I have been working on cleaning out emotional baggage for a few years now. I spend zero minutes, fifteen minutes or up to two hours doing this (mostly fifteen minutes) per day. I am firmly convinced that it is powering my life, giving me insight to myself and others, and reducing my negative feelings. I can attest that my internal dialogue is much much quieter and it is quite easy to be internally quiet for short to medium periods of time now.
I just read an article about gardening of the mind. Although the author was really referring to it with respect to study, I thought a lot about it with respect to recapitulation and cleaning out one's mind. The sweeping breath is very powerful. I do that to release my emotional baggage ... that and so much more. I can access deep old feelings that are distinctly mine yet thoroughly forgotten. I can reduce and discard those feelings. The memories are a part of me and never leave though. I can waive new moods that are negative or grey. I can waive feelings of despair and purposelessness.
I now feel that gardening of the mind is an excellent metaphor for this recapitulation in that I and clearly getting rid of weeds in my mental garden. Sadly, it is a neglected garden and will take years more before I can reach into the further reaches to weed out the bad thoughts, experiences and feelings that lay, as if in ambush, there.
I experimented with the yogic idea of the mula bandha. It makes a powerful combination with the sweeping breath. I can eliminate desires and cravings with this combination. It takes lots of work and repetition but I can attest to the diminishing cravings in my day to day life.
This combination is great for dispelling thoughts and feelings of stress, anger and embarrassment.
It is exciting to cultivate these new disciplines and I look forward to the personal changes that are already in play, growing and bearing fruit in the months and years to come.