You're cleansing - what exactly???
Maybe it’s a full moon, new moon, or just the end of the day and you feel you need a good ol' cleansing – but what are you actually doing here? Ridding yourself of negative energy?
No. There is so much more to it than that.
It is widely recognised and generally accepted that energy is everywhere and that all matter is made up of energy at the atomic level. That every ‘thing’ omits a frequency of energy (that most of us cannot see).
Through our senses of sight, hear, smell, taste and touch, this is how we make 'sense' of the world around us.
We also interpret energy that informs our actions based on what we have done before!
So, as we go about our day, our energy fields are constantly intermingling and interchanging, some of lower frequency (people often interpret this as negative), some of higher frequency. At the ‘end of the day’ what your body is generally shouting at you is this ‘I want my balance back!’ and 'I want to feel, whole.'
This means to restore alignment and homeostasis for optimum levels of health and wellbeing. Therefore, rest and restoration is needed and often.
But how?
You don't have to hang upside in a yoga pose or sit outside chanting with crystals in lotus position to do so. But you might have to commit to changing some of your habits. I'll explain.
There are various levels of cleansing, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, yet each layer is affected by the other. So you need to see, treat and respect all of you as a living, breathing, energetic system.
Physical Level
Your body is functioning all of the time whether you're aware of it or not. When you do too much, under sleep, under water, over eat processed foods and lack of natural nourishment - the body will respond accordingly and you’re likely to feel depleted, sluggish, sore, fatigued and generally…CRAP!
As well as symptoms showing up on the skin such as spots, rashes, dark circles under the eyes…..you know the score! it's time to cleanse and detox.
What can you do?
Recognize areas of your body where there is discomfort, aches or pains
Meditate on the above
Take regular breaks from technology and work
Don’t eat and work at the same time
Sit down (being still for even a short while conserves and reserves your energy stores) - you can still sit and be frustrated about sitting, you'll still get the benefit
Take a bath or refreshing shower
Have a massage
Eat some fruit / nuts / vegetables
Limit alcohol consumption
Drink more water
Schedule offline time and stick to it.
Likewise if your body hasn’t moved a lot throughout the day (if you’re regularly sat at a computer) this will also cause the body to become sluggish. What you actually need to do here is move around, arms, legs, everything and get that heart pumping.
Go for a brisk walk, jog, swim, jog, dance, jiggle, giggle!
Mental Layer
What we think affects our body and vice versa.
It makes and takes energy to think and think and think and think. We do a lot of thinking these days! The brain uses a lot of energy! So you’ll need to refuel often whether that's through:
Meditation
Listing out your priorities for the day
Scheduling in time for a nap or sleep
Keeping hydrated
Moving your body or tuning-in to one of your other senses for a few minutes
Block off your sense of sight for a few minutes (depending on where you are!). We process so much through our eyes, it's nice to give them a rest...ahhhhh. (I love to do this if i'm feeling a bit bombarded with the world at the end of the day).
Emotional Layer
A lot of the time we don’t have the time, or take the time, to process what we're feeling.
We're bombarded and overloaded with information from every angle, coupled with limited time to respond before we need to act again.
This disrupts the flow of energy and again depletes the system which has an affect on your mood and thoughts.
What can you do?
Check in with your body often and with how you are feeling...how are you feeling?
Notice what your whinging about and address it with patience and kindness
Recognize when and where there is stress in your body, how/where does it build and manifest within you? what are your triggers?
How do you know when your body is relaxed?
Take a few deep belly breaths, (that's all it takes to switch on that parasympathetic nervous system).
Journal your thoughts and feelings
Get creative to express what is going on inside of you, draw, paint, embroider, DIY etc. etc.
Notice what colours you tend to choose to wear
Get things 'off your chest' with some mates! (connect in person not just via text).
Spiritual Layer
If you're able to keep all the other layers of your body cleansed, refreshed and tip top, you'll feel a deeper sense of connection within yourself, feel anchored within your body and able to deal with what life is presenting you with.
You can also:
Explore various meditation practices
Read self development books
Develop a practice of forgiveness, acceptance and gratitude in your life
Balance time inside with time in nature
Book a retreat away either health, yoga, walking etc.
Take up a new course / hobby
So the next time you feel like cleansing or clearing – rather than just a hole, think of filling - the whole.
Blessings,
Sara
*It’s not about getting things perfect, it’s just about having a go.*