KayaYogini

I’ve been doing emotional healing for eight years and it has been incredibly transformational. Working with my emotions has helped me to get a better relationship with myself and to feel better no matter what happens in my life. I’ve found that feeling better within, solves a lot. It has been more effective for me than positive thinking (which is not always beneficial), as it created a real improvement. We often look for resolution outside of ourselves, but often it is the issue inside that creates the sense that something needs to be resolved. I think many people know they need to look inside, but they don’t know how to do it. What is your case? Looking within is not synonymous with meditation or stillness. The clue is found in our emotions. There are a lot of ways to transform our emotions, but I will present a process that I think is easy for everyone to do, that doesn’t require a lot of skill or knowledge (Please read disclaimer at the end of the blog). The idea is not to get rid of the painful emotion, but to show compassion and understanding and pull it closer to you , instead of pushing it away or trying to escape it. Integration is what creates healing.  

1. Find a comfortable and relaxed seat. Make sure that you can be undisturbed for some time. How much time it requires will differ everytime you practice this process, but to begin with, set aside at least 30 minutes. Close your eyes to begin. 
2. Identify a painful emotion. It can be connected to a memory or a trigger or just something you feel within you. It can be best to start with a slightly painful emotion like irritation or pessimism. Anger and sadness are a bit more challenging to be present with. Shame, guilt, powerlessness, hopelessness, doom, hate and fear are more difficult and I recommend not starting with these. 
3. Sense the emotion within your body. Where do you sense it? How does it feel? Take your time to get to know it. Be present with it, accept it and don’t push it away or try to change it. 
4. Think of something that you are grateful for or something that triggers any positive emotion. It can be something that makes you feel safe, happy, comforted, seen, heard, understood, important, valued, peaceful etc. 
5. Sense the emotion you chose within your body. Take your time to get to know this emotion. It might blend in with the painful emotion from before, leading up to the next step:
6. Feel both emotions at the same time. Hold space for them both like you are hugging two children at the same time. You can imagine that you are holding both the emotions with your arms if you need to. Keep them close. Spend the time you need here, this is where the transformation happens. The emotions will start to blend together and transform into a more neutral state. Sadness might transform into anger and vice versa (before it heals all the way). Anger is often a step in the right direction if you feel other even heavier emotions like sadness or powerlessness. It can also be an emotion that serves as a lid over heavier emotions. Don’t judge your anger, or any other emotion that you feel. Allow the transformation to happen.
7. When you feel like something has shifted or a natural ending has taken place, open your eyes and reorient and notice where you are. Become present in the here and now. Sometimes when we work on our emotions, our perspective on the situation changes. Before you finish, take inventory and notice what has changed within you.

One reason why I like this process in particular, is because it has a balancing effect. It works with both the painful and the pleasurable and because of that, It is less overwhelming than other modalities. It does not focus too intensely on the painful emotions, but neither does it neglect them (which positive thinking tends to do). Focusing on the positive increases capacity within and helps to become stronger to deal with the pain inside. I find this process easy and transformational. 

Disclaimer: I am not a therapist, this process is made out of my own experience with working with my emotions and what I find easy and valuable. You have to take responsibility for what happens within you, if something heavier than you can deal with comes up, stop the process and go to point 6, reorient yourself to the here and now.  Seek professional help if that is needed.