We’re generally not aware of our emotions. Whether you know it or not, your emotional world runs you. The more aware you are of your feelings, the more you can harness them to your benefit. You can be a prisoner of your emotions, or you can master them.  

Here’s how you can start:

1. 1. Stop what you are doing
2. 2. Observe what comes up for you
3. 3. Become aware of your emotions, thoughts and sensations


1. a. Feelings are conscious subjective experiences of emotions in your body. They generally generate many of your thoughts and actions.


2. b. Thoughts are ideas expressed in words.  They usually reside in your head.


3. c. Sensations are bodily experiences, e.g. pain, tightness, tiredness

Note: It is important that you learn to distinguish between your emotions, thoughts and sensations.  When you are asked, “what do you feel?” you’re likely to answer with a thought not a feeling or an emotion.  For example, you might say: "I feel like I should go work out," which may be coming from agitation (a feeling), lethargy (a sensation), or guilt (a feeling).  Or you may answer, "I feel like eating something." Behind that thought could be loneliness (a feeling), boredom (a feeling) or hunger (a sensation).

You might be only able to come up with “I’m feeling out of sorts.” If you sit with it and try to get a better sense of what is behind that thought, you may discover that you are actually feeling some sensation in your body, like tightness. If you sit with that further, you may discover an emotion, e.g. angry, fearful, etc.

4.  After you select what you are feeling, the app will ask you to choose where you experience the feeling: in your head, your body or both.  This is to help you experience your feelings in your body, which is where they really occur. Whenever you choose “head”, stop and see if you can locate the feeling in your body. The more you become aware of feelings in your body, the more you will be able to remain present in the moment.