Tuesday, January 21, 2014

How Do You Feel (in Your Body)?

How Do You Feel (in Your Body)?

Discover Magazing blogger, Gemma Terlach describes a new study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which included more than 700 participants from Sweden, Taiwan and Finland. (A solid cross-cultural sample!) The researchers explored where emotions register in the body and asked participants to map the physical correlates of a variety of emotions.

The intention of the study was to find out whether there is consistent "body mapping" from person-to-person. For example, when someone says they feel grief in their heart, or anxiety in their gut, is this experienced in a similar place for each of us? That's what the researchers found! This is regardless of national or cultural differences.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2013/12/30/body-atlas-reveals-where-we-feel-happiness-and-shame/#.UsJTTPRDuSo

Those who participated in the study were exposed to stories, words, and facial expressions that prompted an emotional response. They then drew -- mapped -- where in their bodies they felt the emotions. While pride appears most in the head and anger tends to be felt in the chest area, HAPPINESS is felt throughout the body.



So the next time something happens and
you can't figure out how it's impacting you,
check where you're experiencing it in your body.
You can shift how you feel emotionally by shifting the sensations in your body.
Try mindfulness-based practices or any other tool in this Toolkit series, notice the effects, then take you next "right" step.

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