The real reason you're stuck....... Emotional blocks and how to heal them

Emotional mastery isn’t woo, It’s your path to power

Emotional health was never discussed in my family. Growing up in Communist-era Czechia, emotions were things to be hidden, pushed deep down. "Be a good girl, be seen and not heard." "Don't cry. Keep going." That was my programming; no room for sadness, anger, or even too much joy.

When I moved to London, the story didn't change much. The narrative shifted: "Man up," "Prove yourself," "Work harder than everyone else because you're foreign.". I learned to suppress my emotions even further by always putting on a brave face and making sure everyone else felt comfortable, valued, and at ease. People-pleasing became my superpower, and authenticity became my shadow.

Alcohol was my temporary escape, my emotional release valve, but sometimes it betrayed me. The emotions I'd carefully hidden would erupt uncontrollably, leading to moments I'd later regret deeply. It wasn't a solution, just another form of masking.

It wasn't until yoga entered my life that things began to shift dramatically. Yoga didn't just help me physically, it saved my life by inviting me to look inward. Through movement and breath, I started to see myself clearly for the first time. I realised I didn't even know who I was beneath the layers of pretence and expectation. Yoga became my sanctuary, a place where I could express, release, and finally begin to heal.

Then came lockdown and my father's accident, a forced pause in my endless hustle. This disruption was exactly what my soul needed. With no way back to my old life, I ventured into the online business space. However, this journey wasn't just about financial freedom; it quickly became a profound personal growth experience. It echoed everything yoga had taught me about authenticity and alignment. It showed me clearly that emotional healing wasn't optional; it was essential.

This realisation took me to a retreat in Mexico, a deep dive into emotional healing. There, I confronted and released emotions I'd unknowingly carried my entire life. Through breathwork, journaling, movement, art, voice, and even play, I discovered layers of myself I'd never known existed. My emotional intelligence blossomed, guiding me toward true self-awareness and freedom.

Why we need to feel to heal

As Brené Brown teaches, “You can’t selectively numb emotions. When we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive ones.” This truth hit me hard. I had spent most of my life numbing sadness, anger, or even joy, not realising that this was also cutting me off from aliveness, connection, and peace.

Many women were taught to hold it together. Don’t cry. Don’t shout. Don’t ask for too much. Emotional suppression was mistaken for strength. But feelings are not weaknesses; they are signals. Ignored emotions don’t disappear. They go underground and show up as physical symptoms: chronic fatigue, gut issues, migraines, even autoimmune conditions.

The truth is, emotions are energy in motion. And science confirms that emotions, when allowed to flow, last only about 90 seconds in the body. It’s the re

sistance, the suppression, the judgment that makes them stick around.

Daily Practices for Emotional Intelligence

Healing starts with awareness. Here are some of the practices I return to daily, and now teach my clients:

• Emotional Check-Ins: Using the emotional awareness chart (available below as a free download), pause and ask yourself:

  • What am I feeling right now?

  • What triggered it?

  • What do I need?

• Journaling: I use the Journal app. It’s simple, private, and powerful. iPhones also offer a built-in journaling and emotional tracking tool. Prompts to begin with:

  • What am I avoiding feeling right now?

  • What’s beneath my anger/sadness/anxiety?

  • What would I say if I weren’t afraid?

• Movement: Let the body speak. Dance. Walk. Shake. Stretch. Emotions live in the body; movement helps them release.

• Voice and Sound: Sounding your emotions, humming, sighing, or simply making noise, can be incredibly freeing.

• Art and Play: Draw how you feel. Collage your emotions. Channel your inner child. Sometimes healing doesn’t happen through words; it happens through play

  
  

These tools help build what’s often missing: emotional vocabulary, resilience, and the safety to feel. Over time, they reconnect you to your true self, the one beneath the people-pleaser, the achiever, the mask.

Shadow Work and the Power of Reflection

The first time I experienced shadow work was during my yoga training in Thailand. We were invited to look at our triggers, patterns, and projections in a safe and supported space. It wasn’t easy, but it was life-changing.

Shadow work is about meeting the parts of ourselves we’ve rejected, suppressed, or denied. The jealous one. The angry one. The insecure one. When we start asking, “What is this here to teach me?” instead of “Why is this happening to me?”, we shift out of victimhood and into personal power.

Every person becomes a mirror. Every trigger becomes a teacher. And we begin to see that not all emotions are even ours. Some of what we carry is ancestral, generational trauma woven into our DNA. But when we start this work, life becomes a beautiful dance of contrast, growth, and surrender. We no longer run from pain. We meet it. And in doing so, we find our freedom.

Breathwork and NSA: Feeling without needing to explain

One of the most profound tools I’ve discovered on my journey is breathwork. Breathwork bypasses the thinking mind and helps us to feel without needing to label, analyse, or explain. Sometimes the emotions are too big or buried too deep for words. Breath becomes the medicine. It brings safety to the body. It brings presence to the pain. It allows release, even when we don’t fully understand what we’re releasing.

Another powerful modality I now work with is Neurosomatic Attunement (NSA). Through gentle muscle testing, I help clients uncover which emotions, traumas, and unconscious programs are blocking their nervous system. Sometimes we want to change, launch a business, open a relationship, feel confident, but there’s an invisible block holding us back. NSA brings these blocks to light and allows the body to integrate them.

Many people don’t struggle because they lack willpower. They struggle because they haven’t processed what’s beneath the surface. NSA helps us get there, safely, gently, and effectively.

You’re not too much. You were just never seen

For years, I believed I was too much. Too emotional. Too intense. Too sensitive. But the truth is, I was just never fully seen. My needs were never heard. My emotions were never welcomed.

And if you’ve felt the same, I want you to know: there’s nothing wrong with you. You don’t need fixing. You need space. Space to feel. Space to breathe. Space to come home to yourself.

This journey ignited a passion: helping others break through their emotional barriers, letting go of the chains of pretending, and stepping into their truest selves. Emotional health isn't just about feeling good; it's about living authentically, genuine freedom, and the courage to be seen.

Let’s stop pretending. Let’s start feeling.

Download the emotional awareness chart below to start naming and navigating your inner world. This is the first step to building resilience, confidence, and freedom.

And if you're ready to dive deeper, book your free consultation for Neurosomatic Attunement (NSA) coaching. Together, we'll unlock your emotional intelligence and set you on the path toward authentic freedom.

Emotional Intelligence chart.pdf

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