One of the basilar concepts in Cognitive Linguistics’ bibliography is that of the image schema (see LAKOFF, 1987; JOHNSON, 1987; TURNER, 1991; GIBBS; COLSTON, 1995; etc.). Having faced an almost discordant variety of definitions for the schemas, Grady proposes a theoretical refinement. With the same objective, this paper proposes a refined definition, which can be based on the ecological approach to language and cognition (DUQUE, 2016, 2017, 2018). Hence, the schemas are to be characterized as mechanisms which emerge from a symbiotic organism-environment relation. Thus, the paper presents schemacity and schematisation as new theoretical models for approaching the schemas. Furthermore, the authors' refinement inevitably crosses the way of the concept of the primary metaphor. Therefore, through the hypothesis of emulation (DUQUE, 2016), they discuss the primary metaphor DIFFICULTY IS HEAVINESS, by presenting a more dynamic approach, which entails a direct relation between this metaphor and the process of schematization. They also discuss briefly the relation between emulation and our neural circuitry, by considering the studies of the ecological psychology (GOLONKA; WILSON, 2016) and the Neural Theory of Metaphor (see LAKOFF, 2008).