My Body Is the Home of My Emotions

 We can cultivate a peaceful and grounded relationship with our physical body by taking advantage of the earth energy of Capricorn. Both the need and the opportunity to befriend our body are amplified by (1) Venus in Capricorn from November 5 through March 5, 2014, and (2) Pluto in Capricorn through 2025.

Of course, it is always important to connect in feeling awareness in our body. But when the Sun, Moon, and planets move through the earth signs, we feel more connected and motivated to use this energy to have experiences of physical well-being.

Discussions about the rebirth of the feminine will continue to elicit our attention. On a practical personal level rebirthing the feminine means (1) being in non-verbal communication with our feelings that express through our physical and emotional bodies, (2) paying attention to subtle energies as they curse through our body and not disconnecting in our mind, (3) cultivating the physical pleasures of being alive, and (4) taking care of our body as the vessel of our soul.

Physical and Emotional Bodies Connection

Our physical and emotional bodies are intricately intertwined. Our emotional body, which is non-physical energy, inhabits our body. Our body is the home of our emotions.

To awaken our sensitivity to this interconnected reality, we must pay attention to how we feel in our body. Although cannot separate our physical and emotional bodies, we can distinguish between (1) physical sensations, i.e. touch, reactions to wind, breath, temperature, movement, sound, physical contact, and awareness of body functions, and (2) emotional feelings that are stimulated by thoughts, memories, fear, anger, sadness, joy, and reactions to events or communications that trigger subconscious programming related to feeling loved, accepted, secure, safe, and worthy.

When any of the above are triggered causing uncomfortable feelings, we have the habit of escaping into our minds in an attempt to avoid feeling both physical and emotional pain. It is the habit of ‘hiding’ from our emotions that we can change by training ourselves to feel what we are feeling in our body, regardless of whether it is a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ feeling.

The retraining process takes willingness, patience, and time. To optimize the energy and our experiences of the earth element and the first chakra, we cultivate feeling comfortable and secure in our body, which helps our emotional body feel protected, nurtured and supported. Sensitivity to our body builds sensitivity to our emotions. As we care for and comfort our physical body, our emotions also experience being cared for and comforted.

As we build our capacity to feel emotionally safe in our body, we become less fearful, apprehensive, reactive, scattered, and unstable. Even more, we can become the source of our own comfort and satisfaction. We can free ourselves from dependence upon others to meet our need for kindness, appreciation, support, and validation — all of which feed, but only temporarily and externally, our emotional body.

Kundalini Yoga and Meditation

While practicing physical and breathing exercises, pick a phrase and keep repeating to yourself as a reminder to pay attention to your body. The one I really like is — My body is the container of my emotions. I also like — My body is the home of my soul. The former keeps me focused on both physical sensations and emotional feelings. The later reminds me to honor my body as a sacred vessel. You can, of course, find another phrase that is most effective for you.

Being present in and taking care of our body is not limited to our Kundalini Yoga practice. Keep these affirmative reminders active in your inner conversation as you EAT, drive, wash the dishes, fold the laundry, take walks, sit at your computer, text on your phone, i.e. in all your daily activities.

We train ourselves to stay present to our body and feelings with any Kundalini yoga exercises. Optimally we take advantage of all stretches and movements to feel the stimulation in our body. To stay connected in our body during meditation it is very beneficial to first do standing exercises.

The Nerve Balance kriya in the previous blog (#11 Expand with Stretching and Breathing) strengthens our nervous system, which makes it easier to feel comfortable in our body. A strong nervous system helps integrate the physical and emotional bodies.

Below is a standing kriya, which activates the first chakra, grounds us with the earth, and builds first chakra feeling awareness. Healthy Body Kriya is found in Lesson 5 – Sexual and Sensitive Projection and Clearing the Subconscious Mind on pp 206-10 in The Gift of Womanhood.

HEALTHY BODY KRIYA

Build your circle with the arm movements. Feel your finger tips as the outer edge of your circle. With each movement, clear and claim the space in your circle as your own. Between exercises stand for a bit and let the energy adjust. Be grounded in your body. Feel connected to the Earth. Then shake your whole body and release stuck energy.

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, weight on the outer edges of the feet. Arms are straight out to the sides, just slightly higher than parallel to the ground. Palms are facing forward. Twist from the waist, swinging the arms to the left, then to the right on the exhale. Inhale left, exhale right. 1-3 minutes.
2. Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, arms straight out to the sides with palms facing down. Slowly bend the body from your hips left, then back up to center, and then right. Arms stay in a straight line. As one goes down to each side, the opposite side of the body moves up toward the sky. 1-2 minutes.
3. Standing with feet apart slightly, interlace fingers, palms down, hands at level of arm pits. Bend forward from the hips, bringing hands toward the ground. Do not bend legs. Stretch at your hips to adjust pelvic region. 26 times.
4. Standing with hands on hips, feet about 6″ apart. Swing left leg forward and slightly to the left, up to the waist level if you can. Return the leg and do the same movement with the right leg. Repeat rhythmically for 2-3 minutes or 26 times.

   

5. Standing with the feet shoulder-width apart, up on toes, arms out to the sides slightly higher than parallel to the ground, inhale through the nose and squat down, maintaining a straight spine. Exhale through the mouth and rise up to standing. Repeat 26 times or 1-2 minutes.
6. Standing with heels together, legs straight, arms straight out to the sides parallel to the ground, palms down. Flap the arms up and down without bending elbows 15° from horizontal in both directions. 1-3 minutes.
7. Standing with feet slightly apart, with left hand make a fist with thumb inside at the center of your chest, level of the nipples. Extend right arm straight forward with palm open as if to grab something. Then make the hand into a fist, thumb inside, and snap the right hand back to the center of your chest. (Elbow comes down to the side of the body.) Feel like you are pulling a weight as you snap the hand back. Inhale as the hand snaps in and exhale as the hand extends out. Alternate arms. 1-2 minutes.
8. Standing with feet comfortably apart, arms up to 60°, palms facing forward, fingers spread apart, move hands at the wrists rapidly up and down. Create a meditative rhythm for 1-3 minutes.

9. Relax deeply for 5-10 minutes.