This month we are discussing how the state of our chakras affects our ability to have a life full of joy and internal peace. We’re looking for that sustained level of well-being that surfaces as we align our outside activities – the world of doing – with our inner world of be-ing.
Each chakra plays a vital role in this dance of joy, but our second chakra, the home of our emotions, takes center stage. When this chakra is in balance, we can express our emotions fully and completely. Even the not-so-nice feelings are allowed room to be – to move – to be expressed.
This has been especially hard for me. I was raised to be “nice”, to express only those emotions that were socially acceptable and to stuff the rest. I know now that when an emotion is not allowed to be experienced, our body stores that suppressed energy as tension. I have recurring tension in my neck, shoulders and jaw. It’s hard to feel joy and inner peace when your teeth are clenched, and your jaw is clamped shut!
I’m not about to go out and yell and scream at my neighbor – that’s not who I am. (Hmmm….jaw clamped shut –could that mean that I don’t want to verbally express anger?) But I have learned that there are other ways to release this pent up emotion. One of the best ways is to use the energy tool of Tapping.
Tapping is a simple, useful tool somewhere between hypnosis, meditation, and acupressure. First, you’ll choose an unusually deep emotion, one that’s not serving you well, such as anger, resentment or jealousy. Then, you’ll recall the story – the experience – associated with this emotion. You’ll use this story, and all the emotion attached to it, as the base for your tapping experience. You’re bringing up not-so-good feelings, but this is how you clear them from your second chakra. As you talk about your feelings and tap on the various meridian points described in the accompanying video, the energy associated with the emotion is released from the affected chakras.
The video below, from EFT Practitioner, Julie Schiffman demonstrates how to tap. This is one of my go-to tools to help release those not-so-nice emotions such as anger, pity, resentment and jealousy.
After you’ve tapped for a while and told the story of why you are angry or jealous, you may feel a shift in your body. A tension point in your shoulder or jaw might release. You’ll know then that you’ve cleared a large part of the energy associated with this pent-up emotion.
I end each tapping session by tapping in some wonderful, self-affirming statements such as, “I am whole and complete as I am”, “I express my emotions fully and completely, allowing all tension to leave my body”, or “I love myself, just the way I am.” This positive re-set allows my second chakra to come back into alignment.
Living a life of joy and inner peace is possible – you just have to want it!
Tame Your Inner Critic Find Peace & Contentment to Live Your Life on Purpose includes over 40 meditations and exercises (including an exercise or two about tapping) that help you banish the shoulds from your life. Read more here