Therapeutic Expression
The context of our lives contributes to creating the content of our experience. Societal expectations have trained us to behave appropriately. While these expectations have helped us create civilizations, toxic positivity and emotional suppression can negatively affect physical and mental health. Understanding the importance of emotional health helps undo subconscious patterns and teaches us how to create cultures in our lives that promote health and healing.
My professional background is in the arts. I teach Movement for Actors at Maggie Flanigan Studio in New York City, co-run an interdisciplinary performance collective called "The Box," and have a thriving visual art and poetry practice. I have witnessed and experienced the therapeutic and transformational power of creative expression throughout my years of creating, collaborating, and teaching.
My work with actors is based on the Williamson Technique and is focused on freeing the physical and emotional impulses that usually remained trapped in the body due to tension and cultural conditioning. Observing the holistic health benefits of this work, I became curious about the intersections of emotional health, creative therapies, and their effect on mental and physical health outcomes.
The axis of my work is in deepening our understanding of our personal and cultural relationship to health, expression, and the effects of stress and emotional suppression on physical and mental health.
Emotional suppression creates an environment of stress in the body that can lead to physical illness, but this interplay is often overlooked when we address mental and physical health.
Instilling healthy expressive habits empowers individuals to take responsibility for their experiences and places them at the center of their health plan with autonomy and agency.
So, my question to you is - what if you were to express some of what you keep hidden? What if you could scream, cry, rage, flail, celebrate, play, and savor your sensuality all within a safe container of acceptance and encouragement. How would that release set you up for your day? How could this practice change your relationships or your attitude towards your responsibilities?
Through years of this work, I have observed people are commonly afraid of emotional expression because so much has been repressed over the years. I like to call this "The Pandora's Box Paradox." We are afraid that once the lid is off, they will never be able to close it again. This misconception leads to a building up of complex emotions, thoughts, and experiences, and if not addressed, these challenging feelings can eventually cause illness or even explode out of you in the inopportune moment, possibly causing pain to a loved one or damaging a valued relationship. The Pandora's Paradox can feel like a catch 22, that either way, we lose. But if we carve out the time to express our rich emotional life, we can show up as our highest self with our families, friends, and colleagues.
All of that might sound great theoretically, but the question remains: how do we do it practically?
Here is a quick and easy "Therapeutic Expression Checklist" to help you on your way.
You will need...
a space to move where you are free to make sound without fear of being overheard
a nice warm beverage to help you settle into your practice. I suggest a pot of your favorite herbal tea, but anything that hydrates you will work.
earphones or a speaker
a phone or computer to make a playlist
a blindfold...if you wish
willingness to say YES to yourself
Step 1 - Solitude
One crucial key to therapeutic expression is privacy. We need to deal with people's opinions and expectations of us all day, every day. In order to really let yourself go, find a place where you cannot be seen or heard. This will free you to express parts of yourself that you usually hideaway. Make sure your phone is on silent so you will not be disturbed. This time is just for you.
Step 2 - Awareness
Rule one of Therapeutic Expression is to be real with yourself about what is actually going on and how you are really feeling. Check-in with yourself by closing your eyes, turning your awareness inward and taking a few deep breaths to help you land in the center of your experience.
Now, inquire..
What physical sensations are you experiencing?
Where is there pain or tightness in your body?
Where are you warm?
Where are you cold?
What is the quality of your thoughts?
Are they racing, fixated, confused?
Remember: there is no wrong experience. Try to refrain from passing judgments of good or bad. Just let yourself be with whatever is.
What emotions do you sense lying underneath all of the sensations?
Step 3 - Responsibility
Take a moment to name these experiences honestly and accept that they are a part of your experience at this moment. No thought, feeling, or emotion defines who you are. They do not make you a good person or a bad person. It is the way we relate to our experiences that define us.
By taking responsibility for our experiences, we step out of the story that makes us victims to circumstances and into our power with full ownership.
What are the narratives that you tell yourself about what you are feeling? Are you blaming other people for how you feel? Is it someone else's fault?
This is the tricky part where most of us get stuck for years and years. What if you were to stop blaming someone else for how you feel and instead take 100% responsibility for your feelings.
I want to clarify that this in no way justifies any wrong or harm anyone has done you in the course of your life. It is not about making someone else right and you wrong. On the contrary, by taking responsibility for your feelings, you take back your power and put yourself at the center of the story. You are the hero, not the victim.
This step can be excruciating, and because of that, it is the most challenging and rewarding.
Step 4- Intentions
Now is the moment to set your intentions for your practice.
From what you have observed complete the following statements and say them out loud with conviction. Repeat them several times if necessary.
I am aware of....
I ready to release....
I am inviting in...
I am grateful for...
Step 5 - Permission
Here is where it gets really fun.
Craft a playlist for yourself full of songs that encapsulate how you feel, what you want to release, and what you want to welcome in. Music is a potent tool to elicit and free our feelings. You want your playlist to be at least 30 minutes long. I suggest starting with slower, quieter songs and in the middle, make sure to have your most raucous music choices. Make sure to finish with some slower and more recuperative tracks to help you integrate your experience and rest after this powerful experience. Some people find moving with a blindfold helps them tap into their bodies and move more freely. Feel free to try this, but make sure you have enough space to avoid running into anything!
Now is the time to just say YES!!
Are you ready to rage like a volcano of blood and fire? YES!!
Are you ready to weep with a sorrow that knows the depths of the ocean? YES!!
Are you ready to embrace your anxiety, fear, and supposed imperfections with abundant love and acceptance? YES!
Are you ready to walk forward with an open heart, untethered and unfurled in gratitude?
YES! YES! YES!
We all have every feeling inside of us, and they long to be expressed fully. No feeling is shameful. Your emotions are signaling your TRUTH! So as you listen to the music, let your body move freely. Deepen your breath and expand on the inhale. Allow whatever you feel to fall out on an authentic sound on the exhale. Focus on how sounds feel rather than wanting it to sound "good." The most therapeutic sounds are often the weirdest. So just give yourself full permission to follow what feels good. There is no right. There is no wrong. Give yourself permission for anything to happen and let yourself fly!
I hope this framework helps you carve out some time for Therapeutic Expression. As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. If this practice sounds like just what you need, but you are looking for some support, reach out, and we can set up a one on one!
