Understanding how stress and negative emotions affect your body can lead to a healthier, more energetic you
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As a hyperactive child, Robert was constantly told to stop fidgeting. Whenever he felt the urge to move, he remembered his mother’s disapproval, clenching his fists and holding his arms rigidly at his sides.
He spent so much of his life clenching his fists and holding himself rigid that he appeared stiff and lifeless. His body restricted his energy so much that he couldn’t release it.
Many respected forms of therapy are based on the theory that your body is a map of your emotions. By noticing how your body reacts, you can alter how and when negative emotions appear in your life.
When we talk negatively about politics, the economy, or anything else that adds stress to our lives, our bodies react accordingly. The longer we hold onto these negative emotions, the harder it becomes to feel enthusiastic and respond with vibrant physical energy in other areas of our lives. We become hostages to our worries and frustrations.
 Image by Andrea Piacquadio |
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Remember being told as a kid not to make faces because it would get stuck like that? There’s more truth to that than we thought.
Have you ever watched TV or a movie and realized you’ve been frowning for a long time?
By becoming aware of the emotions and energy you project, you can start to make changes to improve your emotional state and overall well-being.
Your body is like a museum of all your past emotions.
As a baby, you were loose, vulnerable, open, relaxed, ready for action, mobile and able to reach out in all directions. Energy flowed naturally and you had a gentle rhythm that was effortless.
When something makes us feel good, we open to it inside and out. Our posture expands, our limbs separate and we smile. When we encounter unpleasant emotions, our muscles clench, we hold our breath, and our body tenses up. We arm ourselves to resist or defend against something that might not even be truly affecting us.
You’ve heard of self-fulfilling prophecies. Is it possible that you’re inviting in negativity simply because you’ve been holding that physicality in your body?
What if you decided to alter that rigidity by loosening up a bit?
As you begin to work on the parts of your body that are stuck, you’ll also find yourself releasing links to the emotions that caused you to get that way in the first place.
Sometimes, just thinking about what that would be like is enough to shift your body.
Consider how your body feels when your day is filled with opportunities. When you feel rewarded and secure in your life and business. When people and circumstances combine to bring you utter joy or playfulness.
If you can’t imagine that ever happening, here’s an exercise to start you on the path to influencing a more beneficial state of mind:
- Stand with your feet apart and your buttocks loose and unclenched.
- Feel your feet firmly planted and keep your head balanced on the top of your neck.
- Imagine you have a golden string at the top of your head that draws you upwards.
- Let your shoulders droop and your arms hang down.
- As you breathe in, feel your chest rising.
- Rock and sway from your hips.
- Lift your arms to your sides and stretch them as far as you can.
- Move your shoulders back and forth in circles, relax, and genuinely smile.
Doesn’t that feel better than complaining about all the injustice in the world?
Faith Wood is a professional speaker, author, and certified professional behaviour analyst. Before her career in speaking and writing, she served in law enforcement, which gave her a unique perspective on human behaviour and motivations. Faith is also known for her work as a novelist, with a focus on thrillers and suspense. Her background in law enforcement and understanding of human behaviour often play a significant role in her writing.
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