In an ideal world we would be able to express how we feel right away, and thus be in a constant state of motion liberating ourselves moment to moment saying how we feel, and not keeping anything in, or resenting anyone. But of course we can’t always express how we feel because it’s either not socially acceptable or because we don’t want to hurt other people. So we need to learn how to DEAL with those repressed emotions that so easily become anger.

Anger & the liver:

Traditional Chinese Medicine has been stating for over five thousand years that every organ is connected to an element and to an emotion. The 5 organs in the body produce 5 kinds of essential ki (or energies) which bring forth 5 different emotions: joy, anger, grief, worry, and fear.

According to this theory, anger is associated to the liver. If the liver is functioning well, and its energy is flowing smoothly throughout the body, the emotional state will be balanced, happy, and relaxed; emotions will be freely expressed and communicated. If however, the liver is dealing with an overload of caffeine, alcohol, sugar, food additives, excessive intake of Omega 6 fatty acids, as well as dealing with too many toxins from pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and medications, it will create a stagnation of energy in this organ, which over a period of time can lead to emotional states of constant low level anger, depression, and resentment.

Remember that everything is connected, and the other way around is also true: repressed anger and all the emotions that come with it like resentment, frustration, and irritability, will also affect the liver's health and disrupt the flow of energy in this organ.

Where does anger come from?

Underneath anger most times is sadness; however, because we are so scared of our own vulnerability, we tend to automatically switch sadness into anger as a defense mechanism to protect ourselves, and get ready to attack. All of a sudden we are mad at the bitchy friend or at the cheating boyfriend, when truly inside there’s a part of us that’s been really torn apart and smashed to pieces and really needs our care, love, and attention.

The real problem with getting angry when in reality we’re just sad, comes when the anger turns around and goes against ourselves. Think about it: when you’re angry you get super revved up, your blood starts boiling, and you get manic, but in doing so you’re not hurting anyone, except yourself.

Rage is the most damaging to the person feeling it. Yes, we may say awful things or try to get revenge, but really our own anger ends up consuming and hurting us in a way that no one else can.

We also get angry at people or situations because of our inability to stand up for ourselves at times where we actually DID need to defend and stand up for how we felt. Maybe we didn’t express our truth at the time that it needed to be expressed, and thus anger came as a result of the frustration for not being able to fully express ourselves.

“Resentment is liking drinking poison and hoping it will kill your enemies”
-Nelson Mandela

What to do when you feel anger arising:

Forgive yourself for simply feeling that way and for not having had the time and/or resources to deal with the situation that triggered the anger in the first place.
Identify what’s beneath the anger. Is it sadness? Or did you not express your truth at a time you needed to?
Go deeper. Now try to look and see how you really feel about the situation/person that made you angry. Keep asking: What is my point of view on this matter? Do I like this? Do I hate it? etc. OWN your point of view.
Acknowledge your feelings. Remember that before you get rid of anything you first have to own it. Repeat the mantra: “These are my feelings and I am entitled to them." Don’t judge, just create space and let them be there with you.
Let go. Yay! Once you’ve really made your anger a conscious emotion, you can let it go. Express it, dance it out, shake it off, punch a pillow, or simply just let it slip out with your conscious breath repeating: inhale LET, exhale GO. Release it so you can create more space inside and allow for the light to come in through the cracks.

We are all broken, that’s how the light gets in — Ernest Hemingway

A few more tips to finish:

Allow yourself the time and space to digest situations and people. You won’t necessarily know how you feel about certain things right away, so just let things sit and until you are clear about them.
We all have some good and some bad, so let’s just try to feed the good and not torture ourselves or feel guilty with our anger.

Let’s be clear about the fact that things will never be perfect, and situations and people will always trigger us, but it is our responsibility to keep creating space inside us for all of it. Let’s create space for the anger, the resentment, the sadness, and the fear because the more space we create for all of that, the more space we will be creating for the joy, the happiness, and the lightness. Create space so that you can keep filling your body and soul with more light.

We’ll keep you elevated, groovy and grounded at the Asana Groove Studio in Madrid. Check our schedule here to book.”

Yours Truly,

Fernanda