Sacred Rage
Accessing our sacred rage, holy aggression and supressed emotions is the greatest gift of self-love, healing and liberation. It is the only way to truly set yourself free.
From a very young age, we are taught that it is unacceptable to express our anger. Yelling and screaming is unacceptable and a “good” girl or boy should not tap into this side of themself. If you are angry, walk away from the situation and supress this anger as it has no place to be shown and expressed. It will simply only cause damage and harm to yourself and others if this anger is expressed… right?
The only times we see anger expressed, particularly throughout childhood, is when “breaking point” is reached. It is a blazing explosion of anger that has built up for so long that it must come out. The way a dragon breathes fire, this anger is projected outwards, onto the nearest casualty. The way that a boiling and bubbling pot on the stove explodes and overflows with too much heat. We lose total control. The extreme anger that is stored inside us triggers our brains fight or flight response and we fall into complete dysregulation.
It’s not just extreme anger that we are told to supress throughout our lives. Emotions of sadness, feeling betrayed, rejected, abandoned… the list goes on. It is so common that emotions are supressed and squashed down because that is the easiest way to deal with them. We believe it is easier to ignore our emotions than to actually feel them and deal with them in a healthy manner.
It was only when I began doing this work that I realised how much I actually shoved down and ignored rather than dealt with.
These emotions, if left to simmer, are stored in our bodies, in our organs, muscles and tissues. We only have so much space to carry these emotions around with us. As long as these emotions sit in your body, the emotional energy begins to manifest into chronic illnesses, inflammation and major health problems.
You know that health problem that you haven’t been able to shake and no amount of medication or treatment can help? … must I go on?
Releasing this anger and this suppressed emotional energy from our bodies is the greatest act of self-love, healing and liberation we can give to ourselves. But, it involves tapping into this pain… which is the scariest part for most of us. Acknowledging your resistance is important and necessary.
‘What will come up? I can’t look at those emotions, they are too painful’.
I have heard it all before. I have been there myself. But I’ve realised that, accessing this pain, this rage, this sadness and these emotions is never as scary as we realise. The scariest thing is thinking that you may instead choose to spend your life ignoring this pain and have it eat away at you slowly until it’s too late.
Okay but hang on… what is sacred rage?
Sacred rage is the powerful release of anger, rage and emotional energy from your body. It is tapping into the wild and primal parts of ourselves to release this energy in such a profound and transformative way.
We complete this practice with the intention of releasing emotions, but also as a way to avoid reaching that ‘breaking point’. So we can show up more peacefully, calmly and lovingly in our relationships. So we can heal ourselves of chronic pain and illness we have lived with and prevent any further pain from manifesting itself.
My guidance for accessing your sacred rage
Sacred rage is accessed differently for every beautiful being. It may be accessed through ceremony. This may look like sipping on a cacao, setting an intention, journaling what you may like to release and then entering into the state of rage release. Or it may look like running into your room after an argument and releasing the anger that has built up into your pillow. How you would like to access and enter into your release is a personal preference.
In the following section, I am going to outline a few ways that I have found I have been able to access a rage release.
1. Allocate a time to access this rage when you have time and space to yourself. If you find yourself with your house or your room to yourself, this is a perfect opportunity to release. Set up a safe and comfortable space for yourself on your bed or on the floor with cushions. Set an intention to release what needs to come out of your body and what is ready to be let go of. You may like to play some music to get you into the zone; music that is powerful and can support your rage. When you are ready, begin screaming or yelling into your pillow. Giving it everything you’ve got. You may feel silly initially, but stick with it. These initial screams are unlocking the emotion that is buried deep within you. Scream, punch your pillow, yell, say whatever you need to say… your aim is to get energy out of your body. You have permission to say whatever you need to say; words are simply just energy and they need to let go of. You may find that after a few screams, emotions begin to flow. This may look like ramping up the intensity of your screams, it may involve you melting into a sobbing puddle on the floor, or it could have you laughing uncontrollably or you could find yourself shaking and physically releasing this energy with movement. This is all simply energy release. I encourage you to surrender to the process and let your body guide this release. The more open you are and the more willing you are to surrender, the greater release you will experience.
2. Treat your triggers as love gifts. We all get triggered by things. It could be something that someone has said or does for example. A trigger is something that stirs you up inside. It sparks something inside of you… and you may feel sad or angry or frustrated. This is a perfect time to release whatever it is tat is causing this trigger. Go into a safe space; like your room for example. Think about how it is that you are feeling and begin expressing this into your pillow. You will often find that as you begin to express this, emotions flood to the surface and memories are ignited. Continue to yell, shout and do whatever you need to do to process the emotions that are coming up for you in this moment.
3. Accessing rage release in a sisterhood or a group. If you have friends who are on board and you all feel comfortable supporting each other in this process, take yourselves into the forest or find a space you can feel safe and held. As a group, you could play music and incorporate some movement into this process and begin to scream, shout or yell – anything you need to do to access this rage. Have a sister supporting you through this and take turns.
Tapping into your sacred rage is a journey of freedom and liberation. As you release the emotions that have been living inside your body, you free yourself of the triggers, of the pain and of the wounds. It is such a powerful process in your healing and can literally transform your life. You can access your rage as often as you need to get it out of your body.
Concluding a rage release with self-loving care, a beautiful self-cuddle, a warm tea and lots or rest is important to integrate. You may experience memories and emotions come up during your release. I find it really beneficial to journal on this as a means of integrating and respecting what has come up for you. Do make sure that you move out of this with lots of self-care. The intention behind this is to release what is stored inside you, but also to give yourself the loving recovery you need.
Free yourself of the pain and welcome a life of liberation and expansion.
I love you