We often use phrases like, “Oh, she’s such a pain in the neck” or “My ex boyfriend makes me sick in the stomach” or “My co-worker gives me a headache”! Well, they aren’t just phrases. They have a connection to how negative emotions are stored in our body! Interesting, isn’t it? Come, let us know a little about emotional baggage.
Negative feelings connected to a certain circumstance can manifest as pain. A lot of you must have gone through painful and difficult things in your lives. These experiences tend to stay in your mind for a very long time. This is referred to as emotional baggage, and it means that you are still struggling with unresolved emotions and holding onto pain, sadness, regret, and rage.
This emotional baggage doesn’t go away. It can affect the way you think, how you react to stress, and your relationship with others, your physical and mental well-being.
Yoga instructor Sangita Porwal discussed emotional baggage that is stored in our bodies and how to release, it via an Instagram post.
According to Porwal, everyone carries unprocessed emotions. Your body actually stores your negative emotions and bitter thoughts. Unbelievable, but true!
5 places where negative emotions are stored in the body:
1. Chest: Hurt and grief
2. Stomach and intestine: Fear
3. Neck and shoulders: Responsibility and burden
4. Head: Loss of control
5. Lower back and jaw: Anger
Everyone carries unprocessed emotions. You just have to recognise these emotions and deal with them, tap them out creating space for new opportunities and better health, explains the expert.
How to get rid of emotional baggage with yoga tricks?
When we practice yoga, we start to release the tension in our muscles, which also helps to release the emotions that are tied to that stress. Yoga develops our physical, mental, and emotional bodies and improves our ability to deal with challenging emotions and the effects of prior experiences. Our emotions feel secure to be expressed when our container gets stronger. Try the following:
1. Pranayama (yogic breathing)
* Inhale slowly and steadily through both nostrils.
* Keep a tall spine and inhale until you achieve your maximum lung capacity.
* After briefly holding your breath, tighten a small portion of it at the back of your throat, as if you were about to whisper a secret, then gently let it out through both nostrils.
* Invoking the emotional body through mouth breathing is quite beneficial for expressing and letting go of feelings that have emerged, especially sadness and grief.
2. Vocalize (produce noises)
The throat chakra can be opened by making sounds while in a yoga pose, which can help stress and emotions leave the body.
Sighing loudly relieves anger; humming brings joy; groaning calms fear; and wailing releases sadness. Vocalization is especially crucial to fully releasing emotions from the body as they become triggered and begin to arise.
3. Pratyahara (inward concentration)
Keep your attention on the areas of your body where sensations are felt and experienced when holding a yoga posture.
Examine the beginning, ending, and destination of the sensations, and pay special attention to any emotional responses that these physical sensations elicit.
We can sense things that are hidden from conventional awareness as we bring our awareness inside the body. This helps us focus on our thoughts and eventually let go of all the emotions that are piled up in us.