Anger Is a Signal: Somatic Healing and the Core Self
One Conscious Breath: Issue 24
The gift of anger ~ when harnessed and rooted in love ~ becomes the energizing force to transform us and the world.
If we are not acknowledging and harnessing the core emotion of anger, we may not have the energy to advocate for ourselves, others and the world.
“When we’re connected to our core selves, we have more capacity to be with our core emotions. In this case, anger. Feeling it when it arises allows us to harness the intensity of its energy. The energy of anger, rooted in love, instead of being swept away in fear, offers us the ability to advocate for ourselves and others. It’s a change of perspective, and a flip of the paradigm ~ and it’s needed now more than ever.”
I wasn't even going to offer a breath section this week because my body is in a state of high activation. And I realize this is the teaching, this is the work. This is what every client comes to me to learn. The goal is not to never get activated, it's how do we continue to take care of ourselves and resource ourselves when we are. So we can continue to show up for ourselves, others and the world from a place of presence as much as possible.
And so, once again, I take my own advice and return to my breath. Return to my steadiness within, my rock solid core self. This is what I have control over in this moment in time. And when I return to my core self, especially when I feel angry, I'm better able to access the energy needed to advocate. Not only for myself, but for others and the world.
Before we begin, I invite you to take one conscious breath.
Feel the cool air as it enters your nostrils. Follow it as deeply as it goes into your body.
And then exhale. Out of your mouth. Slowly. Elongate the release as much as you can.
And as you exhale, feel your shoulders drop. Feel your jaw soften. Feel your feet firmly on the floor.
Now pause.
Give yourself permission to simply be. In this silence. For just one conscious breath.
And then gently meet whatever arises ~ whatever has been waiting underneath all the inner and outer noise ~ for a moment of stillness like this one.
And when you're ready ~ let's begin.
I'm revisiting the core emotion of anger this week. Not because it was a popular post. It wasn't. But because I don't think we are connected enough to the core emotion of anger.
Anger is a very energizing emotion. And it takes a lot of our life force energy to hold back, to not express.
The intensity of it can be scary.
Anger, like all emotion, lives on a continuum ~ and it ebbs and flows. It's not meant to be bypassed ~ pretending we don't feel it at all. Nor are we supposed to be stuck in it ~ suppressing it to the point of depression, anxiety or worse. Or expressing it outwardly to hurt and harm others. We are meant to know what it feels like in our body so we can acknowledge what it is signaling to us and then release it adaptively. And if you're not feeling angry, you're not paying enough attention. The emotion of anger tells us something unjust is happening. And if you don't think something unjust is occurring right now, whether it's within you or around you, then this post isn't for you.
I'll ask again ~ what is your relationship with the core emotion of anger? Do you think there are positive emotions and negative ones? And that we should only feel positive ones? Emotions are emotions. We can label them all we want, but it doesn't make it true. They are physiological signs telling us something that is happening within us or around us. Are you afraid of anger? Do you think you don't feel it? Perhaps you've transcended duality enough to not experience anger. But I'm here to remind you it's universal. And I don't think we allow ourselves to really feel angry enough. We can't. Or else, our lives and our world would look differently. More just, more equal. More peaceful. Not in a bypass kind of way. But in a standing up to the inequality all around us way.
And I realize anger can also be a secondary emotion, covering up sadness or grief or fear. But anger has the energy that moves us. It can be energizing and fierce. We need it to reconnect to our core selves. This simple reconnection is what allows us to feel safe with others, to build community and to advocate collectively. We need it to fuel our voices. And we need it to act.
We cannot heal what we cannot feel. Healing starts with returning to feeling safe within our bodies. Feeling safe to feel. Everything. Ecstasy, joy, sadness, and anger. All of it.
If we are not acknowledging and harnessing the core emotion of anger, we may not have the energy to advocate for ourselves, others and the world. If anger is stuck, buried in our bodies, not adaptively released, it will be robbing us of our life force. Robbing us of the very energy that is needed to connect. And the extreme of this disconnection is shutting down, numbing out. Becoming complacent at best. Or cynical at worst. It's disempowering.
And you know what, our disempowerment is exactly what people in power want. They prefer us burned out and cynical, shut down and too afraid to speak out or build community. It benefits them. They can continue to consolidate power and resources while the rest of us remain feeling powerless. They want us to believe that there is nothing we can do. Just give up and be grateful for whatever we are receiving. Instead of knowing we deserve more. And having the energy to advocate for it.
I'm pissed. I feel it in my chest. In my heart. I vacillate between feeling anger and sadness. But you know what, I don't feel powerless. I think that's because simply being able to access what anger and sadness feels like allows me to not totally collapse into hopelessness or cynicism.
I don't have all the answers. And I'm not pretending to. All I am doing is inviting you to learn how to feel your emotions. Whatever they are. Because they are signals. All of them. And they are ephemeral.
I promise you, what your nervous system protected you from feeling when you were little, needs updating to your present day capacity. What once seemed or felt unbearable to feel may be robbing you, in present time, from the very life force you deserve to feel. The life force that gives you the energy needed to feel alive. You deserve that. We all do.
We're stronger together and your presence is needed now more than ever.
With love and One Conscious Breath,
Jody
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