Feelin' all the feelz? 5 Tips for emotional nourishment
Have you been feeling all the feelz in the past week or so?
Makes sense as today we experience a powerful full moon in the sign of Cancer! If you don't speak astrology, Cancer is a water sign (emotions), ruled by the moon (emotions), connected to... you guessed it, emotions!! (For more about this particular moon, please read Aeolian Heart's insights here - connecting astrology & Yeats, swoon!)
Are these intense emotions getting in the way of your best laid new year intentions?
Right there with ya! My life is a constant battle of being highly sensitive to everyone's feelings, while also really really really not wanting to deal with said feelings, especially my own. The constant struggle of a Sag sun/Cancer moon, amirite?! ;) However, I can only go so long before not dealing with uncomfortable emotions starts to impede the way that I want to show up in this world. Since I am not okay with that, I have found that staying on top of my emotional nourishment is a huge part of my (poor little sensitive heart's) self-care.
Five tips for emotional Nourishment
1. get into the body (and out of the mind)
While sitting meditation is an amazing self-care maintenance practice, I find that if I am spiraling into emotional crazy land what I really need is moving meditation. My personal preferences are either strong, breath-focused yoga practice or a slow, destination-free walk, but there is no right or wrong here.
The point is to move energy and allow the body to process and release stuck emotion, which is absolutely the case if we are on an endless loop of mental analysis. Don't forget that there is a difference between feeling feelings and thinking about feelings. Find your breath, move your body, enjoy the mental respite.
2. EFT.
Not an extraterrestrial! Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one of those interesting practices that seems woo-woo but was actually developed by an engineer! Fun fact. This practice involves gentle tapping on specific meridian points in the body while simultaneously acknowledging a problem and accepting yourself in spite of it. It is user friendly and powerful.
As someone who naturally suppresses or intellectualizes my emotions, I find the acknowledgement of whatever issue, discomfort, etc. combined with affirmation and somatic integration (tapping on the meridian points) is much more powerful than affirmation alone.
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3. plant power!
Plants are just as awesome at supporting our emotional bodies as they are at nourishing our physical bodies. Interact with them however you like - garden, go for a forest walk, buy a bouquet of farm-fresh flowers, eat a salad, drink some tea, etc. Personally, I have been craving rose tea in the past week or so which is a beautiful ally for self-love and magic, perfect for this particular moon.
My favorite way, however, to work with plants for emotional nourishment is through flower essences: the energetic imprint of a particular flower which is a subtle, yet powerful way to work through emotional and spiritual imbalance.
There are many resources online (here is a great one!) about which essence is helpful for which challenges, but I think a more profound way to work with flower essences is to meet in person and see which you are drawn to. Visit your local herb shop and see which flower spirits call out to you, and then find out what it is traditionally used for. More often than not, it is exactly what you need!
4. express yo self
As adults, it is easy to disconnect from our creative energy if we think we aren't "good" at creating. However if we reframe our concept of creativity, it can be hugely emotionally and spiritually nourishing.
The word create comes from the Latin creare meaning to make, to bring forth, and is related to crescere meaning to arise or to grow. As humans, we have innate creative energy connected to our biological imperative for reproduction on the physical level. However, we are more than just physical beings - and any physical needs we have also have emotional and spiritual counterparts that factor in to our overall wellbeing.
What did you like to make as a child before you had shame about being "bad" at something? Cook, journal, channel your inner emo high schooler and write bad poetry, see live music or a play, color in a coloring book, etc etc etc. Don't worry about talent, this is just for you and purely for unbridled pleasure and therapeutic effect. Go wild! Laugh at yourself. And keep the inner critic out of it.
5. health is wealth
When considering any one aspect of our wellbeing, like emotional health, we must also consider the way it represents all other aspects of our health. The synecdoche approach to wellness ;) All nerding out on theory aside, we cannot be emotionally balanced if we are not addressing physical needs as well.
When I start to feel overwhelmed by emotions, I take a quick review of the past week or so of my life: Am I hungry? Have I been eating nutritious meals at regular times? When did I last drink water? Have I been sleeping enough? Have I had time for fun and play - or too much? Have I been moving my body each day? Generally the answer to more than one of these questions is no, and I know have to prioritize my self-care and emotional needs.