Ancient Roots and Everyday Shifts
While science is yet to understand the effects of energy cleansing, this practice has long been part of human tradition. From yoga and Ayurveda to shamanic healing and Indigenous ceremonies, many cultures have recognised the importance of cleansing not just the body, but the subtle energies that surround and run through it.
In my own shamanic work, I’ve often witnessed the powerful impact of these practices. Whether through smudging, energy healing, drumming or sound healing, people tend to walk away feeling noticeably “lighter” – as though a weight has been lifted. This shift isn’t always easy to explain, but it’s deeply felt.
What Is This Energy We’re Talking About?
When we talk about energy in a spiritual context, we often refer to a subtle, vital energy, that yoga calls prana and Chinese medicine calls qi. It’s the life force that animates us and supports our mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.
Interestingly, science offers a parallel through the idea of bioenergy. Our bodies generate electrical signals – our heartbeats, brain waves, and nervous system communications are all electrically charged. The heart even produces an electromagnetic field that can be measured several feet beyond the body.
This energy may not be visible, but it’s real and measurable. When we’re well, this energy flows smoothly. When we’re under stress or in difficult environments, it can feel excessive, blocked or depleted. Energy cleansing helps to restore this flow and bring us back into balance.
Our Energy Field and What We Don’t See
Many traditions speak of the aura or energy field: a subtle layer of energy around the body. While this isn’t something science can fully explain yet, there are tools like Kirlian photography and gas discharge visualisation (GDV) that attempt to capture it.
Our bodies are constantly sending out signals in the form of electrical and electromagnetic frequencies – particularly from the brain and heart. These aren’t signals we can see or hear, but they still have an impact. They influence how we feel, how we interact, and how others respond to us.
That’s why you can sometimes walk into a room and instantly sense whether the atmosphere is tense or joyful – even before anyone speaks. Or why you might feel uneasy around someone, without knowing exactly why. These subtle signals are a big part of how we relate to the world around us.
Energy cleansing can help release emotional or energetic disturbances – such as excessive stress from a tough day, emotional tension picked up from others, mental clutter like overthinking, or a general sense of heaviness or fatigue. These subtle imbalances may not be visible, but they can affect how we feel. Cleansing practices help clear them out, allowing us to feel more balanced, refreshed, and connected to ourselves again.
How We “Absorb” Other People’s Energy
When we say we’ve “absorbed” someone’s stress or emotional energy, it’s often about a natural human process called co-regulation. Our nervous systems are wired to mirror those around us. If we’re near someone who is anxious or upset, our body can respond as if we’re feeling it ourselves.
This isn’t about absorbing someone’s emotions like a sponge. It’s more about resonance: the way tuning forks vibrate together, or how one person’s rhythm can affect another’s. Energy cleansing can help us come back to our own frequency, especially if we’ve been in situations that feel draining or overwhelming.
Practical Ways to Cleanse Your Energy
There are many ways to clear your energy, and different ones will suit different people. Here are some widely used and accessible methods:
- Meditation & breathwork: These calm the nervous system and help reset your mental and emotional state.
- Smudging: Burning herbs like sage or palo santo wood is a traditional way to clear stagnant energy.
- Sound healing: Tools like singing bowls, drums, or tuning forks can shift your inner and outer energy by lowering your brain’s frequency.
- Reiki or hands-on healing: Practitioners channel life force energy to help balance and restore.
- Aromatherapy: Essential oils like lavender, eucalyptus, or sandalwood support emotional clarity and bring a sense of grounding.
- Crystals: Used symbolically or intuitively, crystals can act as anchors for intention and awareness.
- Salt baths: Sea salt or Epsom salts in a warm bath can be wonderfully cleansing and grounding.
- Time in nature: Forest walks, rivers, or even simply standing barefoot on the ground help discharge and rebalance.
In Closing
You don’t have to fully understand how energy cleansing works to experience its benefits. Sometimes, simply trying something with an open mind is enough.
Whether it’s through smudging, a salt bath, or a quiet walk in nature, these practices can help shift how you feel. Many people report feeling lighter, more relaxed, or simply more like themselves afterwards.
So if you’re curious, give it a go. You might be surprised at how a small, intentional act can bring a sense of clarity and calm, even if you can’t quite explain why. After all, not everything that helps us has to be fully explained to be worth doing.