Physical life/Emotional life: how to be aware and be more in tune with yourself and others.

Your physical and emotional lives are strongly connected to each other. In fact, they are linked to one another in a way that if one is triggered, there will be be a response from the other, no matter how small.

Let's look at an example to illustrate that point:

Someone pushes you. This physical intrusion will most certainly bring an emotional response. Shock, anger, disbelief - these emotions will be the direct result of something physical that has been done to you.

Now, let's look at it the other way around. Someone upsets you. Even if you don't push the person, there will be a physical response - whatever you grind your teeth, clinch your fists or breath faster.

Although it might appear obvious, so many of us are unaware of how much the physical and emotional are interconnected. The awareness of this connection is essential in order to know what our effect has on others and vice versa.

Working in a team can be complex in dealing with different personalities. The awareness of what we do physically and the way it affects someone emotionally can help in adjusting the way we are to be more open and positive.

For example, Sophie is having a hard time with one of her colleagues. She finds him bossy and arrogant. When he speaks to her, her body closes off, her breathing becomes faster, and her face tenses up. It becomes unbearable so Sophie tries something new. When he speaks to her next, she will slow down her breathing, she will release the tension on her face and will put a smile on her face. Those physical changes might trigger something emotionally. She might feel more positive and open. What is interesting is how the colleague will respond to that change. Will he be surprised? Would there be a change, even slight, in his behavior? Most likely there will be. In that way, Sophie, by altering her physical life had an effect on her emotional life as well as her colleague's.