling be there and focus on letting out the energy behind it. Is this emotion just asking to be felt and released? Is it asking for action? Is it asking for love and acceptance?
Breathe into the feeling and follow what it is asking for.
Physical release techniques that can support you include shaking, breathing, sighing, humming and other vocal release, hugging self, crying and laughing.
Stay with your beautiful body the whole time and support yourself to feel this emotional message and let it go from your energy system.
Learning to meet emotions in this way can transform the relationship you have with your body and your inner world.
This is also a big part of the work I guide people through in my sessions, supporting them to reconnect with their body and the messages it carries.
