Emotional balance is essential for achieving the happiness and peace of mind that come with living a holistic lifestyle.

If your emotional dimension becomes imbalanced, however, you may instead experience frustration, impatience or irritability.

Imbalanced emotions can then promote challenges in your physical and mental bodies since these three primary dimensions are very much intertwined.

For example, sadness in the face of rejection or loss can cause deeper issues like depression or anxiety and lead to physical outcomes like nausea, rashes, or loss of appetite. 

Over time these symptoms can cause even more debilitating conditions.

How can you enjoy balanced emotions?  Let’s take a look.

How to Experience the Life-Changing Benefits of Emotional Balance 

 

Your emotions run on a continuum from negative to positive. 

At the negative end are fear, worry and anger, where we can easily get stuck if we feel life treats us unfairly.

At the positive end are love, happiness, kindness, and gratitude, where we may arrive when we feel life is treating us right.

Most of us swing from one pole to the other, sometimes many times in a single day depending on what’s happening. 

You could be ecstatic one day because you finally get the raise you’ve been hoping for. You go out and have a nice celebration dinner complete with champagne followed by a great night’s sleep lulled by the sound of rain on your roof. 

Unfortunately, the next day you notice the rainstorm left a big wet spot on your ceiling. You call a roofer or two who tell you that your roof is old and needs to be replaced. You wish you had bought cheaper champagne and then fall into a depression that lasts for several days, weeks or longer as you worry about the cost of your new roof. 

If you often get stuck in a funk, chances are good your emotions are imbalanced. It’s as though life happens, but you don’t move on.

How do you find balance in this situation?

Balance is that place between the positive and negative ends of the continuum where you can enjoy your raise, feel annoyed about the roof, and go back to work with a smile on your face. 

You still feel deeply about things, but develop an ability to flow with life’s ups and downs without the big swings from negative to positive and back. 

Since negativity tends to be our default position, to find emotional balance we must maintain a positive focus to overcome our inertia. Once achieved, however, emotional balance brings a whole new perspective. 

Instead of resisting the negativity by lashing out in anger, you welcome it with an attitude of acceptance. This means you feel the anger but don’t get stuck there.

Instead, you allow it to pass on through, knowing that resisting it only makes it stronger, pulling you down into a funk.

And you do all of this because you know that calm, peace and relaxation always follow. 

Emotional Balance and Meditation

Emotional balance isn't just about feeling good; it's about navigating life's many ups and downs with flexibility and grace. 

One of the most powerful tools for achieving emotional balance is meditation.

Studies show that regular practice can actually alter the brain, particularly in regions linked to attention, emotional regulation, and self-awareness. 

It also helps your body relax, encouraging you to release tension and feel good, the first step towards achieving emotional balance.

Meditation also helps in other ways. For example it can promote:

1. Significant reductions in stress, anxiety, and depression, which have been reported by a number of studies.

2.Development of a heightened state of awareness and presence that comes from living in the present moment. In this state you are able to experience life more fully. And respond to emotional stimuli with greater clarity and calm.

3. Improved overall life satisfaction due to greater personal flexibility and resilience.

4. Richer interpersonal relationships.

Other Ways to Achieve Emotional Balance

The world we live in is stressful in ways our ancestors could not have imagined. Not only are our lives today more fast-paced, but we have many more distractions.

Fortunately, we have a number of ways, in addition to meditation, to help us achieve emotional balance in the midst of today’s challenges: 

• Flow positive, love-based feelings like gratitude. This could be a daily practice or something you train yourself to do when faced with an unexpected challenge or need to make a big, important decision.
• Embrace the present moment, by saying "yes" to whatever comes your way, regardless of whether you judge it to be good or bad. 
• Maintain your physical body with daily exercise and a healthy diet. Exercise releases endorphins, the neurotransmitters that boost your mood and help you reduce stress, while a healthy diet is essential for supporting your brain.
• Sleep well. Getting quality sleep is essential for recharging your body and mind. On the other hand, excess sleep deprivation can lead to emotional reactions such as irritability, frustration and anxiety, sure signs of emotional imbalance. 
• Practice mindful communication by actively listening, expressing yourself authentically, and showing empathy in your interactions. 
• Practice conscious breathing.

  Try sitting quietly and focusing on your breath. Notice your belly expanding as the oxygen comes into your nose and fills your lungs with air. Then watch the air move out of your lungs as you release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere to nourish your plants. Notice how much calmer and more balanced you feel.

• Find calm by sitting outdoors among the trees, at a local park or on a forest trail. Or go to the beach and breathe in the salt air.

 Are You Ready to Find Emotional Balance?

Start by noticing how you react emotionally to life’s challenges. 

Then choose some of the practices in this article and put them to use.

Now watch the changes in your life. Maybe you’re calmer and more relaxed, able to navigate life’s challenges with increased grace and flexibility. 

You may also see improvements in your health, experiencing less stress and increased levels of wellness.

Give it a try.  Your new life will amaze you.