Map of your emotions

An individual exercise for mindful self-reflection and exploring how emotions manifest in the body.

Duration: 80 minutes. Discussion on Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions: 15 minutes. Relaxatin session: 10 minutes. Preparing sheets: 15 minutes. Exercise execution: 30 minutes. Summary: 15 minutes.

Difficulty level: 3/5

Preparation

Sets of colored pencils (at least 1 set per 2 participants). Pens. White A4 sheets (8 per participant).

Introduction

• Discuss emotions with participants—what they are and how they relate to one another, using Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions as a reference.

• Guide participants through a short relaxation session.

• Ask each participant to draw a simple figure representing their whole body (head to feet) on each of the 8 sheets using a black or gray pencil. The figure should fill the entire page.

• Instruct participants to label each sheet with a different emotion. 

  • Sadness

  • Anger

  • Disgust

  • Fear

  • Guilt

  • Joy

  • Shame

  • Trust

Instructions

1. Ask participants to analyze each sheet and mark the areas in their body where they feel that specific emotion, using colors they find fitting. They can either color the areas, draw symbols, or create representations of the emotions (e.g., fear—a pair of wide eyes, anger—a lightning bolt). Encourage participants to reflect on sensations linked to each emotion, asking: “How do I feel this emotion? As tightness, swirling, expansion, pain, pressure, numbness?” They can write down these sensations next to the markings on the sheet.

2. Once all emotions are mapped, participants reflect on when these emotions typically arise in their lives. They can write these situations next to the corresponding body areas or on the back of the sheet. 

3. Participants answer the question: “What do I need when I experience this emotion?” They write this question on the back of each sheet and note their response. The goal is to increase awareness and learn how to care for their emotions.

Helpful tips

1. Encourage participants to revisit and update their emotional maps over time, as managing emotions is a lifelong process

2. Inspire them to explore techniques for releasing and processing negative emotions.

3. Check out our Holding Stories guide for further insights.

Wrap-up

Participants share their experiences, guided by questions such as:

• What surprised you in this exercise?

• Which emotions were easy to locate? Which were harder? Why?

• Comparing drawings, which colored areas overlap with others?

• Which parts of your body are most affected by strong emotions?

• How can you release negative emotions effectively?

• A Body Emotion Map Template can be helpful in this process.