Have you ever said that you had “cold feet,” “felt butterflies in your stomach,” or “a shiver down your spine”? You probably haven’t thought much into it, but those expressions have more truth to them than you might think. Emotional body mapping can show you why.

A 2013 study focused on where people experience different emotions in the body. This research constituted the first “map” that illustrated the links between our emotions and our body sensations.

There is a growing body of scientific evidence to support what ancient healing traditions have known all along, which is that the body stores emotion. The body and mind are intertwined. Think about the last time you were angry, and bring your attention to what your physical experience of that emotion was. Did you grit your teeth, did your jaw tighten, furrowed your brow, and body shake, on a conscious or subconscious level?

These powerful emotions, and so many others, are felt and expressed in the body in an undeniably physical way. They can also become trapped in the body, as we are often socialised to suppress our feelings, swallow our words, and hold back our emotions. Instead of allowing emotions, which is energy in motion, (The word ‘Emotion’ literally means ‘Energy in Motion’)

So if we are not aware of how to allow emotions to flow through our bodies, we end up accumulating them in particular parts of the body, which can then manifest in physical symptoms. – See blog on what emotions can be held in which part of our bodies.