Identifying & Releasing Stuck Emotions

Many of us struggle to feel and process the emotions that arise in our minds and bodies. We may have learned to suppress or ignore emotions, so we feel numb or disconnected. The emotions can end up getting “stuck”, which can lead to a lack of clarity or connection to our truth. In this practice, we will identify and release stuck emotions that create that sense of cloudiness or heaviness. Note: if you are dealing with trauma or PTSD, a professional may be best suited to support you.

Transcript

Settling in to your body and your breath.

Really taking a few deep breaths and fully releasing and relaxing on the exhale.

Letting your body feel heavy.

Feeling a sense of your own weight on the surface beneath you.

Sensing in to your internal experience in this moment.

The energy within the breath,

The muscles,

Your heartbeat.

As well as the energy of emotion in your body.

Getting curious about what's present right now.

As you scan through your body,

Noticing any points of tension or tightness.

Feeling in to any blocks in the energy,

Like the swirl of an eddy in the river.

Feeling in to any contraction.

And if you'd like,

You can place a hand on that place in your body.

And just let your breath and your awareness expand that place.

Feeling a sense of the essence,

The dimensions,

The qualities of that emotion.

You might be able to label it right away.

Oh,

That's shame.

That's sadness.

That's disappointment or regret.

Or perhaps you need a little more time to explore before you can label it.

For now,

Just feeling the sensations in the body,

Noting whether it's hot or cold.

Whether it feels heavy,

Constricted,

Sharp or dull.

As best as you're able to get curious without judgment.

If this emotion had a shape,

What would the shape be?

If it had a color,

What would it look like?

What texture is this emotion?

Is there a movement associated with it?

It might feel like it's contracting,

Pulling in,

Or it might feel like it's trying to escape.

Whatever you discover,

Just being with it with a gentle curiosity.

Just keeping your breath smooth and steady.

Observing with openness and gentleness.

And as you observe,

Noticing if the sensations begin to shift in any way.

The feeling might move to another place in your body,

Or the quality of the sensations might change.

Whatever's happening is just fine.

Just letting it move in whatever way it needs to,

While you are just the observer.

Thoughts or memories might come to your mind.

Let them come.

Let them arise,

Be witnessed,

And move along without grasping or resisting.

If the emotion feels like it gets stronger,

You can notice how it wants to be expressed.

It might be coming through tears,

Or perhaps there's a sound that wants to be made.

Maybe your body needs to move in a particular way,

Shaking,

Clenching,

And releasing.

Trusting your body,

Trusting that it knows what it needs to move this energy.

All the while,

You're here witnessing,

Knowing that you are not the emotion.

You are the observer of the emotion.

Continuing to breathe deeply,

Holding space,

Curiosity,

And kindness,

Allowing the energy to move through.

And if it ever becomes too much,

Knowing that you can always open your eyes,

Feel your feet on the ground,

Look around the room and remember where you are.

Emotions often take us over.

We feel like we're being swamped.

And when we're first learning to allow an emotion to move through unimpeded,

It can be helpful to feel it for a few moments and then come back to reality,

Anchoring yourself in the safety of the space that you're in.

And then as you're ready,

You can return to the practice.

Taking as long as you need with this.

And when you feel complete,

Picking a moment to acknowledge yourself,

Perhaps placing a hand on your heart,

Recognizing the courage that it takes to go into the body and find these stuck emotions,

These painful constricted places in us.

It takes bravery to look at them,

To feel them.

Give yourself that acknowledgement and trust that as you return to this practice,

You are slowly building the capacity to feel and move through emotions,

To allow them to arise and pass away so they don't get stuck in your body,

So they don't have to be suppressed,

Pushed away.

Taking one more deep breath in.

And as you're ready,

Opening your eyes and coming fully back.

So this space is chilling now.

Happy breathing

Reviews

Excellent session that was suggested to me from Insight Timer this morning. This was very useful in helping to safely identify and allow emotions. I will be returning to this practice. Thank you.

Lovely and truly helpful to tap in ✨

Thank you. That's exactly what I needed.

Thanks for creating space to observe and release stuck emotions 🙏🙏🙏
It is a beautiful, sometimes painful, process 💙💙❤️❤️

so helpful and exactly what i needed: calming guidance to really feel emotions in the body, no need to change anything. thank you 🙏 would also love a longer version, maybe 40 mins or so ✨

I love your comment how we are not the emotion but the observer.

Thank you for guiding and supporting me through finally being able to expressing emotions held back for days. I love that’s there’s no chit-chat about emotions, just instructions. Very much appreciated❤️

Perfect. Just what I needed and beautifully done. Thank you.

Very relaxing and helpful for letting emotions go
Thank you 🙏🏽

Wonderful and much needed this morning. Thank you 🤍

This was incredible. Such a simple yet incredibly effective meditation. It really helped me release and feel lighter. I will be using this daily

Beautiful and so soothing and helpful to me. Thank you, Cecily 🙏🏻💚

Thank you.

Very powerful the music added a little sadness but I will definitely be coming back. Thank you 🙏🏽

There is a quiet, gentle pace to this that is so compassionate, allowing me to feel accepted and safe to explore what's deepwr within.