Free Yourself of Blocked Emotions

If all of your subconscious thoughts that play out in your mind were recorded for an entire day and then played back to you, I wonder how many of those thoughts would be negative, judgmental, opinionated? Research tells us that 95% of our thoughts are repetitive and non-productive, which of course is going to impact the way you feel, how you behave, the choices you make, the experiences you have and of course, all of this information feeds back to the brain that will keep going in a subconscious repetitive loop.

So, if the thoughts you’re having on a regular basis are of regret, guilt, frustration, blame, worry, anger, self-loathing, they will directly affect every part of your day, every aspect of your life. Thoughts like these, all create chemicals in the body and the energy created by such negativity is dense, heavy and stored in the gut, the lower belly and in the pelvic area. If you think about it, you already know this. When you feel fear, where in your body do you feel it? When you’re worried or anxious, do you experience nausea, indigestion, butterflies in your stomach? When your relationship is not going well or your job, your finances are under threat, where in your body do you experience this?

When so much negative energy is stored in the lower body it effects our health, how we feel, our behaviour, our actions and as a result our experiences with everyone around us. This is a really tough place to exist in. I’ve certainly been there many times over and trying to make positive changes without the right tools and techniques feels like I’m flat out on a treadmill getting absolutely nowhere.

So how do we shift this energy, liberate it from the body? In many people this dense energy in the lower body has become part of their identity. They wake up with anxiety, they go about their day feeling a little nauseas and everything they eat ends up giving them indigestion, discomfort in the stomach or acid reflux. These are all signs of blocked negative energy caused by subconscious repetitive negative thinking.

To change this state of being without external sources, we can use the power of gratitude, we can chose to be aware of our non-productive thoughts and stop them in their tracks, we can set intentions or choose to be of service to others to really feel grounded and connect with our highest self. However, in this article I’d like to explain something I learnt which moves blocked energy in the body using meditation and a powerful breathing technique that is practiced in Kundalini Yoga.

There are 7 main energy centres ‘Chakras’ that run through the body from the base of the spine to the top of the head. They are not only part of the ancient wisdom from India but have also been documented in science as being areas of the body with high densities of nerve activity.

The energy field right at the base of your spine contains your survival instincts, your sense of grounding and safety. If you spend a lot of your time worrying about your own safety, security, your finances, your home, if you feel continuously ‘in lack’ of money, you worry about being fired or being made redundant, then you have a lot of heavy energy blocked in this first energy centre at the base of your spine.

If you’re continuously living with guilt, resentment, blame, regret, or perhaps you are constantly feeling joyless, numb, or have issues with your sexuality, the energy from these thoughts and feelings are stored in the second energy centre, the solar plexus in the lower belly, the seat of your gut.

When you’re anxious, fearful, feeling powerless, continuously tired, worried on a regular basis about the same issues in your life, maybe your identity, your ego is under threat, all of this energy is stored in the third centre in the area of the adrenal glands, the sight of adrenaline release which prepares the entire body for fight or flight.

When these three centres are blocked due to how you are perceiving life, due to buried emotions, negative habitual patterns that are playing out subconsciously, there is a huge amount of energy that needs to be liberated. The way in which we move this energy is through specific breathing techniques that are incorporated into a daily meditation practice. The intention of this practice is to pull the energy from the base of the spine, up through the lower chakras all the way to the heart chakra (the most electrical centre of the entire body), through the throat chakra, behind the eyes and out the top of the head.

The spinal cord running through your back bone is directly in line with the 7 chakras. Through the centre of the spinal cord is a charged liquid called the ‘cerebral spinal fluid.’ Amongst other things it contains charged particles. Twice a day each molecule of fluid makes a full circuit from the ventricles in the brain and back through the base of the spine. However, when this fluid is forced to move a little faster, the charged particles travelling within the fluid create an ‘inductance field’ which effects the electromagnetic field that exists around your body.

The Electromagnetic Field around the Human Body

This field has been observed and directly compared to the electromagnetic field that exists around the earth. They have the same structured pattern. And according to the level of energy flowing through our body, the electromagnetic field is directly proportional.

Now, coming back to our energy centres and blocked energy that needs liberating. Many ancient cultures have known for centuries that our thoughts, feelings and behaviour directly affect the field around the body. If we’re high on life the field expands. When we’re fearful, angry, the field around our body shrinks becoming dense and heavy. Comparable to the practice of Kundalini Yoga, we can move this energy up through the spine using the muscles of the torso and the power of the breath.

The Electromagnetic Field around Earth

Let’s practice before we incorporate this technique into a meditation.

If you squeeze the muscle at the base of your pelvis, the perineum you’ll be applying pressure up against the spinal column. Then if you contract and draw in the muscles of the lower belly, the pressure against the spinal column will be increased. And by contracting the muscles of the upper abdominals, it’ll be rather like squeezing a tube of toothpaste from the bottom of the tube. With the lower torso contracted, the inbreath can be thought of as breathing in from the base of the spine, up through the lower and upper abdominals and into the heart area. From here the breath can continue to move up through the throat, behind the eyes, all the way to the top of the head. This is traditionally the flow of energy, the flow of prana, the ‘Kundalini Shakti’ that liberates blocked energy stored in the lower body.

As we all know, where we place our attention, our energy flows. So, as we practice this breath it’s important to place your focus on the energy as you move it through the body with the target set on the top of your head at the crown chakra.

Time to practice.

Sitting up in a chair without a backrest or cross legged on the floor if you’re comfortable to do so. Sit up tall and place your hands down on your thighs. With your eyes closed start to take your focus inwards scanning your body slowly, observing, noticing, being present. Take long, slow deep breaths feeling the air coming into the body, remaining aware as you exhale. In your mind’s eye place your focus in the lower pelvis and squeezing the perineum muscle, feel the energy of this root chakra. Relax and then contract the lower abdominals and as you breath, notice the sensations in your lower belly, simply feel, no judgments, no opinions just be the observer. And then taking your focus up to the area of the diaphragm, contract the upper abdominals focusing, noticing, feeling, observing any thought, any sensation that comes up. Moving up the heart, hold your attention at this centre of electromagnetic activity. Simply observe. Take several long slow deep breaths. You may want to place the palms of your hands over the area of your heart to increase your focus at this powerful centre. When you’re ready, move your awareness up to the throat chakra and notice any tension. Continue to breath long slow deep breaths and feel the air as it travels through this open channel. Moving up to the area above the roof of your mouth and between your eyes, focus on this space, this infinity of space behind your eyes. Rather like watching a large blank movie screen, notice any thoughts that wander in demanding your attention and as the observer, send them on their way like clouds in the sky moving overhead.

Placing your attention at the top of the head, imagine energy coming out the top of your head like a fountain. And as the energy releases at the top of the head, just like a magnetic field, see that energy field open and surround your body 360 degrees.

And as you come back to the base of your spine, the root chakra, adjust your seat, maintain focus on the inner body and prepare to pull the energy through the body using the breath and the muscles throughout the torso.

Now, we’re going to coordinate the breath with the in sequence muscular contractions of the body.

Place your focus at the base of the spine and squeeze the pelvic floor muscle. Holding it, focus on and contract the muscles of the lower abdominals and then as you start to inhale take that pressure up to the upper abdominal, squeeze and contract. Just like squeezing a tube of toothpaste you’re putting pressure on the lower body and moving the energy upwards. The breath pulls inwards and up the body and reaches the heart where it expands and lifts the chest cavity. The breath travels up through the throat chakra into the head. The pressure builds up behind the eyes at the third eye chakra and is then liberated at the top of the head where you hold the breath for a few seconds and release it out, relax the muscles and get ready for the next breath.

When you first try this, it can seem very unnatural and if done with conviction and clear intentions, it can be quite energetic. In the beginning I would suggest doing six of these breaths and then slowly build and lengthen each one as you become stronger and more practiced.

You can end your practice with long slow deep breaths simply observing your inner body. To eliminate the mind chatter you could repeat in your mind the mantra ‘Sat Nam’ which translates to the ‘expression of your true identity.’ If you want to have meditation music on in the background, why not? There are no set rules to where, when, with or without music, sat on the floor, the couch. Meditation is personal and should be practiced without any additional discomfort. So, find your own space, time, sitting position and perhaps a tune in the background.

As a final note, your busy mind, all that subconscious programming we have running in every waking moment, will fight you every step of the way. Make the decision to be the master of your own mind. Dedicate time out for this practice and join so many others whose lives have been changed by daily meditation and simple breathing techniques.

Namaste

Marie