4 Ways to Cleanse Post-Vacation Negative Energy

Family vacations or big group trips are fantastic for catching up and connecting with far-flung family members or old friends. However, most of us have at least one aunt, cousin, or spouse-of-a-friend who gets under our skin and leaves us drained, negative, and anxious.

According to ceremonialist and wellness practitioner Celeste McMillian, this happens because we pick up the energies of people and places and carry them in our aura—the bioelectric field that surrounds our being. When negative energies infiltrate our auric field, our energy falls into disarray, leaving us anxious and full of negativity.

Whether it’s all about the aura or some other form of bad vibes, there are easy ways to cleanse away negative energy.

Wash Your Clothes

Clothing sits right next to our skin and absorbs our auric energy very easily, so pieces you wore likely have the stress and exhaustion you felt stored in them. Unworn pieces, meanwhile, had the opportunity to pick up unwanted energies from the place you were staying. Washing them will not only help them feel and smell like home, it will cleanse them energetically.

To give this cleansing some extra oomph, add a few drops of essential oil to a dry washcloth. Visualize a beautiful white or pink light infusing the washcloth before you toss it in with your clothes and wash them. Lemon and lavender are purifying and protective, while chamomile and vanilla are calming and restorative.

Bathe With a Quartz-Based Crystal

Showers and baths are fantastic for cleansing your energy. Not only do they cleanse your aura, but contact with water also slows the heart rate and increases oxygen levels in the heart and brain, which reduces anxiety.

Bring a quartz point (or other quartz-based crystal, like amethyst or citrine) into the shower with you. According to holistic wellness advocate Jessica Ress, quartz-based crystals are excellent for helping to realign our vibrations to lift the spirits and dispel negative emotions.

To use the crystal, allow the water to saturate your skin and hair while you place it over your heart, your forehead, and finally your stomach. We feel and store many of our emotions in these areas, which is why our hearts race, stomachs drop, and minds go blank when we’re faced with a difficult situation.

As you hold the crystal in each place, breathe deeply in through the nose and out through the mouth. Picture all of the tension flowing out of your body and into the crystal. Let your shoulders drop, relax your neck, and allow your tongue to release from the roof of your mouth. Breathe deeply and evenly until you feel that all of the negative energy has left your body.

Complete your shower as usual and set the crystal in ice water to cleanse it.

Spend Some Time in the Buff

Humans wear clothing for warmth, protection, and—in the modern world—to observe social convention. Being nude can help us feel calm and confident by sending the signal to the brain that we’re in a warm, safe environment where it’s okay to be vulnerable.

If you’re not ready to strut around the house, snuggle up in a blanket instead and watch a movie or read a book.

Journal and Nosh

Prep your favorite comfort food and grab a journal and pen. Take a bite and begin freewriting about your feelings surrounding the vacation, visualizing negative vibes flowing out of you and dissipating.

Freewriting helps pull negative self-talk and anxiety out of your head and onto the page. Once it’s written down, you can examine it objectively. Meanwhile, eating your favorite feel-good food releases dopamine into your brain, which helps keep the good energies flowing.

Don’t let stress induced by vacationing make you feel like you need another vacation. Performing these simple cleansing practices will have you back in the swing and home sweet home.

Explore these seven sacred resins to burn for clearing negative energy.