Hi friends!

As I continue to work with clients through Reiki and yoga I see an ever-increasing need for people to release energy that they’re carrying that doesn’t belong to them. You know that feeling when you come home and you feel tense, heavy, or frustrated? Like you can’t get out of your clothes fast enough or pour a large glass of alcohol? It’s likely in those moments you are carrying other people’s energy. It’s very easy in our daily lives to take on the problems and emotions of others. If you’ve experienced road rage, you know what I mean. Our days are filled with people, meetings, traffic, noise, social media feeds and lots of unexpected, or often unwanted, interactions. These type of situations if not checked, can be a recipe for unwelcome energy to latch onto our bodies and affect us in negative ways.

Energetic confusion, or taking on the energy of others as if it’s your own, can show up in many different situations. An angry driver showing you the least bit of tolerance will generally cause you to push back, perhaps say a few choice words and now that driver’s anger has become your anger. Being in groups or in large crowds can produce a variety of feelings that will differ in context and personality types – similar to how you feel in a crowd leaving a concert or after a team meeting – can demonstrate the effects of unwanted energy on us. Listening to a friend or loved one who is complaining about a bad situation they’re experiencing can draw us in and make us feel like we too are experiencing this situation. It works in the reverse as well. Ever spend time with people who have an infectious laugh and when you leave them you’re still smiling? Taking on the energy of others, both positive and negative, is an inevitable part of the human experience. Recognizing your own power and how you choose to respond to these emotions can be critical in keeping your body and mind balanced. Since energy can manifest in millions of ways it’s up to the person experiencing it to decide if it belongs to them and how they might want to neutralize, balance or cleanse the energy altogether.

The next time you’re feeling out of sorts whether it’s anxious, angry, sad or any other myriad of emotions, take a moment to decide if this is your energy. Perhaps as you take a step back you realize you’ve taken it on from someone or something around you. Here are a few steps that you can take to help dissolve, neutralize and cleanse your energy when you’re out and about. You’ll balance yourself back to your beautiful self before you know it.   

Step 1: Acknowledge the feeling is there. If your immediate response is to bury the feeling know that it will eventually expose itself in time whether you like it or not. Dealing with it right away will help you take the driver’s seat and redirect the emotion in a way that is best for you.

Step 2: Take a deep breath. Deep breathing is heavily underrated. Deep breathing activates our vagus nerve which signals our body’s parasympathetic nervous system — the system that calms our body and mind and tells us that all is well. If you’re out and about this can be a huge benefit to shift and neutralize your energy almost instantly,

Step 3: Find a mantra or affirmation that speaks to you. Coming up with different affirmations to target different emotions can become part of regular meditation practice. When you’ve practiced them in a calm environment you’ll have them ready at a moment’s notice. A mantra is a quick way for our brains to divert our thinking to a neutral place. A powerful phrase, expression or word can refocus and calm our minds. My favorites: “I am peace.” “My timing is impeccable.” “The universe is conspiring with me.”

Step 4: Take a seat. Literally drawing your body closer to the earth has the ability to bring you out of your thoughts and back into your body. Lean on a wall. Brick is the most grounding if it’s available to you. If shifting your body placement isn’t possible, connect your hand to an area of your internal organs. Draw your hand on your heart or your hand on your belly and remember that you are human. Allow the negative energy to dissolve as you lean into the emotions. Recognize where you’re feeling the emotion in your body. Draw the placement of your hands to the area of your body where the emotion is holding on. Recenter yourself through the hand placement and deep breathing. Have compassion for yourself and recognize that everything is fleeting, both good and bad.

Bonus. If you’re still feeling the effects of negative energy when you get home take two more steps to balance yourself back to your beautiful self.

Step 5: Change your clothes. Our clothes take on energy just like our physical being. Think about all the energy your clothes come into contact with. They act as a shield for our physical body. Put on soft clothes when you get home, even down to your socks. Feel the shift in your energy the moment you take off your clothes from the day. Take a deep breath and let go of what’s happened whether it was good or bad. This is a new moment.

Step 6: Lightly burn some sage in your home. Sage yourself by allowing the plume of smoke to rise in front of you and draw the smoke up and down the length of your body. Step forward through the smoke, turnaround, if the smoke plume has disappeared create it again and walk back through. As you do this, repeat your affirmation or mantra.

If you’re looking to go deeper with protecting and cleansing your energy pop over to my other blog post on additional tools to Balance, cleanse and protect your energy .

Throughout your day be mindful when your energy shifts. When you start to get uncomfortable in your body or your mind it’s time to step back and become conscious of the situation. Depending on what’s accessible to you be flexible in your ability to recognize and treat the energy you’re experiencing. When you stay in touch with what’s happening in your body and in your mind you’ll find freedom in your life no matter where you roam.

Namaste!