Learn How to Unpack Your Emotional Suitcase
LISTEN TO EP 12: ITUNES | SPOTIFY
What’s up, loves! I know we all love some good self-care, but it’s time to introduce unpacking our emotions into the mix of yoga and retreats. I believe it’s all about approaching your present experience with what mindfulness expert Dr. Daniel Siegel has coined as COAL. The acronym COAL describes the qualities of a mindful person. The C is for curiosity. The O is for openness. The A is for acceptance. The L is for love. Let’s talk about them.
Curiosity
I can remember being a kid in the back seat of my dad's car while he and his friend were in the front seat doing what I believed to be drugs.
I remember feeling anxious, but not entirely clear on why I felt that way.
This was the first time I remember experiencing being aware and curious about my feelings.
Openness
The curiosity can feel overwhelming and lead to suppressing our feelings. But if you do that, they’ll just get stuck inside you and that toxicity will negatively impact your life.
Be open to the fact that the curiosity will not give you answers. Feelings aren’t that simple.
Acceptance
Accepting my feelings can be a heavy assignment because I have to have the discernment to tell whether this is about me or about you.
I share a story involving my mother and grandmother that was a major exercise in acceptance for me. It’s also when I learned I am an empath. (Learn more about what that means on episode 2.)
Love
How do you love when it is inconvenient to do so? Are you loving this person beyond the circumstances?
Practicing this kind of love means that I don’t have to ignore my emotions and my feelings, but I also don’t have to react to them. I can remain present with them even when they are unpleasant or painful because I amloving beyond the circumstances.
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