Sharpening the senses - Sound part 2 - Self enquiry and emotional balance 

Dojiva is not just about good posture and working out… I want you to feel good mentally and emotionally too!

“I have found that above all other modalities (self enquiry) is the most effective method for reducing stress, healing physical tension and releasing long standing negative emotions”

The second best is hitting strike pads with everything you have!

From last week’s focus on hearing on the outside, we now journey to listening on the inside. On the Dojiva membership site, our MIND tab now has over 180 audio and video classes and many of these include guided practices of self enquiry/inner listening. 

The practice of enquiry is an non-judgemental way to experience the moment directly. When you do this authentically it can help develop a deeper understanding of any mental/emotional disgruntlement’s and to find some resolve within. For many years, this has been a key part of my 121 sessions. It really is the a key step on the path to release inner tension and long standing negative emotions.

It can also help to bring focus, clarity and decisiveness in moments of stress. In other words, if you can be more present during difficult times, I believe any future recall will have a less negative impact. 

When emotions get stuck

You likely know by now that I am a big fan of embodiment (physical presence)... that you develop your proprioception (a deeper sense of ‘knowing your body’). But what if the sensations that you feel from your body are uncomfortable or that sometimes the only way you know you’re here is through your aches, pains and negative emotions?

Embodiment in our usual sense is then the last thing you want. However, those times when a negative experience didn’t get fully processed or an emotion didn’t get expressed, tension can get stored in the body. 

And that which gets ‘pushed down’ can manifest as stress that gets expressed in other ways such as:

• Gut problems
• Skin issues
• Tense shoulders
• Difficulty with sleep 
• Anxiety
• Flying off the handle
• Etc.

And sometimes, you may have tension or anxiety but don’t know why. And, negative thoughts and feelings (about self or others) can get clouded with a busy life and there’s no room for reflection/mindfulness/release.

For change to occur, stress to be released and for general happiness, you might just need to make the unconscious, conscious and this is often a missing part of personal development.

So that’s when inner physical listening steps in. So, it’s not psychology… it’s physiology.

From head to toe, feelings can impact the body anywhere but are often felt in one of three key areas:

1. The belly region (like butterflies)
2. The heart (heart ache)
3. The throat (choked up)

Or of course a combination.

What an enquiry practice looks like

First up, it’s not easy to set a date/time for enquiry as emotions can arise without warning. It could then be appropriate during the actual moment of a difficult time or when recalling a memory.

Either way, if you have the chance, it’s best to find a quite place where you feel safe. Then you close your eyes, bring awareness to the ground under your pelvis/feet and practice some basic breathing.

Then, you simply listen and take a neutral stance to experience the feeling directly as it is with no need to change or control what’s happening.

Whether self guided or guided by a practitioner/friend/audio, enquiry, takes you on a step by step journey to find out more about what is truly going on… to get to core of the problem/feeling. On each step, you listen to and as best possible describe the experience while embracing all as is.

You become a curious detective and this includes listening to how the thought/emotion lands in the physical body. You can explore such qualities as the:

• Location
• Shape
• Depth (is the sensation 3D or surface)
• Weight (heavy verses light)
• Intensity (from 1 to 10 is a simple way to calculate)
• Colour and temperature (not always relevant)
• Density
• Direction of flow (discomfort can be static but often has a direction of movement and a tempo)
• And sometimes it might be appropriate to ask what you think about the sensations

Enquiry sessions can last from just a few minutes to an hour or more. There is usually a dynamic element and you simply move along with the changes. Either way, there is often a natural closure and at anytime, you can of course open your eyes and come out of the process. 

The opposite of inner listening… 

The opposite way and often easier path (at least in the short term) is to mask unwanted feelings with pain killers, TV, food, alcohol, exercise, work, hobbies, etc. But these only offer temporary relief. Ruminating thoughts, pain, and uncomfortable emotions maybe managed but never fully resolved.

For lasting peace you might need to stop everything, listen and embrace…
And, to be patient.

Although relief can be instant, a full release of chronic tension/held emotions is often a unravelling process so you may need to be patient for results. 

Summary

Fully experiencing uncomfortable feelings is not easy but does get better with practice. And when you open the door to this, it’s the start of emotional freedom and a new way to perceive the world and those around you.

But, just like HIIT exercises or any part of life, enquiry may not be for you. Or, just not yet. However, whether now or at some point down the line, the practice of listening to the direct experience of your body can bring relief from physical and emotional tension like nothing else.

And, you might find that that you reveal positive qualities that had been hidden by the shadow of tension. qualities such as;

• Untapped skills
• Forgotten hobbies
• A new level of energy for life
• Productivity/creativity for business
• Better communication
• Improved understanding in relationships
• Or how about just some new layer of inner peace? 

To help you along this journey, this week we have practices of meditation, mindfulness and mobility. Plus of course, plenty of working out! Also, I may be able to help with online 121 sessions, just send me an email to discuss options.

 Thanks for reading

Take care

Danny

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Onto this week’s recommend Dojiva classes:

Sunday 13th April 2025 - Mindfulness 25 - There are many reasons why we experience physical stress in our body and one of these is the inability to let go of stored tension. How we replay the event and react to physical sensations denote how much it impacts our body now and in the future. Come to a more balanced emotional state with this class.

Monday 14th - Mini fitness 105 - Today, we give the arms a rest. The focus therefore lands on the legs and abs with attention to cross - crawling.

Tuesday 15th - Mobility 55 - Tension release of your legs with loosening exercises and self guided body-work. Some of the techniques may not suit your flexibility. If that’s the case, just do the versions that work for you. The basic premise is to free up muscles and connective tissues that might be stuck at a deeper layers in your legs. It’s self hands-on work!

Wednesday 16th - Meditation 90

Thursday 17th - Workout 99 - Today’s class does not follow our usual workout structure. In fact the first half is just like a Mobility class! For the second half (when well warmed up) we get stuck into a series of ‘flexible strength’ with a variety of flowing poses.

Friday 18th - Mobility 55 - Please repeat Tuesday’s class.

Saturday 19th - Mini fitness 104 - Today we have a more subtle start with plenty of warm ups and lower intensity for the first four intervals. A running theme is torso twisting that helps integrate the core with the lower and upper body.