All emotions are meant to flow thru the body. A Chinese proverb says that flowing water does not stagnate. And that is good advice for emotions.
In another month the spring equinox will be here on the calendar even tho we won’t see the evidence around us for a few more weeks after that. We have survived another winter season, and in our yoga class we have learned about the winter season, the water element, the organs in the body that correspond with winter – kidneys and bladder.
The kidneys purify the blood, balance the ph, and balance the mineral levels in the body – particular sodium. Kidneys keep the body in a very narrow range of homeostasis – balance.
This urinary system has a relationship to the emotions. Just look at how many metaphors and literal emotional expression include the water element:
drowning in sorrow,
flood of emotion,
dripping with envy,
melt my heart,
cold shoulder,
roiling anger,
stormy mood,
Crying itself happens when we feel lonely, grief-stricken, frustrated or shocked, but also when feeling great relief, or sudden great joy. Nature, empathy, beauty, music, laughter can also bring on tears and some people laugh so hard their eyes and bladder leak.
All emotions are meant to flow thru the body. A Chinese proverb says that flowing water does not stagnate. And that is good advice for emotions.
When we are unable to release an emotion, for whatever reason, like if we continually retell the traumatic story so the emotions stagnate, or if we greedily grasp an emotion trying to keep a hold of the body sensation, we slow that process of purifying and balancing the emotional body. This stagnation can have an effect on the urinary system, and likewise, a disease process or trauma to kidneys can have an effect on the ability to feel emotionally balanced.
Fortunately the body helps us stay in balance. Crying, shaking, sighing, exhaustion that leads to sleep, are all ways the body expresses and releases emotions. Allow and surrender to these. Releasing emotions out thru the body is an absolute must. Ruminating or talking is not enough. So anything physical like dancing, swimming, walking, hiking, biking, yoga, or your favorite sport is a path to emotional balance.
The picture for this post was taken by Leslie in a parking lot where the snow had melted into a big puddle. The sky was brilliant blue that day and no wind.
