Releasing Suppressed Emotions & Opening Chakras

Changing Perspective & Letting Go (13)

Definitions:
Releasing: Letting go
Suppressed emotions: Repressed feelings and sensitivities
Opening Chakras: Expanding energy centres

Sample
Words of Wisdom:

Hatred paralyses life, love releases it; Hatred confuses life,

love harmonises it Martin Luther King Jr
The way to love something is to realise it may be lost
G. K. Chesterton
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be
Lao Tzu
Is there anything else you would like to tell me?
Jon Kabat-Zinn

FIREWORKS, VALLETTA, MALTA

A colourful release of power and energy
during a Maltese festa or festival

Dont go around saying the world owes you a living. The

world owes you nothing, it was here first Mark Twain

Skillful Habit :
Most of us are taught from an early age that it is ok
to express happy emotions (such as joy, delight,
happiness) but not acceptable to express negative
ones (such as anger, hatred and fear). So we allow
those emotions and keep them inside, until layer
upon layer of suppressed emotions build up inside us.
They become repressed and they are stored in our
emotional body the Chakras. When the Chakras are
full they go into the physical body and become disease
(dis-ease = not at ease).
Anger is a horrible emotion when it comes out, so
imagine what it does if it stays inside you.
The first stage of emotional cleansing is to accept
your negative emotions rather than fighting against
them. Feelings are painful and become problems
because they are not accepted or integrated. We
create pain through resistance and non-acceptance.
It is not the feeling or the emotion itself that causes
pain but the resistance to it. What we resist, we
repress. To go beyond pain and to enjoy the feeling of
being whole, we must learn to integrate those parts
of life that we find painful and would like to avoid.
Acceptance means we are open to the experience or
event and we open ourselves to the full experience of
something, we learn to accept it. When we awaken the
ability to evoke healing power from within, then the
emotion simply dissipates

When we suppress, ignore or turn away from our

negative emotions, they become sub-conscious patterns.
Our emotions usually relate to certain areas such as:
Survival: fear, anxiety, insecurity about health,
money, possessions and death
Sensation: sexual feelings, cravings for food,
alcohol, smoking or drugs
Power: anger, hostility, aggressiveness,
helplessness, insignificance
Relationships: loneliness, jealousy
Communication: limiting patterns of behaviour
arising from chronic suppression of feelings and
emotions
The buildup of suppressed energy can be over a short or
a long period of time. Short-term emotional suppression
can lead to symptoms like feeling aggression towards
a boss at work, for example. When people do not know
how to control this it may end up being taken out on the
family at home. Long-term avoidance of feelings builds
a different structure of unsuspected magnitude. It can
build up to the extent thats ones whole life becomes
shaped by internal forces which operate unconsciously
and dangerously within you. Conditions that were
unresolved in the past have a habit of recurring with
new people and situations.

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Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

We have the choice of experiencing the emotion and taking

responsibility or we can suppress it again. If suppressed
and repressed it is likely to emerge as a physical illness.
When we suppress our emotions we end up by projecting
them onto others and then they are experienced indirectly
through other people or events. If you deny your anger,
you will blame someone else for making you angry. We
never see what is; just what we project.

it and allow it to find balance. Chakras are where our

emotional blocks are located. Blocked Chakras and
lack of contact with ourselves leads to selfishness,
anxiety, unhappiness and a feeling of separation.

Our Chakras are our point of consciousness. Cleansing

our Chakras helps us to release our negativity, as does
massage and stretching. A regular practice of Yoga
helps you to be relaxed as well as gently uncovering
the layers of your sub-conscious.

Feeling pissed off kidneys, urinary system

Breath also helps to release and integrate suppressed

emotions. Breathing into a blocked Chakra will activate

Arrogance eyes and ears.

Blocked emotions tend to reveal themselves in typical

ailments (see the end of this section for more details):
Anger & resentment cancer, boils, cysts
Hating oneself reproductive organs

Sample
Not loving yourself the heart

Not nurturing yourself breasts

Value - What difference would it make to your desired outcomes?

Happiness & Joy: Happiness can only come if you are prepared to release suppressed emotions and
open your Chakras
Health & Well being: Disease is caused by suppressed emotions and blocked Chakras

Personal Growth & Self-Connection: It is hard to grow with suppressed emotions trapped inside you
Contribution & Connection to Others: It is hard to connect truly with others with blocked Chakras
Gratitude & Service: Open Chakras make it easier to open your heart centre and give to others

Learning about Love and being Love: An open heart centre helps you to learn much more about love
Extraordinary Intimate Relationship: The release of suppressed emotions and an open Chakra system
makes it very much easier to be open to an extraordinary relationship

The complete write up for this Skillful Habit can be purchased from www.skillfulhabits.com
Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

Stage of Change

Rational & Emotional Practices

Pre-Contemplation
and Contemplation

Think about those times when

you have suppressed your
emotions

(Thinking about
change consciousness
raising, social liberation,
emotional arousal, self
re-evaluation)

Unconscious & Emotional Practices

Notice if you wake up in the morning
feeling heavy and unhappy even though
there is nothing wrong

Remember what we resist

persists!

Sample
Preparation

(Getting started and

writing it down social
liberation, emotional
arousal, self re-evaluation,
commitment)

Familiarise yourself with the

Chakras and their colours. Learn
about the crystals that can help
to unblock your Chakras. Get at
least one of these crystals for
each Chakra and cloth of the same
colour

Work on self-esteem and acceptance of

self.
Still your mind so that you can get in
touch with your emotions

Notice in the Chakras where you feel

blocked and not at ease

Get yourself attuned to Reiki (1)

where you heal yourself

Action

(Making it happen
social liberation,
commitment, reward,
countering, environment
control, helping
relationships)

Shake yourself physically as if

you are a wet dog

Use an integration process:

Awareness identify feelings

Take up Yoga
Acceptance accept self and feelings
Express your emotions in a safe
environment

Direct Experience feel the feelings as

much as you can
Transformation allow the energies to
balance
Meditate on each Chakra, looking at
the colour and holding the crystal over
the Chakra
Breathe into each Chakra and imagine
that you are breathing out the negative
energy stored in the Chakra

Maintenance &
Termination
(Dealing with
relapses commitment,
reward, countering,
environment control,
helping relationships)

When emotions come up, feel

them fully, acknowledge them,
accept them, integrate them and
move on

Always remember that you are much

more than your emotions
Check that you are feeling happy and
have a sense of deep well-being. If not,
do what it takes to bring yourself back to
a state of well being

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Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

My Personal Experiences:

uring my teenage years, I became very good at

suppressing my emotions. I went to an all boys
school where rugby was considered to be much
more important than anything academic. My father was
not an emotional man and I lived at home with three
brothers. Everything was very much set up to be an
environment of the English stiff upper lip. There was no
real space to be sensitive and so I learned to get on and
to plough my own course. It felt like there was no point
in expressing emotions for most of those years. When I
was eleven I broke one of my front teeth in an accident,
so I lived most of my teenage years with a black front
tooth. It wasnt great for self-confidence.

As I started to explore the areas of Chakras, energy

healing and Yoga, I started to see that I had quite a few
blockages and suppressed emotions. I attended one of
The Journey courses at the suggestion of a friend. I
wasnt quite sure why I was there, but I was curious and
I felt sorry for many of the people who were also on the
course and obviously in emotional distress. In one of the
exercises, you make a physical journey inside yourself
to find and release trapped emotions. I was amazed to
find myself sitting inside my eyes addressing emotions
that had been trapped inside me about an old girlfriend
when I was 16. It was completely unexpected. Over
the next year, I made many more of these physical and
emotional journeys. I was amazed to discover how many
unexpected emotions lay trapped inside me and how
easy they were to release once recognised. I came to see
clearly how events in my life had trapped emotions and
then emerged as physical symptoms that held me back.
It was a revelation.

Sample

I succeeded by not worrying about it and by just getting

stuck in to challenges. I took my A levels (school leaving
exams) when I was 16 and 17. By 17 I was an Officer
in the British Army being paid to attend University. I
qualified as a trained paratrooper (a very hard physical
course) before I attended basic training in the Army!

On the surface all was fine. I passed all my exams, I

passed all the physical challenges that I could volunteer
for in the Army and by 24 I was attached to one of the
most elite regiments in the world. In my later career I
became an equity partner in one of the top management
consultancy partnerships and I also worked in Silicon
Valley start ups. I ended up in a long marriage that
was great at producing lovely children but not a good
relationship. I had some secret, and some not so secret,
affairs to compensate.

Underneath the surface, the suppressed emotions came

out in various ways. I had a major shoulder problem
when doing basic army training and passed the course
just using one arm. I ended up after many shoulder
dislocations with a large surgical scar across my left
arm. I took a lot of ankle and upper leg injuries and a
cyst grew on my solar plexus. I had regular middle and
upper back problems. I often got mouth ulcers and small
bouts of gout in my feet. I put on weight and I avoided
exercise. I discovered in 1995, when my daughter
was born that I hadnt been able to look over my left
shoulder since a parachuting accident in 1987.

A:

Since then, I have been working hard to unblock my

Chakras, increase the energy circulation between
them and to become more present in my heart centre.
It hasnt been easy, but it has certainly been worth
it. I have found Yoga and some meditation to be great
allies in this process. Old injuries have disappeared.
My spine feels better and much straighter, my back
doesnt hurt anymore. My feet and legs feel much more
flexible and my neck is no longer jammed up. Recently,
a young dentist offered to fix up my front tooth which
has been poorly crowned for nearly 30 years. I agreed
and four days later I could smile with much more
confidence after 37 years of avoiding opening my
mouth wide.
I have learned a lot. You can sit there and suppress
emotions and live with the pains that they create. The
easier course is really to do something about it. I am
pleased that I learned how to release old emotions
more easily and not to suppress new ones. Of course,
there is still more to do but if there is a good message
it is very simple, Better out than in!

Breakthrough
thoughts

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Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

Other Personal Experiences:

grew up within a loving family, but where

confrontation was a daily experience between
my parents and also between my father and me.
The resistance I built up to feeling my own painful
emotions became paramount to my survival as a
growing young woman. I found my own sexuality very
challenging as I grew older as experiences of verbal
and sexual abuse made it even harder to connect to
my inner self.

to hold my physical and emotional body. Feelings of

persecution would then arise when this person would
try and help me see and hold my emotional debris.
This situation would bring me into confrontation with
myself, or the person trying to support me, and the
fear that I would not have time to bring the situation
back to a place of harmony before it totally went out
of control was possible. This would lead me to leave
my own body or abandon the person or situation. This
kept me in a state of resistance to believing I could be
fully loved or that a whole love could be a true reality.

Sample

Between the ages of 14 and 40, I would say that

I lived outside of myself. Whenever a beautiful
experience would lure me into my body, I would soon
be confronted by painful memories that my body
was holding and resist feeling them by leaving. I did
this in many ways; through drug and alcohol abuse,
outrageous and inappropriate social behaviour and
suicide attempts - anything to stop me confronting my
feelings.

I had cervical cancer eight years ago and this brought

a lot of realisations into my life and gave me the grace
to make the decision to surrender to the reality of my
life and choose trust. Trust that life itself would bring
me all the healing I would need to keep my intention to
allow a real and true loving experience of my precious
human body to awaken. Slowly I learned to surrender
to all the painful emotions that have been within me
since birth. Acknowledging these has been no easy
task. I had to allow myself to drop my resistance to
the support of my family, friends and teachers, who
came from very different paths and walks of life. These
people helped me to see and love all the forgotten
parts of myself so I could surrender to the wonder of
being fully embodied and present in this magnificent
life. I have deep love and gratitude for all of them. I
have relapsed many times, shooting out of my body
from fear of being confronted with overwhelming
emotions and then going through the process of slowly
having to coax myself back in.
I came to understand that every time I was confronted
by a painful experience and resisted feeling its
emotion I would move out and look to either projecting
this onto someone elses situation or completely
denying its existence, resulting in the inability to hold
myself. This would activate the search for a rescuer

B:

Working with my inner child has been one way that

has aided me to own and hold the issues that reside
within me. Whenever things come up that seem to get
out of control I go directly to her and hold her. This
helps me connect with my inner wisdom, which guides
me through anything that might threaten the union of
my spirit/soul body to my mind/physical body. Each
time I unconditionally surrender to all the experiences
life offers me, deeper joy and beauty exists within me.
Through my life I have studied and internalised many
healing processes. The practice of music therapy
helped me open the door into my inner life, but it has
been the practice of energy medicine, the shamanic
path of the Andean Queros that has really brought
me to a full surrender to wholeness. I have found the
perfect tools to journey into my inner life and learnt
skills to give me the courage to face all of my fears, one
at a time and transform them into the gifts that have
empowered my life. A life that I can fully hold in my
body, mind, soul and spirit.
This has given me the ability to let go of suppressed
emotions and to experience the most majestic freedom
from the hold that others had over my life. It enables
me to live in contentment and to allow all experiences
to flow through me without attachment. The ability to
know, see and realise this, has helped me enormously
to come out of the addiction of victimhood and to step
into the path of the Heroine. Being utterly capable of
holding myself up as a good person and giving me a
real choice to dream in a healthy, loving, magical and
joyful destiny.

What to do
differently

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Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

A Good Model to Use

Chakra Cleansers
Chakra

Crystal

Oils

Chants and Affirmations

Crown

Diamond, Clear
Quartz

Jasmine, Frankincense

Om I am a spiritual
being having a physical
experience

Brow / Third Eye

Amethyst,
Azurite, Fluorite

Rosemary, Lavender

Ham ksham I see

clearly

Throat

Blue Lace Agate,

Turquoise

Lavender, Patchouli

Ham I express myself

freely

Heart

Rose Quartz,
Emerald

Sandalwood, Rose,
Cedarwood

Yam I love and trust

myself

Solar Plexus

Citrine, Amber,
Yellow Topaz

Juniper, Bergamot,
Lavender, Rosemary

Ram I can and I will

Sacral

Citrine, Topaz,
Moonstone

Rosemary, Junpier,
Jasmine, Sandalwood

Vam I am perfect just as

I am

Root

Garnet, Ruby,
Bloodstone, Black
Tourmaline

Patchouli, Cedarwood,
Sandalwood

Lam I am safe & secure

Sample
Chakra cleansing techniques
There are a number of different things that can help you with Chakra cleansing such as crystals, oils and
chants
Wear the colour of the Chakra close to the Chakra you want to cleanse
Use crystals by placing on the Chakra or wear close to the Chakra when meditating. Wear the crystal that
you are working with for a particular Chakra round your neck for the day
Use oils to assist with breathing techniques
Use chants and affirmations to focus the mind

The complete write up for this Skillful Habit can be purchased from www.skillfulhabits.com
Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

Good Questions to Ask

What emotions am I suppressing? Is it healthy?
Which past events am I refusing to acknowledge or accept? Why?
What relationship is there between diseases and injuries that have happened to me and my emotions at
the time?
What is the deepest, darkest secret that I would tell no-one? Is it healthy to have it buried inside me?
How much better would I feel if I released all the suppressed emotional rubbish inside me?

Sample
A Good Exercise:

Try an exercise in identifying the source of suppressed emotions:

Ask yourself a few times a day how you are feeling. If you feel heavy or low, locate the area in your body
where you feel the physical effect. Breathe into it a few times

Try the following exercise that relates illness and injury in your life to the Chakras (Use the table at the end
of this section for the meaning of illnesses and injuries)
Age Range

What Illness or
Injury?

Which Chakra?

What could it
mean?

0-8 years

8-16 years

16-24 years

24 now

Now (current
illnesses and injuries)

Mankind is divided into three classes; the immovable, the moveable and those that move Arab Proverb

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Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

Where are good sources of information and support?

Internet Search: chakras; chakra healing
Good Books: You Can Heal Your Life Louise Hay; Wherever You Go There You Are Jon Kabat-Zinn; The
Journey Brandon Bays
Good web sites: www.the journey.com
Good crystals: Amber - to draw off negative energy and cleanse the aura; Bloodstone an etheric
cleanser

Sample
Related Skillful and Unskillful Habits: open your heart and trust yourself; letting go of the past;
acceptance, engagement and enthusiasm; learning to love yourself unconditionally; asking for help

Smart Thoughts

Is it waiting In the life you can imagine for yourself? In the open and lovely white page on the waiting
desk? David Whyte

Chakra

All the Chakras

Chakra

Body Area

Typical Ailments

Cleansing & Healing

Approach

Crown

Spiritual centre

Migraines

Meditation

(top of head)

Nervous system

Brain tumour

Spiritual discipline

Violet or White

Amnesia

Past life regression

I Understand

Chronic Exhaustion

Visual art and stimulation

Sensitivity to light and sound

Crystals Diamond &

Clear Quartz

Coma

C:

Who to ask
for help

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Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

Chakra

Chakra

Body Area

Typical Ailments

Cleansing & Healing

Approach

Brow

Eyes

Headaches

Meditation

(forehead
slightly above
centre of
eyebrows)

Ears

Eye disease

Visualisation

Nose, sinuses

Ear problems - arrogance

Past life regression

Face

Nose & sinus issues

Visual art and stimulation

Indigo

Brain

Facial nerve problems

Crystals - Amethyst

I See

Pituitary gland

Stroke

Sample
Full spinal issues - misalignment with
life and inability to accept support

Throat

Neck & thyroid

Blue

Throat & jaw

I Speak

Mouth, gums &

teeth

Throat issues inability to say what

you want to say
Thyroid difficulty in resolving
conflicts between the head and the
heart

Vocal cords

Imagine those that

you never spoke up to
sitting before you. Tell
them everything that
you wanted to say but
couldnt

Crystal Blue Lace Agate

Heart
Green
I Love

Respiratory
system

Heart problems not loving yourself

Babies, animals, nature.

Broken Heart trust issues, betrayal

Give unconditional love.

Circulatory
system

Breast issues with nurturing

Shoulders, mid
back and arms

Tension in upper back, shoulder

blades - conflict between past and
future, separation

Spend time in their

company

Diaphragm
Chest / Breasts

Arms and shoulders burdens and

feeling weight of responsibilities

Meditation
Forgiveness
Crytsal Rose Quartz

Elbows - inability to give or receive

love
Diaphragm unresolved conflicts
Solar Plexus

Digestive system

Liver problems anger

Meditation

(two fingers
above navel)

Stomach

Stomach and digestive issues fear

of new ideas and inability to face new
things

Visualisation

Yellow
I Will

Liver
Galbladder
Pancreas, Spleen

Spleen inability to process

emotions. Powerlessness and feeling
out of control

Learning to say No
Breathing techniques
Crystal - Citrine

Gallbladder courage to move

forward confidently
Tension in mid back blind spots and
fear of being stabbed in the back

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Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.

Chakra

Chakra

Body Area

Typical Ailments

Cleansing & Healing

Approach

Sacral

Reproductive
organs

Sexual dysfunction

Meditation

Obs/gyn problems

Visualisation to bring
centre down into sacral
area

(Sacrum)
Orange

Kidneys, bladder,
urinary system

Urinary and bladder problems fear

of taking on more than one can
handle or being pissed off

Sample
I feel

Lower back

Genital cancers hating oneself

Lower back pain need for financial
and emotional support

Learn to love yourself

Crystal - Carnelian

Hips fear of decisions about moving

forward

Root

(Below base of
spine)
Red

I am

Elimination
system and
rectum

Bones / skeleton
Legs and feet

Lymph system

Depression

Grounding exercise

Rectal cancer anger

Be in the present

Constipation not willing to let go of

shit

Meditation

Count blessings

Upper thighs fear of falling flat on

face

Physical exercise

Knees pride

Spinning exercise to
speed up Chakras

Shins fear of the future

Crystal - Garnet

Ankles - flexibility and fear of moving

forward
Feet connection with mother

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Samples of the structure and content of a Skillful Habit are also available on the site.