Emotion Explorations: Anger

Anger can be a challenging emotion to experience, and this is what we explored during our third Mind Move Make class.  I asked if anyone in the class had ever felt angry before, and every raised a hand (including me!).  In fact, most of the students had experienced anger that very day.  All of the students took turns sharing a time that they felt angry, and it was interesting hearing the things that made them feel this powerful emotion.  One girl talked about a friend who had broken a promise.  Another student shared a time that a cousin was unfair and cheated while they were playing a game.  

I asked the students to think about where they feel "anger" in their bodies.  For example, I told them that when I get angry I feel my cheeks getting hot first, then it spreads to my forehead and my entire face!  One student said she feels anger in her back when it gets tight.  Someone else felt anger in her chest, and her heart pounded really fast.  Noticing how the body feels when experiencing an emotion lets us know that the emotion is coming.  It is like the doorbell ringing before an important visitor comes to our house.  The feeling in the body is the doorbell and the emotion is the important visitor; our body lets us know which emotion we are having.

We talked about how feeling anger is part of being human.  Mindfulness allows us space between anger and our reaction to anger.  This space gives us more control; it gives us a choice for how we respond to anger, along with all the other emotions. 

After that, I let the students explore "anger" by making an angry face at one another, and making angry noises!  It is important to know what "angry" looks like, though almost everyone ended up laughing at one another's funny, angry faces!

Three students finding Child's Pose

During the movement part of our class, I taught several familiar poses along with a couple of new ones: Dolphin Pose and Sphinx Pose.  Giving the students the space of their yoga mat, I asked them to explore "anger" through movement!  They could stomp, make noises, or find a pose that felt particularly "angry".  It was fun to watch the results.

In their sketchbooks, each student designed an "angry" monster.  Through color, facial expression, shape, and scale they developed their creatures.  Here are a few from this class: