Name it to tame it (and LIVE Embodied New Year Intention Setting practice this week 😅)

I promised on my YouTube channel to share more about the research showing why the Name it to Tame it practice is so amazing and effective for turning down the intensity of emotions. I'll start with an overview of the practice in case you didn't see my little video on it yet 😊

Name it to Tame It

All you do is to label whatever emotion you are experiencing with as much specificity as possible. That's literally it! The key is to stay out of the "sad, mad, glad" buckets and get specific. This has the effect of decentering from our emotions- giving us some space and being able to be more of an observer than an experiencer.

In Buddhist "nature of mind" philosophy and psychology, mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening in the mind. Additionally, you cannot transform what you are not aware of...hence the "name it to tame it" label in the Buddhism-based mindfulness meditation world.

In psychology, this practice is called "affect labelling" - literally putting a label on your affect aka current emotional state.

In both, the "active ingredient" is that you are moving from being immersed in the experience of your motions, from the experiencer to the observer or witness. Pretty neat huh?

Well my friends it gets even neater when we bring the neuroscience research in.

The Right Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex

Matthew Liberman in his 2009 article The Brain's Braking System (you can find it on Google scholar to read the whole thing) shares that the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (RVLPFC) is involved in inhibiting both emotions and sensorimotor motions. This part of the brain lights up when self-control is involved - in physical impulses and emotional ones - such as calming higher emotional states and urges to refrain from activities like gambling.

This RVLPFC is the part of the brain that lights up when study subjects are practicing affecting labelling aka Name it to Tame It! So cool!! And....studies show that the amygdala - responsible for challenging emotions like fear and anger - quiets during activities that the RVLPFC lights up. WHAT. You are not only turning down the intensity of that emotion when you practice affect labelling, you are changing the tone of that emotion to a more neutral state! WHAT.

Other studies have shown that this works for when you see someone else in an emotionally activated state (labelling their affect) too - which is really helpful because emotions are contagious - our nervous systems and brains are secretly communicating with each other all the time to get us to understand and connect with one another.

I invite you to give it a shot

The next time you are feeling activated, or see someone else activated, mentally note what emotion is happening. I will warn you, in my experience, often these emotions have buddies hanging out with them, do not be surprised at the complexity that shows up. Being human is a whole lot!! Just keep labelling. And I always can sense something really strong and authentic underneath those outer layers- love, respect, compassion, passion. Honoring where those surface emotions are coming from can help us change how we express them.

You can also use this to process an emotional experience after the fact. Settle in with a few breaths and recall the experience, and then begin your labelling. This is really helpful when you are trying to keep your shit together to be professional at work or not lose it in public, and temporarily have to suppress your feelings. Later you can let it all out and this can help to move it through you! I had a toxic leader at work last year and he was laying into me in a working group and I was not gonna lose it back- the whole group was already soooo uncomfortable. So I breathed deep and noted the presence of rage and frustration and humiliation, made it home and processed. Vented to a neighbor, laid on the floor, took the dog for a nice long walk, and labelled all those emotions. Whew!

Here is the video on YouTube if you want to give it a go, it's also a reel on my Instagram page!

And now for a special announcement 🗣️

In lieu of a recorded practice video this week, I will be doing my FIRST EVER live stream on YouTube instead! It will be on New Year's Day at 12:00 EST and we will go for about 30 min to do some embodied intention setting for the New Year. I have been picking a word or theme at the beginning of the year and since 2025 was "embodiment," it made sense to me to incorporate the felt sense and somatic awareness into it this year. THEN I thought - maybe people would like to try this with me!

I've been in somatic trainings all year and these practices are so wonderful - our bodies are trying to tell us things all the time! Tapping into the felt sense of what a truly lived and embodied positive intention can do for us can help to carry us through the whole damn year!

🗺️Here's our little map for the session:

Arriving practice - slowing down and settling into the present (5 min)
Mind-body connection deepening - gentle movement, breathwork and guided noticing (10 min)
Embodied intention setting - tapping into the felt sense of our intention/letting one emerge (10 min)
Guided integration - journaling, suggestions for follow-on activities, and shares! (5 min)

If you want a reminder, go to my Military Yogini YouTube channel and click on the Live tab - you will see the event there and can click on the notification button to get a reminder when we go live!! It will also be posted for you to view after the fact if you can't make it live.

Name it to Tame it Round 2

For the long practice video next week, I will be doing a ten(ish) minute guided practice of Name it Tame It, so check out my short video to get a sneak peek 😏 I'll be sure to include a bonus practice of switching from unpleasant emotions to pleasant (or neutral) as part of it so we aren't marinating in challenging emotional states the whole time 😅

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and Happy New Year Y'all! Hope to see some of you live on YouTube on Thursday!!

In deep gratitude,

💞Carly

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter!! If you know anyone who would benefit, I would be delighted if you shared the love and passed it along 🙏

You can find me on YouTube and Instagram with my Military Yogini handle, I'd love to connect with you there!

I greatly appreciate any feedback, comments, or requests for practices/info. I've got a lot of knowledge and skills to share with people, so tell me what ya need and we'll see what I can do!! Simply respond to this email to send me your thoughts 😊