True feelings can be messy, inconvenient, even addictive. They leave us vulnerable, exposed, naked to the world. But we mustn’t deny or hide them.
Managing our feelings and moods is key for everyday contentment as the world becomes louder, faster, more unpredictable and increasingly polarised.
If emotions are a big part of what makes us human, then it follows that “self-awareness is a human right,” says Mark Brackett, a professor and psychologist.
“True feelings can be messy, inconvenient, even addictive. They leave us vulnerable, exposed, naked to the world...Too often we do our best to deny them hide or hide them, even from ourselves,” he notes in his book Permission to Feel.
Ever ignored a feeling, pushed it down, even? I’ll bet it came back, stronger.
Feelings need to be felt, heard, held, acknowledged and loved.
Through noticing our feelings we can sense how they are always shifting. When we hold on to them and lock in this is when they can turn into a mood.
Oh no! Ever felt like a black cloud is hovering over you, following you to work and back?
Feelings can be regulated and thus help us better operate in our fast-changing and complex environment.
Globalisation, social media, rapid change, information overload, uncertainty (political, climate, economic) all mean we are exposed to more stimuli, more stressors, more conflicting demands. Managing emotions helps avoid burnout, anxiety, impulsivity.
Anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation disorders are rising. Emotional regulation is a protective factor. Being able to manage feelings can help maintain wellness, resilience.
In workplaces, families, communities, emotionally intelligent behaviour (empathy, self-awareness, managing one’s reactions) tend to support better relationships and cooperation.
Emotions influence decisions (positively and negatively). Poor regulation can lead to impulsive choices; good regulation can help more rational, considered responses.
As life presents setbacks (loss, failure, change), managing feelings supports resilience—being able to adapt, cope, and grow rather than crumble.
So, in many senses, mastering emotional regulation is foundational: it underpins mental health, relationships, performance, adaptability.
Managing feelings
Yoga has been crucial to help manage my feelings. My yoga practice has anchored me through divorce and loss, menopause and beyond. Empty nesting, moving home, moving county, and country and much more.
Feelings were not discussed or acknowledged when I was growing up, so I was left alone to battle my many demons – and battle them I did through many destructive choices, which continued into adulthood.
Yoga has helped me feel, regulate and work my way through so many crisies.
Yoga is so much more than physical exercise; it has components (asanas/poses, breath-work, meditation, mindfulness) that interface deeply with both body and mind.
Photo by Dekler Ph on Unsplash
How does yoga help?
Mind-body awareness Yoga encourages paying attention to bodily sensations—breathing, tension, posture. This enhances interoceptive awareness, which helps people notice early emotional arousal and thus regulate earlier.
Breath regulation / pranayama: Breath practices can directly influence the autonomic nervous system (ANS), promoting parasympathetic activity (“rest and digest”) over sympathetic arousal (“fight or flight”). This modulates physiological arousal, reducing anxiety, stress.
Mindfulness / meditation: Non-judgmental awareness, acceptance of current state of mind without over-identification with thoughts/feelings. These skills help reduce rumination, reduce emotional reactivity, allow more flexible choice in response. Yoga often includes meditative components.
Cognitive reappraisal & positive affect: Some yoga/meditation or mindfulness-based interventions explicitly train cognitive reappraisal. Plus the positive emotional states that yoga practice often brings (calm, pleasure, relaxation) help shift mood.
Stress hormone / physiological changes: Yoga is associated with lower cortisol (in some studies), decreased physiological markers of stress, improved vagal tone, etc. Also, the musculoskeletal component matters: relaxation of body, posture, reduction of muscular tension can feed back into emotional states
How would your life change if you could take some time out to tune in, and feel your emotions?
Maybe you want to join me for a delicious online Calm Yoga practice where we do just this, feel and tune in so you can begin to understand what is arising and what needs to be managed.
And as my teacher says: only practice yoga when you want to feel better!
Have a great week and see you on the mat friends!
And if you have read this far - and have EVER taken my class and enjoyed it, could you please give me a quick google review. It helps people like you find my website and benefit from yoga too. Google review 🙏
With love
x
Jules
If you want to check my yoga classes - click below!
