Girez’s on Emotions:
“Our emotions are part of the whole of us, anything we push away makes us partial. Emotions themselves are just energy, they are not “bad” of “good”. How we react or act on those emotions is different than experiencing the energy of the emotion itself.
We have been taught that some emotions are inappropriate to have, those lessons have been passed down for generations or are part of our culture. Or we have witnessed behavior that makes us create mental links/beliefs that a particular emotion equates to harmful actions. If we can release the story and just witness the emotion as an energy it makes it much easier to let that energy move.
The aim is not to be emotion-less, but to not be carrying suppressed emotions. It is this baggage of old emotions that lead us into reaction rather than choice of action. It also takes a large amount of energy to maintain the resistance we have to old emotions that were not able to be experienced at the time. We did that to stay safe in the moment so there is no judgement. The wish is for more freedom and spaciousness. The hope is to reclaim the energy of the resistance to bring it back to fuel your life intention. The more our emotions are current the easier it is to let them flow and be in witness of their intelligence and beauty.”
Toltec Style Recapitulation
There are many ways to release old emotions without needing to recall painful events (which can just re-traumatize the nervous system). This can be a physical activity like chopping wood or hitting the bed with a swim noodle (my new favorite), and setting the intention, “I am releasing any old anger from age 3-4.” You don’t need to know why there was anger.
There are Qi-Gong exercises using sound and movement to release specific emotions. And there is also the shamanic practice of recapitulation.
There are different forms of recapitulation. One method I was taught by Toltec teacher HeatherAsh Amara was simply using the breath at the end of day to bring back your energy (on the inhale) and release what is not yours (on the exhale).
This same technique can be used to release the emotional charge around painful or disturbing events in our past. I was recently listening to Jose Stevens (thepowerpath.com) using recapitulation in this manner to not only release stuck energy around these events but also to release the programming of our ancestry that is held in our bones that has fed into these events occurring. He gave the following Toltec recapitulation technique.:
Facing center, breathe in golden light to the count of 13. Turn your head (and eyes) all the way to the left. Holding the intention that you are releasing the programs from your bones that contributed to the events. Release your breath through your mouth while rotating your head (and eyes) to the right.
Jose says the Toltec’s suggest you do this for 10 minutes for 52 days for maximum effectiveness.
Girez’s Practice: Recapitulation Variation for Releasing Old Emotions:
Girez guided me to use a similar breathing technique, with a slow inhale through the nose, and then a long exhale out the mouth while moving the head left to right, state, “I am releasing the sadness of this day.”
The first time Girez had me try this, on the exhale my eyes had welled up with tears. I realized that what was being released was not just the sadness of the day but also old sadness that was feeding into this day.
Since I am now setting up a short time everyday to work with my emotions. In the evening, I set a timer for 5-10 minutes and do this practice to release whatever emotion/energy is asking for my attention.
I am releasing the sadness of this day
I am releasing the frustration of this day
I am releasing the anger of this day
I am releasing the anxiety of this day
I am releasing the disappointment of this day
With any energy work when you clear out energies it is advised to bring in the energy you now want to fill the space, in other words intentional fill the vacuum that has been created. So, I follow this release practice with these steps.
On the inhale I say to myself, “I am receiving unconditional love.”
On the exhale I let that wash through my bodies one by one physical, etheric, emotional, mental.
Wishing you well-being.
love,
Karen and Girez
