In this post I'd like to share with you a practice that will help you start the day with clarity. This simple technique will also support the daily practice of emotional release as you let your mind sort out and clear out its emotional residue.

With the powerful tool I'm about to share with you you'll learn to playfully dig through the roots of your emotional reactions and find out what's triggering you, what's causing you to feel a particular way and what are the reasons you are sometimes short-tempered, edgy or impatient with yourself and others.

This is how it works.

The best time of day for this practice is morning, shortly after you wake up and before coffee or breakfast. You'll need comfy clothes, a yoga block or a folded blanket to sit on and a notebook with a pen.

Step 1. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and focus on your breath for a few minutes. Don't censor or curate your thoughts, feelings or bodily sensations. Just breathe, witness your breath and listen.

If you feel numb, it's ok. If you feel fear, anxiety, stress, tension, pain, discomfort, anger, sadness, it's ok. If you feel a strange mix of emotions, it's ok. Let all the things you are feeling and experiencing be ok.

Step 2. Grab your notebook and let it all out. Drop the need to write clearly or beautifully, and let the stream of thoughts pour out on a piece of paper.

It's ok if your thoughts or feelings don't make sense. It's also ok if they seem raw, messy, inappropriate, immature, stupid, unstructured, angry, needy or anything else your mind might try to call them while you are writing. It's ok if your handwriting becomes so bad that you can't read it afterwards. It's just about letting everything out. Liberating the thoughts and feelings from the cage of "forbidden", "shameful", dropping the labels of "disgusting" and "inappropriate".

Give everything that comes out a right to exist in this real, honest, unedited form.

When you're done, take a moment to re-centre your attention on your breath, and feel a sense of deep relief.

This is a practice that is often recommended by therapists as a form of daily emotional cleanse.

Practiced on a regular basis, it will help you build a stronger connection to yourself and your emotional world which is essential if you want to navigate life and life's challenges with clarity. You'll get to know your patterns, meet your monsters and also discover the most beautiful parts of your personality. The more courage you have to face and acknowledge your darkness, the more your brilliance will grow and evolve too.

And last but not least: people who are in touch with themselves and their emotions are a lot more pleasant to be around. So with this practice not only are you investing into your own mental clarity and emotional mastery, but also improving your relationships with those around you.

Try it out for a few days and let me know how it's been working out for you!

Love,
Elena