Emotions

My #1 son came home yesterday, slammed the door, then immediately assumed his little brother destroyed his Lego creations (a correct assumption!) and broke into a crazed fit of tears. (Personally, I think it was a combination of things that was building to this point, rather than just the Lego incident. Early rising (5.30am most days), it's the end of a long week of school & afternoon practices, his disappointment that their class lost in field day games (5th place out of 6 classes), and instead of kicking or hitting (as some boys do), Nathan tends to just- cry.)

I am the same way at times. My life is often like this big pressuer cooker... I fill it with one thing then another, hoping to come out with a delicious result, and then oops, I add one thing too many and the dreaded explosion occurs.

Tears. Crying is a normal emotional release. Releasing emotion (joy, anger, frustration, tears... everything in various stages) in a yoga class is completely normal. Witnessing the "ah-ha" (i.e. getting this "yoga-thing"~) moments of my students who consistently practice and are beginning to connect their mind-body-spirit and grasp the principal of awareness is beautiful. One student wrote me recently that she hoped I didn't notice her bawling in class. (She's struggling with an injury and as she wrestled with what that means, she allowed herself to cry and then she said was strangely refreshed after class.)

"Thoughts have energy; emotions have energy. They make you do and say things, and act certain ways. They make you jump up and down or lie prone in bed. They determine what you eat and who you love. The energy behind what you think and feel does not just disappear if it is held back or repressed. When you cannot, or do not express what is happening on an emotional or psychological level, that feeling becomes embodied (you take it deeper within yourself ) until it manifests through the physical body." Deb Shapiro, Your Body Speaks Your Mind

When we can become more aware of our feelings, acknowledge them without judgement, we can begin to choose. Choose to act or react. Deb uses a description of a tube of toothpaste when squeezed with the lid on... the toothpaste has to come out somewhere. If we can release the cap instead, we're better off than allowing it to manifest (or erupt) in our bodies in other ways.

Now if I could only figure out how to keep son #2 from creatively re-arranging son #1's Legos... better yet, I hope I can continue teach son #1 how to deal with those little inconveniences of life. We're both learning together.