There are four basic emotions: joy, sadness, fear, and anger. Emotions are energy in motion: a physical experience that lasts around 90 seconds. If you allow yourself to fully feel and recognize it, it will ‘come and go.’ Emotions communicate how you feel and what is alive for you. If you don’t allow yourself to experience them and instead suppress them, they will be stored in your body. This can result in either staying stuck in a loop of that emotion or having occasional intense outbursts. How to navigate them?
ANGER
The function of anger is to protect your boundaries. Getting angry is healthy. It serves to protect you or something vulnerable and usually occurs when one of your boundaries is crossed. When anger is not allowed to be expressed, it becomes ineffective. It can then turn into rage or (self-)destructive behaviour and eventually become stored in the body. Getting to know your own boundaries and learning how to express your anger when you feel that heated energy rising are important steps to take. Communicating it to yourself and others, shaking, moving, dancing, or screaming into a pillow to release the energy can work wonders!
FEAR
The function of fear is to move you towards safety. When you use fear effectively, it sharpens your thinking, enhances your perception, increases your sensitivity, and greatly boosts your physical abilities. If fear is not allowed to exist or is suppressed, it usually grows even stronger. Anything you exclude gains power. However, fear can sometimes be False Evidence Appearing Real. Allow yourself to observe your fear and determine whether it’s realistic and requires action, or if it’s a thought trying to convince you it’s real.
SADNESS
The function of sadness is to help process loss and signal the need for support. The purpose of sadness is to allow us, preferably with the support of others, to form such a connection with what has been lost that letting go becomes possible. Sadness wants to be felt, it needs to come out as afterwards it oftentimes brings relief. When you give space to your tears, the tears will, in turn, give you space.
JOY
The function of the emotion happiness or joy is to recharge. Joy stimulates zest for life, it makes you feel alive. By being joyful, you recharge and are better equipped to face future challenges. Joy has a significant healing power. It is a cornerstone for your health and well-being.
HOW TO NAVIGATE THE FOUR BASIC EMOTIONS?
A beautiful way to navigate through your four basic emotions is by movement. Express your emotions through movement, any kind that feels right for your body. Instead of saying “I am angry,” try rephrasing it to “I feel angry.” The less you identify with the emotion, the more fluidly it can move through you without becoming sticky. Feel your feet on the ground and notice your breath. Can you breathe a few times deep into your belly? Stay curious. Observe what’s happening and describe it to yourself: “My throat is tightening up” or “I feel a knot in my belly”
Curious how to express your emotions safely? With body and breathwork we invite all that is alive within to be expressed, felt and integrated. Feel free to have a look and contact me!