Have you ever woken up in the morning, feeling on top of the world, only to realize later that you’re feeling slightly sick and heavy? Do you ever feel like the energy has literally been sucked out of you after a heavy conversation with a friend who’s going through troubling times, and suddenly you are feeling as bad as your friend? Or perhaps you felt just fine until you walked through an airport, shopping mall, or some other place filled with many people, and you felt not-so-great afterward?

These are signs that you have unconsciously taken on other people’s energies, emotions, or problems. You may be naturally sensitive or empathic, but you don’t have to tolerate other people’s “stuff.”

Energy hygiene is very similar to physical hygiene. Many of us have been taught to take a daily shower or bath to cleanse ourselves. It is equally important to develop habits to clean energetically. When dirt accumulates on our physical bodies, we wash it away. We should do the same when we take on other people’s heavy emotions or energies.

First, ask yourself, “Are these feelings mine?” If you need more clarification, consider how you felt earlier in the day and any conversations or interactions you may have had with others that might have contributed to your current state. See if you can pinpoint when you started to feel the way you do.

Here are some ways you can keep your energies clear and pure; you can try them singly or use them in any combination as necessary:

1) Get physically clean. Take a shower, finishing with a cold rinse. During your shower, imagine standing underneath a shower of rainbow light, washing away all energies that are heavy, negative, or simply not serving you. Visualize that energy being washed permanently down the drain and eventually returning to the earth, where it will be neutralized.

2) Pray to your Higher Power. Ask for your energy to be purified, cleansed, and returned to the highest vibration possible.

3) Take a smudge stick, light it, and wave it around your body, watching for any embers that may drop onto the floor. A prayer that I have been taught (by Reiki Master Kate Linker) and have used effectively over the years:

I am filled with and surrounded by the Pure White Light of God’s* healing love.
Only good can come to me; only good can go from me.
I give thanks, I give thanks, Thank You, Mother-Father-God.

(*insert your name for higher power here)

As you say the prayer, imagine a waterfall of light filling you from the inside out and a bubble of light surrounding you wherever you go.

4) Get a Reiki treatment or any other energy work to help you release whatever you have taken from others. Reiki can help restore balance and fortify you.

5) Spend time in nature. Sit underneath a tree to ground yourself or watch the sunset. Being surrounded by nature is naturally healing and can help restore your balance.

6) Get physical. Physical activity can help you recalibrate your physical, emotional, and mental energies. Exercise can help you release any pent-up anxiety, emotional heaviness, or worry, creating room for higher, finer emotions and energies to flow into you.