Emotional Undertow & Shadow Work: Cultivating Emotional Intelligence (Without Drowning in It)

These past six weeks with family were deeply nourishing—but also unexpectedly revealing. Like the ocean, which I’ve long seen as a protective boundary, my inner world began to show me the currents moving just beneath the surface. And the more still I became, the more clearly I could see them.

At first, I was nervous. Old stories began to surface—the very ones that once inspired me to move across the world. In yogic philosophy, the practice of svadhyaya (self-study) isn’t just about reading sacred texts or doing yoga in sparkly leggings. It’s about observing yourself in real time, especially when it’s uncomfortable. It’s the kind of truth that can bubble up during breathwork, or yes even full moons—how are we recovering from that last Scorpio full moon, by the way? I found myself crying over everything. I mean, even just looking at my parents’ dog had my eyes watering like I was watching my best friend's wedding.

These weeks with family offered me a much stronger mirror than any medicine journey. Old dynamics re-emerged. Emotional pulls I thought I had "dealt with" resurfaced. But rather than sink, I started to study them—with curiosity instead of judgment. What I noticed was subtle but powerful: those emotional spikes weren’t random. They were invitations. Triggers became trailheads. Plot twists, if you will.

A cousin shared a visualisation with me that stuck, I clearly modified it to fit my own personality:

• The boat is you

• The weather is your current life theme

• The sails are your dreams and desires

• The wind is your intuition

• The currents below? Past experiences still pulling at you

• The sun above? Gratitude and the gifts that guide
  you home
  

She took a pause to take a phone call and I started working
on the diagram. When she came back, my ocean was full.
Safe to say a lot was pulling beneath me—yet somehow,
I’ve managed to stay afloat all these years.
(Let’s call it unlicensed spiritual buoyancy or the
art of being distracted by the sparkle)

Awareness changes everything.

✨ Interesting in going deeper on your own?
Navigating Shadows is a beautifully strange, cosmically funny, and deeply insightful workbook for anyone ready to explore their emotional patterns with humor, heart, and a touch of glitter.

Inside:
– A mindset quiz to meet your emotional navigation style
– Reflective prompts + shadow work that’s actually engaging
– Illustrated kitty metaphors (equal parts adorable, oddly accurate, and ironically hilarious)
– Tools for self-regulation and inner resilience

Think: part guidebook, part soul map, part shadow work, & of course part humor.

Because let’s be honest: illuminating the darkness usually just makes us funnier in the end.

Float with Me →]

In Transpersonal Psychology, the shadow isn’t a flaw to fix—it’s the part of us we exiled because it didn’t feel safe to bring into the light. Shadow work invites us to gently reclaim those parts. For me, it looked like sitting with anxiety instead of bypassing it. Tracking it to its root. Reminding myself: What happened then is not happening now. And also reminding myself that yes, I can cry and function. Multitasking, but make it existential.

Ram Dass said: "Our whole spiritual transformation brings us to the point where we realize that in our own being, we are enough."

There were moments I wanted to escape the discomfort. But I kept returning to the breath. To the body. To the ocean. And in that stillness, I realized:

The stress only has weight when I attach myself to the undertow.

By anchoring into presence, I found buoyancy. Presence isn’t passive—it’s active. It’s choosing again and again not to be pulled under by the past. Or at least not without a snorkel.

As a result, these family visits—often our most challenging mirrors—became moments that were truly treasurable. I learned where to soften. And I learned where to hold my boundary with grace.

Sometimes this means not seeing the ones who hurt you. Sometimes it means accepting that toxic people exist. And sometimes it means recognizing that your desire to make peace with everyone is the very thing disrupting your own peace. (Cue spiritual boundary with a glitter bomb finish.)

Ram Dass also said: "The quieter you become, the more you can hear." And in the quiet—between meals, laughter, and long pauses—I heard it:

A return to self. A return to center. A return to trust.

I’m leaving with more than memories. I’m leaving with integration. These weeks showed me that even chaos, when met with presence, becomes a guide. That the soul always knows how to float.

Time with family and friends also reminded me of something else: the healing power of shared laughter. In the middle of all the deep dives and shadow work, there were belly laughs. Inside jokes. That electric recognition when someone knows your story and still sees your light. Sometimes the best medicine is a moment with people who’ve seen your worst and still call you hilarious, wise, and resilient. (And yes, maybe a bit much—but in a fabulous way.)

These relationships—the ones rooted in history and realness—offered not only insight, but grace. We laughed about how insane life can be, while recognizing how much we’ve grown through the chaos. And that kind of love? It’s medicine too. The kind that doesn’t always fix, but absolutely reminds you who you are.

Because life is ridiculous. And painful. And holy. And funny. And our ability to hold all of that at once? That’s where the magic lives. And let’s be honest—some of our coping strategies are practically their own spiritual path. Laughter included.

Ready to explore your own inner ocean?
I created a downloadable workbook based on this metaphor—a guide designed to help you dive deeper into emotional intelligence, shadow work, and the sweet art of staying afloat when life gets heavy.

Navigating Shadows is available now. It includes soul-led questions, poetic insight, and illustrations that are as magical as they are mildly ridiculous. Bonus: when you book a Transpersonal Coaching session, you get the workbook as a gift.

Want to stay connected to the journey?
Join my WhatsApp group for soulful updates, retreat invites, community reflections, and spontaneous sparkle drops. QR code below.

Xx
Katzi