Don’t Let Chaos Get Trapped: Why Moving Your Emotions Is Incredibly Necessary in Stressful Times

Jul 22

In the spiritual business, there’s a saying: emotions are just energy in motion—electrical impulses triggered by your circumstances, designed to help you respond. These impulses show up as physical sensations: tears, an accelerated heartbeat, adrenaline spikes. But when we don’t move this energy with care, it can get stuck in the body.

And I don’t just say this—science backs it up.

🧠 A recent study maps how emotions physically register in the body:

“A noteworthy finding is that basic emotions trigger elevated sensational responses in the upper chest area, corresponding to breathing and heart rate alterations. Anger and happiness light up the arms; sadness reduces limb activity and creates a reluctance to move. Disgust shows up in the digestive system and throat. Happiness, interestingly, increases sensation throughout the body.”
Source

So what happens when we don’t move these emotions?

They get trapped.
They calcify.
They disrupt our physical and energetic systems.

From my own experience, these stagnant emotional energies don’t just show up in the auric field or chakras (causing spin-outs, slow-downs, and blocks)—they also manifest as very real physical symptoms.

Medical research confirms this too:

"Trapped emotions can cause physical sensations such as:
Muscle tension or tightness
A lump or choking sensation in the throat
Heaviness, fatigue, nausea, or knots in the stomach
Pain or aching in specific areas of the body
These sensations can sometimes even mimic chronic illness symptoms, especially in cases of long-term trauma or emotional suppression."
Source

So with everything going on in the world—how are you making sure your emotions don’t get trapped?

Move the Emotion, Not Just the Body

Here are some of the ways I’ve found to move energy through the body and keep emotions from settling in:

🌀 1. Deep Somatic Stretching

Somatic stretching is a form of intentional movement that targets the fascia, tendons, joints, and stored memory in the body. It’s not just about flexibility—it’s emotional release. You might cry. You might remember. But most importantly, you move the energy.

I’ve personally felt the echoes of high school fights in my legs. I’ve carried responsibility so long my shoulders forgot how to rest. Consistent stretching brought those stories to the surface—and helped me finally let them go.

💆🏽‍♀️ 2. Lymphatic or Fascia Massage

The body keeps the score—literally. Emotional trauma behaves like fluid: it moves through the system, influencing everything from your microbiome to your ovulation cycle to how well you digest.

The fascia is the web that holds everything in place. When one part is injured or holding trauma, others compensate—this is how pain travels.
The lymphatic system is your plumbing. It moves interstitial fluid, immune cells, and emotional energy. When it's backed up, emotions have nowhere to go.
A flush of adrenaline or a flood of cortisol during high-stress moments can get stuck if the system isn’t flowing. Massage, rebounding, dry brushing, and body oiling are ways to keep the channels clear.

💛 3. Make Time for Intentional Self-Care

Intentional self-care is not a luxury—it’s a necessity for emotional hygiene. Deep breathing (check out Breathe with Sandy on YouTube), yoga, Pilates, running, spending time with loved ones and animals—these all feed the nervous system. They act as nourishment and enrichment, elevating your mood and releasing the stress and tension that builds when energy is stagnant.

There is nothing more self-empowering than feeling where you are emotionally and planning a system or ritual to connect back with yourself.

Think:
✨ Baths
✨ Sauna sessions
✨ Swimming in natural water
✨ Painting or crafting
✨ Gardening
✨ Rearranging your space
✨ Deep cleaning
✨ Journaling or walking barefoot

Recently, when I’ve felt sadness or overwhelm, art has been my escape. It gives my hands something to do, a focal point for my heart, and most importantly—a place to put the energy outside of me. That same emotional current has also moved through my gardening projects, cleaning rituals, and home reorganization. Every time I engage with those tasks, I feel lighter, clearer.

And what if that’s the point?

What if these emotional impulses—these floods of sensation—are actually potential energy waiting to be channeled into something beautiful?

🌊 Let It Flow

We are emotional beings living in a chaotic world. Letting the chaos move through you is how you return to your center. When you treat your emotions as currents, not curses, you begin to move differently. With presence. With power. With purpose.

Let this be your reminder:
Don’t let chaos get trapped.
Move your body. Move your breath. Move your art.
Let it go where it needs to go.

Your body knows how to heal—if you let it.