Energetic Hygiene

Practicing good energetic hygiene gives us energy, endurance, and clarity to hold strong space for our clients.

In the first weeks of 2023, I have already had the honor to facilitate 5 psychedelic therapy sessions. As my capacity for holding space in these realms expands, one of the most important tools I have available to me is practicing good energetic hygiene.

When I am paying attention to subtle energetics and properly caring for myself and space, I feel enlivened and energized by this work. When I am not properly caring for myself (or being lazy about clearing energy!), I can feel drained, overwhelmed, or emotional after a psychedelic session. 

First off, what is energetic hygiene? 

The Eden Magazineexplains,  "As an energetic being having human life experiences, the residue from these experiences can remain in our energetic body. Whether we consciously realize it or not, many times, these experiences can affect us physically long after the actual experience occurred".

If you have ever left an interaction with a friend or partner noticing a tangible shift in your mental or emotional state, this is an example of energetic hygiene. We are constantly affecting each other, and when we facilitate healing work for others we are supporting our client to clean and clear themselves of their emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual burdens. Sometimes, that energy can "stick" to us and affect us after a journey has completed.  

The good news is there are simple practices that both strengthen our own spiritual boundaries and support us to clear the effects. So, read on for my favorite tips on how to practice good energetic hygiene when facilitating healing work. 

Energetic Hygiene Practices

1. Self-Nourishment
Before a session, I always make sure that I am properly hydrated, meditated, showered, and fed. Taking care of myself before a session is the #1 way that I am able to strengthen my own boundaries and expand my capacity to hold space. I would like to acknowledge too that this practice of self-nourishment is not only inclusive of the day of facilitation, it has to be a consistent practice in order to be effective. If you have a tendency to skip meals, miss workouts, or generally not take care of yourself, your capacity to hold space for others is going to be lower. We need to learn how to properly care for ourselves first in order to access the fullness of our abilities as healers. 

2. Protections
Protection, protection, protection (yes, safe psychedelic facilitation is as important as safe sex!). Protection rituals don't have to be complicated, but they do have to present in your practice. This can be as simple as welcoming your guides to support the session, visualizing a force field of protective energy around yourself, or doing a short meditation in the morning asking for protection from all of your helping beings and spirits. Protection practices strengthen our energetic field and ensure that nothing can "stick" to us spiritually. 

3. Wear Light Colored Clothing, Specifically for Ceremony
I love to wear black. If you know me, you have probably seen me wear all black many, many times. With 4 planets in scorpio in the 4th house, being comfortable in the dark and mysterious realms is one of my super powers. However, over time I have learned that when I wear dark colors while facilitating, my energy tends to feel more drained and heavy after the session. Loose, airy, light colored clothing helps the energy to move around your body, rather than be absorbed into it. In addition, I have specific clothes that I wear strictly for psychedelic work. I store these clothes separate from my regular clothes and wash them immediately after a journey. Try it! Let me know what you think. 

4. Scent & Smoke 
If it is OK with your client, working with scent and smoke can help move energy throughout a session. Right now, my favorite scent to burn is frankincense because it feels like it really cleans the air. In addition, I like to use essential oil diffuses with peppermint and/or eucalyptus to keep the air fresh and cool things off. When journeying, people can release lots of energy through smell, so using smoke and oils to clean the air helps them move the energy through the space. 

5. Cleaning & Clearing The Space
Cleaning and Clearing the space immediately after a session is necessary to move any stuck energy in the room and inside your own body. After each session I immediate wash the blankets, pillow cases, eyes mask, and any other bedding that was used by the client. I also immediately vacuum the room, reset the altar, and burn frankincense to clean the air. If I am feel a bit drained from a session, the process of cleaning the space will immediately move energy through my body and get me feeling back to my self. If I let the room sit for a while, I notice that I will feel stagnant and uncomfortable. It is important to note here that our clients are deeply sensitive to the energetics of the space when they are in an expanded state of consciousness. If you are not cleaning and clearing the room properly between sessions, this will affect the clients experience. 

6. Cleaning & Clearing the Self
The last step of good energetic hygiene post-session is to clear myself. I love to take a shower or bath and scrub my whole body with epsom salts (giving extra attention to my heart and womb space!). This practice feels so cleansing and I generally come out of this bathing ritual feeling like a new person. I throw my ceremony clothes in the wash, and put my regular clothes back on. After, I will eat some food nourish myself to ready my body for my next activity. 

I hope this is helpful! Please let me know if you have any questions or insights on how you practice energetic hygiene. 

I love you.