Emotional intelligence
“I feel constantly anxious and overwhelmed”
“I don’t have enough self confidence to stand up for myself “
“I just feel blocked, numb. I don’t feel anything. I don’t have any sense of direction.”
“I don’t wan’t to use alcohol to hide my social anxiety any more”
“I panic every time I go up on stage!”
“My anger is getting out of control…”
What do all of these seemingly different problems have in common?
…Their roots are all in the emotions.
Emotions.
They show up in our body, through that lump in our throat, or those butterflies in our stomach. They spill out in messy explosions or they stagnate inside. They can be painfully strong or they can creep up on us silently. We try to numb them with addictions or run away from them with distractions. Integrated in our mind, body and behaviour, they are a very present and undeniable part of who we are.
At their best, emotions give meaning to our life, passion to our projects, and colours and flavours to our relationships. This is our internal guidance system, designed to protect us from danger and to navigate us towards survival and safety.
At their worst, when we don’t recognise, acknowledge or understand them, they can be destructive; creating irrational (but nevertheless real) fears, phobias, beliefs and behaviours that stop us from moving forward and can even harm ourselves and others.
A work of millions of years of evolution, emotions have their own logic, which perhaps hasn’t had time to evolve and adapt to the lifestyle of today.
So… How do you work with a system that can seem as mysterious, as powerful and as unpredictable as a storm on a summer’s day?
This is called emotional intelligence, or emotional literacy.
It involves using your logical brain, your conscious awareness, to learn the language of your emotional brain, so that this part of you can be more effectively integrated into your life.
What might that look like?
- Being able to face your fears more effectively
- Feeling more confidant to make difficult changes in your life
- Working with stress so that it moves you forward instead of overwhelming you
- Knowing when and how to express your anger in an assertive way
- The ability to sit with your emotions, rather than avoiding them through distractions and addictions
- Embracing change with flexibility
- Letting go of unnecessary shame and expressing yourself authentically
- The ability to release unexpressed emotions and re-find a state of balance
Using embodiment to develop emotional intelligence.
What is embodiment ?
It’s an approach that focuses on increasing your awareness over the physical and emotional sensations of your body, and gaining understanding over your inner mechanisms in relation to the issue you want to solve. We use sensorial experiences such as breath work, movement, bodywork, sound, interactive activities, words and symbols so that you can explore your inner landscape, make a link between your body-mind-emotions, and cultivate new ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.
How can it help with emotional intelligence?
When working with feelings and emotions, understanding through experiencing is often more powerful than understanding through logic alone. When you are able to identify your emotions correctly through the ways they manifest in your body, you will be able to better understand their signals, and you will have more agency over how you respond. Regular somatic practices help develop and reinforce new behaviours, so that you have more choice in your actions.
Using embodiment principles to explore and transform inner realities
Emotional intelligence
Teach your logical brain, your conscious awareness, to become fluent in the language of your emotional brain, in order to navigate between the two systems and integrate them more effectively into your life. Cultivate an understanding of your own internal mechanisms, and develop the ability to acknowledge, interpret, and express your emotions appropriately, using their wisdom to guide you.
Authentic relating
Cultivate a sense of who you are and where you stand amongst others, noticing and embracing their differences, yet remaining true to yourself and your values. Explore where you feel stuck in your relationships, what ways of relating hold you back, and develop new perspectives and behaviours that will encourage interactions that bring out the best in you, that provide support and stability, that lift you up and make you grow.
Conscious sexuality
Explore and discover the many possibilities of healing, self understanding, and personal fulfilment that can be found within your own sexuality. Whether it’s learning about your body, developing a fulfilling intimate life with your partner, developing your orgasmic potential, or cultivating self awareness, learn how to bring your bodily experience to the center of your attention, and work with your own inner mechanisms.
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