Protect Your Energy
In the past few weeks, I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about how I protect my own energy when I’m working with clients – whether this is with PT, Yoga, or Reiki. Many of the folks that have been asking me are also space holders in one capacity or another – nurses, yoga teachers, teachers – just to name a few.
They ask because they’re feeling exhausted by the end of their day, they feel like people are sucking energy out of them or like they’re absorbing everyone else’s energy, or feeling like they don’t know how to help others without giving away their own energy or taking on the energy of another.
I will say I am far, very far, from perfect on this but I have learned a few tricks along the way that have helped me to protect my energy and wellbeing while holding space and caring for others. And I have to say, with using these strategies, I’ve become a much more effective space holder and feel WAY less burnt out.
So without further ado here are 4 strategies I use to protect my energy…
1- Shine your light. A person I met in college told me that I tend to take on other people’s darkness as a way to help them and they couldn’t have been more accurate. They went on to say that I’ll be able to help a lot more people if I learn to shine my light instead. When I feel like I’m taking on someone’s darkness, I remind myself to shine my light instead.
2- Create boundaries. One way I create an energetic boundary is at the start of my day (and sometimes throughout the day), I say to myself – ‘I am grounded. I am centered in my energy field front to back, side to side, and top to bottom. I will only allow energy into my energy field that is for my highest and best.’ While I do this, I feel my feet on the ground, I feel my breath and I connect in with those energetic boundaries. Sometimes I imagine the boundaries as a shining bubble of light and other times something a bit stronger.
3- Get clear on what is yours and what is theirs. We have these wonderful things in our brain called mirror neurons which subconsciously make us mirror the person that we are in connection with, their facial expressions, body language, etc. This is to help foster community and connection because we are social creatures and being in community and connection at one point in our evolution was essential for our survival… and I would argue it still is. So if all of the people that we’re interacting with in a day are having a hard day there is a good chance that we’ll start to feel that too. That might show up as fatigue, a feeling of heaviness, irritability, etc. But if we know that this is how our brain is hardwired.. and now you do… we can adjust. We can notice when this starts to happen and we can come back to what it is like to be in our body – what does your breath feel like? What areas of your body are touching a support? We can also name for ourselves what is theirs and what is our’ – They are having a hard time, they feel sad and heavy. I am holding space for them to experience this but their sadness and heaviness is not mine.
4- Shake it off. After an interaction or at the end of the day, literally shake your body. Shake your legs, your arms, your whole body while intending to shake off the energy that is not yours. Sweeping it off also works wonderfully, thinking about sweeping away the energy that isn’t yours as you brush down your arms, legs, and trunk .. especially over that beautiful heart center. Another strategy… Exhaling through your mouth, thinking about blowing away the energy that isn’t yours. Use one or all together and clear away anything that is not for you!
Use these strategies early and often to be most effective. While they can certainly be helpful when you’re feeling like you pot is boiling over, I find they’re even more helpful to use before the pot even starts warming up.
Needing more support? Don’t hesitate to reach out!
