The Role of Emotion in Yoga Practice, Part III
In Part I and II, I wrote about emotions as the fuel for our actions. I also wrote a bit about attachment theory, and how we learn emotion regulation in childhood. And I wrote about how we can use our emotional energy to create change in ourselves.
To wrap up this blog series, I’m going to discuss a few more ways to work with your emotional energy, on and off the mat.
I learned in my yoga teacher training that the word yoga means union. More specifically, the union of the body and the mind. The subject of the meaning of the word yoga is beyond the topic of this blog, but I wrote about it a bit more in the blog entry “Healing Disconnection Part 1”.
It is no surprise, then, that emotion that we were previously unaware of becomes conscious while practicing yoga. Though modern psychology defines emotions as mental phenomena, this is a byproduct of a Cartesian worldview in which the mind and body are separate. More recent research suggests that emotions are energetic, having both physical and mental components. It is by practicing yoga that the mind becomes aware of the emotions in the body.
I mentioned in Part II that the first step is simply to observe emotion. Just noticing what you’re feeling is new and different for a lot of people. You can also use descriptive words to label the sensations associated with the emotion.
The practice I shared in Part II is a pranayama or breathing practice called Bumblebee Breath. The breath is one of the primary means the body has for expressing emotions.
In daily life, when you encounter stress, your breathing is impacted. You have two sets of respiratory muscles: primary and secondary. When our bodies mobilize to respond to a stressor, we often switch from using our diaphragm and other primary respiratory muscles, to using secondary respiratory muscles. These are the upper chest and neck muscles. Our breathing becomes restricted. This response can happen as a result of physical stressors or strong emotions.
A helpful pose for promoting relaxation and expanding your breathing capacity is reclining bound angle pose. It is a restorative pose that stimulates the abdominal organs and stretches the inner thighs, groins and knees. You can do this pose without props, but I’ve found it feels best laying on a bolster, with blocks under the thighs or knees. You can find instructions for the pose here: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/reclining-bound-angle-pose
“Breathing is the most readily accessible resource you have for creating and sustaining your vital energy”
THE BREATHING BOOK, DONNA FARHI
I mentioned in Part I of this blog series, sometimes when we pay attention to our emotions in our yoga practice, we find out that we are feeling things that we don’t want to be feeling. When we are able to breath with relaxed, open bellies, our emotions are less likely to get “stuck”. We can notice them, express them if needed, and come to resolution. In so doing, we can improve our energy levels naturally.
If you practice yoga regularly, it’s very likely that your emotional awareness will increase. In between sessions on the mat, when the rest of life happens, you can carry a small notebook with you to make notes about your emotional state. You can use the practices I’ve shared in this blog series to work with your emotions when it’s time to get back on the mat. Your emotional intelligence will increase right alongside your flexibility!
