Today’s big idea is that, when you think of the ‘self’ in self care, you probably think about your body and your mind. But today I’m talking about making time to cleanse your energy as a means to take care of your vibe.
Your energy is how you show up in the world. It colors your thoughts and your mood and influences your actions. Like everything in nature, your energy is self-renewing, but sometimes it could use a little help.
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You know how you wake up and you just feel off?
It’s not a stomach ache or a headache, or even a mood. Maybe the hair on the back of your neck bristles when someone talks to you. Or your drop a mug on your toe. Or even the dog feels annoying to you. You could have a low-grade headache for no reason. In these instances, part of what’s really off, and triggering these results, is your energy.
Yoga texts tell us that the body has five layers, or koshas in Sanskrit. Moving from the outside to the inner, there’s the physical layer, the energetic layer, the mental layer, the wisdom layer, and finally, deepest within is the bliss layer. The things I’m sharing with you today help you cleanse the energetic layer of your body.
Here are 3 ways to cleanse your energy:
The first is to take a bath that you’ve dissolved some Epsom salts into. After all, there’s a difference between cleaning and cleansing.
You can sense that immersing yourself in the ocean is about more than just cooling off, right? It’s healing to bob in that salt water. Dare I say, cleansing.
Well, if you can swim in natural bodies of water on the regular, you may not need this tip. But for those of us who can’t, taking a bath is the next best thing. Especially when you put some epsom salts in there. As salt is purifying and Epsom salts in particular are relaxing. That’s because Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate. Magnesium is a relaxant for your muscles that many of us are deficient in, since soil levels have been depleted thanks to decades of factory farming and a great way to cleanse your energy.
When you soak in an epsom salt bath you absorb the magnesium through your skin. (And it can help with constipation, which is also cleansing, lol). When you take a bath, you’re cleaning more than your body, you’re cleaning your energy. You know how some people you interact with and it’s like a sticky film gets on you that makes you want to take a shower? That’s their energy. And taking an epsom salt bath is a great way to get that schiz off you and bring yourself back to balance.
Also, floating in the tub recreates the experience of being in the womb. You don’t have to be in there an hour for it be cleansing. If you’re a 5 minute bath-taker, so be it. And if you don’t have a tub, you can mix some Epsom salts, which you can find in any drugstore, with a little olive or almond oil and use them as a scrub to get them on to your skin and to soak in their essence.
The second way is to burn sage and let the smoke do its cleanse working
Burning sage is an indigenous tradition that’s meant to clear out old energy. You might have heard of saging a room or your whole home. To do it, you buy a bundle of sage leaves that are about 5 bucks. I’ve seen them at Whole Foods, but they also have them at crystal shops if you’ve got any nearby. And I’m sure you can find them online. You light the end of the sage stick and blow on it to put the flame out but keep the embers going, so that it emits smoke.
To sage a room you walk around and hold the burning sage stick up so that smoke permeates the entire room. You might want to use a magazine or your hand to fan them smoke up into the corners and under the bed and such. It’s good to do when you first move into a place to help any energetic vestiges of the previous tenants out of there. After Trump left the office, there was a hilarious New Yorker cartoon of two cranes lifting just epically huge sage sticks into the White House. But you can use a sage stick any time you want to refresh your space.
You can also sage yourself to cleanse your energy. You light the sage stick the same way but then use your hand to fan the smoke so that it touches all the parts of your body and the air bubble that’s just around you. You can sage yourself any time you’ve had some interaction with someone that made you feel icky, or are in a mood. Or just feel off. Heck you could do it everyday and it would probably feel great.
And the third way to cleanse yourself is to use a crystal.
Selenite is known for its cleansing properties. It looks almost like an icicle. It often is sold in wands and you can hold it in your hand, and then maybe run it along the contours of your body. It’s a standard crystal, and should be available at any local rock or crystal shop, and is very inexpensive. I keep a selenite wand near my bed and just hold it and take a couple deep breaths and then wave it around my head, my throat, my heart, my belly, around my arms and legs. The whole thing takes less than a minute and I feel like it helps me wash off the day and reset before sleep.
Daily Tiny Assignment
Your tiny assignment is to choose one method to cleanse your energy as soon as you are able. I realize you might have to get to store or order something online, so I’m not going to say in the next 24 hours. But just decide: Will you take a bath with Epsom salts? Sage yourself and/or your home? Or use a selenite wand? Just pick one, and know that later you’ll have other options you can try too, when you’re ready.
Come back next week
When I’m sharing surprising (and surprisingly fun) ways to amp up your self-care, as well as how to handle it when your self-care gets you all up in your feelings–which is a benefit of self-care, although not one a lot of people are likely to embrace.
Have a great weekend!
