Emotion = Energy-in-motion.
The vast majority of human physiological communication is emotional (vs intellectual, verbal, or physical). I’m defining the word “emotion” here as ” the instinctual, physiological reactions of the human body to sensory data. “ One of the many benefits from practices like yoga, breathwork, meditation, and other forms of intentional and disciplined energy work is to be able to bring Authentic Vitality to one’s instinctual responses.

Culturally, I often hear emotions dismissed as “feelings” that are untrustworthy, or even irrelevant, when in fact, our emotions are consistently offering biofeedback, continually providing key sensory information. “The senses bring in raw information, ” explains author and therapist Anodea Judith, “and ‘feelings’ are the unconscious reaction to this information, and emotions are the way we organize our feelings. She also notes that without consciousness, these instinctual emotions can govern our reactions, with the feelings seeming to take on “a life of their own.”

Emotions may have their root in the organic body, but they do not always stay there. BKS Iyengar says “they invade and occupy memory, ” explaining it this way: “A dog can feel angry, but only we humans can say, ‘I am so angry with my boss,’ and record it in memory…so when our boss is on holiday, we carry on hating him. This does not harm him, but it certainly pollutes and poisons us. It is both a blockage and a dissipation of our vital energies. Who is rich enough to afford such waste? Who is pure enough to endure such systemic toxin?” 

We’ve all found ourself in this place where we pull out a memory from the past and rework the conversation in our own mind, maybe with a targeted “gotcha” where we “prove our point” and force the other person to see it our way. Iyengar mentions anger in the above quote, and anger is not negative. Anger is a useful emotion in a mammalian body! It lets us know our boundaries need attention, now! Anger is very hot and fiery; it’s an alert system. Ideally, anger is noticed, processed, and released quickly to allow the body to return to homeostasis/equilibrium. Anger becomes a problem when we hold onto it.

If we’ve been unable to express our anger in the past, or taught as a young child that anger is inappropriate, we often choose to get along in “polite society” by suppressing our anger. But suppression is not release, and the body is always trying to maintain homeostasis, so the emotion is stored in the tissues and organs of the body, which can cause all types of dis-ease. Working with the body through yoga asana/movement, breath, massage, etc., is one way to release any stored emotions…because as these build up they create a type of toxin in the system just as potent as any heavy metal.

Alternatively, if we ever find ourself reacting with anger in a measure that is out of proportion to the situation, that is a sure sign that we are not in Present Time, but are instead accessing one/many of these suppressed anger moments (or other “uncomfortable” emotions that we suppress vs. express/feel). Essentially, we are unconsciously acting as though we are in a past situation. Anger or irritation in a present moment has “triggered” our amygdala to activate a similar frequency stored in the tissues so that we can release it, and we are unskillfully attempting to release it by “throwing” it at others.

In both cases, we are re-acting, vs. choosing how we act. When we suppress, we usually have a set menu of “polite” responses that we play back (“fine, thank you. and you?”) rather than expressing our authentic emotions. In both cases, our prefrontal cortex is not in control; we are not exercising our sovereign will.

It is part of our birthright, as sovereign human BEings, to develop our ability and capacity to direct, shape, and give meaning to the expression of these vital biological instincts. These mammalian, biological emotions are beautiful, raw, vital sensory information. Emotions can include body sensations of all variety: hot, cold, stretched, solidity, nausea, pain, rhythm, sound, vibration, tingles, stiffness, fluidity, etc., as well as more subtle energy sensations like joy, sadness, love, amusement, curiosity, resistance, etc.

Water is the element of emotions — like the waterfall at the top of this post, emotions are in motion. Emotions f l o w. To work with emotions to learn how to encourage their flow, to release “trapped” emotions from our body tissues, and to reprogram how the mind processes emotions, we can work with svadhisthana, the second chakra, which physically includes the area of our sexual/reproductive organs, kidneys, and urinary bladder. The energies of this center are sensuality, creativity, flow, harmony, pleasure, fun/play. When we are balanced here, we are able to nurture and nourish ourselves and our physical body.

Whenever we focus on one chakra, we are automatically closely working with each of the bookend chakras, so when we focus on svadhistana, we also work closely with our root and our solar plexus chakras, our energies of safety, groundedness, boundaries, and our will.

The Kriya for the Instinctual Self is a beautiful set to work with the entire lower triangle. This kriya is designed to stimulate the nervous and glandular systems in order to alter the instinctual and learned patterns in the lower chakras. When practicing, we harness our breath to direct the flow of energy (prana). Pay special attention to the direction in the instructions: “to use [this biological technology] correctly, remember to focus the mind on the what you are doing and experiencing during the kriya.”

Affirmations for working with and balancing the second chakra, honoring this part of our body as a nurturing home to our creative energies and a safe space for how we consciously create in the world: 

• I absorb information from my feelings.
• I see myself in joy.
• Emotions are the language of my soul.
• I surrender and allow what I seek to find me
• I have healthy boundaries.
• I trust my ease.
• I am open to experiencing the present moment through my senses.
• I trust my ability to live in peace, joy, and love
• Things have a way of working out for me.