🔼: [[⭐️ Emotions]] # Emotional Asanas[^1] Emotional Asanas (a Sanskrit word meaning ‘posture’ widely used in yoga) can deepen our contact with emotions and help to relax [[🛡️ Emotional Armoring]] . There is an asana for each of the basic emotions. As you begin to feel the emotion they evoke, allow it to reshape and express itself your body, breath, and gaze in whatever way feels natural. The asana starts as something deliberate and turns into authentic expression, typically absent of story. Take note of which emotions seem familiar and easily to access, feel, and express and which are difficult or even impossible. > [!info]- When and How to Use Emotional Asanas > - Get somewhere you feel safe, like a [[🛠 Sacred Space]]. > - Establish a [[🕯️ Resourcing|🕯️ Resource]] > - [[🛠 Palpating]], [[💡 Trailheads]], [[🛠 Mirror Gazing]] > > There are two common scenarios for using the emotional asanas which shift the focus of the conversation between the central pillar of [[The Nine Integrating Focuses]]. > > 1. When struggling to access, feel, and express certain [[⭐️ Emotions]]. Practice the related asana and watch for Parts that won’t allow you to access and feel that emotion and spend time with them. Watch for [[🛡️ Emotional Armoring]] . Use [[💨 Connected Breathing]] and [[🛠 Self-Massage]] to help melt this armoring. > > > [!example] > > A client comes who is struggling to set boundaries. She often feels pushed around by others. When asked, “How do you feel when others push you around?” she answers, “I don’t like it.” Her coach asks, “Do you ever feel angry about it?” She responds, “Oh, no. I never get angry.” The coach notices that the client seems to run very little energetic charge in her body. The conditioning in her body won’t allow her to build charge, get angry, and set boundaries with emotional force. Practicing the Anger Asana (Embodying), she starts to build energy, then she says, “I am angry” (Taking a Stand). Then a Part gets triggered that is afraid of anger. Working with this Part (Unfolding), she learns that the Part is afraid that her anger will provoke other people to get angry at her. By working with this Part and the Anger Asana, she can more readily access, feel, and express angry from Presence. She is also more able to be with other people’s anger from Presence. She can now embody healthy aggression when needed. > > 2. When we lightly feel an emotion but it doesn’t deepen and can't fully embody. Practice the asana to support deeper embodiment. > > > [!example] > > The client is practicing unfolding and begins to touch into some sadness. The sadness is very light and seemingly disproportionate to the loss that he is exploring, the loss of a friendship that he valued. The coach invites him to practice the Sadness-Crying Asana (Embodying). As he starts to do so, another Part is triggered. It is his Inner Critic that says, “You’re a weakling.” The coach notices him swallow the sadness that was starting to emerge. They shift into Parts Work and ask the Inner Critic for some space which it grants after it has been acknowledged (Unfolding). The client then invites the client to reconnect with the sadness by saying, “I am sad about losing this friendship” (Taking a Stand). The sadness re-emerges and the client deepens into the Sadness-Crying Asana. The feeling deepens as he embodies it more fully and he realizes the depth of the loss and finds the motivation to face a difficult conversation with his friend. > ###### Emotionally Balanced Asana The first to learn is a centered and balanced emotional state. In this asana, we use a [[💡 Parasympathetic Nervous System|parasympathetic]] style of breathing coupled with a centered body shape. > [!tip] Always re-center in this emotionally balanced state before trying another asana. As you practice this asana, feel the support of the ground more deeply with each exhale. The deeper you feel supported and grounded, the deeper you can relax. As you relax it is easier to inhale and feel energized and vitalized. This cultivates a state that is emotionally balanced – simultaneously energized and relaxed. - Inhale in through the nose, lengthening the body into a fully upright posture - Exhale out through the mouth, relaxing and allowing tension to release through the body - Continue breathing quietly, in the nose and out the mouth, in a balanced way with equal duration on the inhale and exhale - Gaze at the horizon - You can also wipe your face with your hands and/or shake your hands and feet out ###### Joy-Laughter Asana - Head loosely hangs backwards - Inhale sharply through the nose and exhale through the mouth - Lips are stretched with corners turned up in a smile - Eyes are semi-closed and unfocused - Body is relaxed ###### Tender Love Asana - Slightly tilt your head sideways - Breathe very evenly through the nose - Smiling slightly - Eyes are open and eyelids are relaxed - Body is very relaxed ###### [[💡 Anger]] Asana - Breathe sharply in and out through the nose - Lips are tightly closed, and lower jaw is contracted - Eyes are focused and brow is furrowed - Body tense and slightly forward ###### Fear Asana - Inhaling sharply in and out through the mouth, holding your breath slightly; breathing shallowly and irregularly - Eyes are opened wide (as if you’ve just seen a ghost) - Body is tensed and slightly backward, as if withdrawing from something ###### Sadness-Crying Asana - Head is dropped forward slightly - Inhale in short jerky movements through the nose and then exhale all the breath in one expiratory movement through the open mouth, as in a sigh - Gaze is slightly downward - Body is relaxed with arms hanging ###### Erotic Love Asana - Head is tilted backward and to the side exposing the neck - Breathe in and out through an open and relaxed mouth in a rather shallow and fast rhythm - Eyes are semi-closed and unfocused - Body is very relaxed - Hips move backward slightly with each inhale and forward slightly with each exhale ##### The Release of Crying and Laughing When we uncover deep emotional truths, we often cry or laugh or both. Many of us have [[💡 Protector Parts|Protectors]] who don’t want us to cry – we may have been told by the adults in our childhood that we shouldn’t because they had [[💡 Protector Parts|Protectors]] who didn't want *them* to cry. But crying is incredibly important. It opens us, softens us, and helps us realize important emotional truths. Crying helps us feel our [[☀️ Vulnerability]], which is an incredibly powerful force of [[☀️ Connection]]. Vulnerability is both an existential emotion, a feeling which is often defended against, and a [[💡 Presence#Qualities of Presence|Quality of Presence]]. When we cry, we often close our eyes, clench our jaw and the other muscles through the body to stop the emotional flow. I gently encourage clients to soften and cry with their eyes open so that the [[💡 Ocular Segment|Ocular Segment]] is not [[🛡️ Emotional Armoring|🛡️ re-armored]] and the [[⭐️ Emotions]] arising can be fully embodied and felt and expressed through the face. ##### See Also - [[🕯️ Simple Morning Practice]] - [[⭐️ Body]] - [[⭐️ Emotions]] - [[🕯️ Embodiment]] [^1]: [[🧑🏼‍🤝‍🧑🏾 Aletheia]] Level 2