Issue link: http://www.bodysensemagazinedigital.com/i/99568
" "I love the idea that not only do emotions affect the body, but that our physical experiences also influence our emotions." how massage helped my shoulder, but now I'd like to understand how massage affects my mood." Ready to accept the challenge, I jumped in. "Here is one reasonable explanation based on emerging neuroscience. For many decades, the prevailing wisdom was that emotions are experienced in the mind and, as a result, those powerful emotions then affect our body. For example, when someone offends us, we have the emotional experience of anger. Shortly thereafter, we experience physical symptoms of anger, such as increased muscle tension, constricted breathing, and an increased heart rate. On the other hand, powerful positive emotions like joy and happiness also have corresponding physical effects. Our emotions and thoughts have physical consequences. As it turns out, however, the new scientific understanding reveals that these mind-body experiences are at least bi-directional, if not completely the other way around." "I'm a little lost," he said. "What do you mean by the other way around?" "The emerging science is providing some really good evidence that the physical sensation can lead to the emotion, instead of the emotion manifesting as a physical experience." "Wow, that seems completely backward!" he exclaimed. "Give me an example." "Sure. Your mind is always trying to make sense of what the body experiences. The brain needs a reason for what it experiences; we interpret meaning so we know how to respond appropriately. As an example, let's imagine you have an increased respiration and pulse rate. Are you excited or are you fearful? When you think about it, the physical experiences of excitement and fear are almost identical. The mind must decide which emotion it is based on the context of the experience. If you are seated in a theater waiting for a much anticipated 6 Body Sense