5 Emotional Cleansing Practices

Decluttering your physical environment can lighten the energy in the atmosphere, but it is important to also take care of your inner environment. The emotions you may have collected over the course of the days, months, or year may be weighing on you. It could be time for an emotional cleanse.

Emotional cleansing practices have been around for thousands of years through natural treatments and approaches such as yoga and both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. Many of these practices are simple and inexpensive.

Right now, you may be thinking about all the negative emotions you are looking to get rid of, ones such as guilt, anger, jealousy, fear, and shame. Inside you know harboring these emotions may be causing you to feel insecure, stressed, and frustrated. As an emotional detox coach, I have found that the process is much more effective when it stems from the intention of processing rather than removing. Think of emotional cleansing as similar to the recycling process, the process of reusing something for the greater good.

Here are five mindful emotional cleansing practices for you to explore.

Counting Breath

Counting breath is a way to extend your inhalation and exhalation. When you practice counting breath you will extend your breathing. With a deep breath in your abdomen will expand like a balloon. As you exhale, your navel will move toward your spine as your abdomen deflates of breath.

To support this way of breathing, count 1 … 2 … 3 on inhale (inflating your lower belly) and 3 … 2 … 1 on exhale (deflating your lower belly).

When you breath this way for several cycles, you not only increase the levels of oxygen in your body but also your ability to release carbon dioxide. Circulating oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide is essential to emotional cleansing.

What I love about counting breath is you can feel a calming sensation within minutes.

Sound Healing

Sound healing or a sound bath is when you sit in the vibration of high-frequency sounds delivered through crystal bowls, chanting, chimes, or another system. Since our bodies are 70 to 80 percent water, the vibration travels quite easily and naturally throughout us. This provides almost an instant relief of calming sensations throughout, making it ideal for emotional processing.

Don’t be surprised if you take a few deep inhales and exhales during the sound healing process.

Many people with chronic conditions can find relief from sound healing because it doesn’t require any extensive or exhaustive effort. They just have to lie down and receive the healing.

Journaling

One of the most popular ways to process what you feel is to write down your feelings. Journaling is quite different than simply writing down a note or reminder for yourself or a list of things to do. To process what you feel on paper requires you to tune in rather than tune out. For example, when you write down your to-do list, notice how your mind goes outward and wanders to gather this information.

When journaling, you tune into what you feel; your awareness automatically turns inward. The process of moving inward is key to emotional cleansing. Don’t worry about sentence structure or punctuation, just allow your awareness to drop inside yourself so you can extract all the feelings you may be burying.

Therapeutic Drumming

Drumming has been used for thousands of years as a form of self-expression. Drumming has been shown to help individuals overcome symptoms of anxiety, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The rhythmic sound of a drumming circle helps you cleanse your emotions in a way where you feel supported and connected to others.

Before you go out and purchase a drum, you may want to investigate a drumming circle. Very often you can find them within healing communities.

Mirror Gazing

Mirror gazing is where you take three to five minutes to look into your eyes in the mirror. This is so much different than the way you might normally look in the mirror to apply make-up or fix your hair. Mirror gazing is about making eye contact with yourself. You would be amazed at how powerful of an emotional release this can bring. (Also try candle gazing.)

As the proverb goes, “The eyes are the window to the soul.”

• • •

No matter what practice you choose, the key to emotional cleansing is to work at it a little every day. Think of it like emptying out the trash—you don’t want your emotions to pile up to the point where it becomes an overwhelming task to cleanse. In just a few minutes a day you can cleanse all those fears, anxieties, and worries so you can feel more productive, focused, and free.

Read more about emotional detox: “Do You Need an Emotional Detox? Five Signs and Their Symptoms.”