What does ‘protect your energy’ even mean?
Ever had a really great day and then you get home and your partner is in a bad mood and you feel all that positive energy drain away, and then you add to that negativity by resenting them for it? Or do you have someone in your workplace who is constantly complaining, making you feel frustrated and fed up? If you have kids, you’ll know all too well how triggering it is when they throw a tantrum and you instantly feel the same anger and frustration that they are projecting at you, and the challenge in staying calm and grounded which is what they need from you in that moment. Perhaps you wake up in a bad mood and you end up taking it out on the people closest to you, projecting your negative energy onto them. On reflection, you know that if you were feeling good, you would have treated them in a completely different way. Maybe you are an empath, and you feel others pain as your own.
It is so important to protect our energy, working 1-1 with clients I know this from experience. Whilst empathy is essential in creating a peaceful and loving world, I know that in order to hold safe space for others and ensure I don't experience 'compassion fatigue', it is essential that I protect my own energy.
But how do you do this? Here are some tips:
✋ Don't take things personally when others meet you with negativity - remember 'human factors', that there are a myriad of experiences that have led to them feeling the way that they are feeling, it's not about you, it's about them. Respond with compassion, or walk away if you need to, try not to be involved in a negative feedback loop.
🌬 Breathe - just a simple deep breath in and slow breath out can help you to create a short pause to find your centre and release that negative energy without reacting to it with more negativity. Try the 4s in - 7s hold - 8s out breathing technique or the physiological sigh (double inhale through nose - slow exhale through mouth).
👌 NLP anchors - using touch to bring back the feeling associated with being in a previously positive state.
🐈 🐕 Pets - animals always have good energy (mostly!), because they live in the moment and are incredibly calming for our nervous systems, which is why schools and hospitals have Pets as Therapy come in. Spend some time with your pets to shift your energy.
🌳 Ground - if your energy is feeling frantic or agitated, be outside in nature. Take your shoes off and stand bare feet in the grass, send the energy down to your feet and allow it to be absorbed into the earth. Or feel the points of contact between your body and the earth wherever you are, send any negativity down into the ground with every outwards breath.
🧘♀️ Visualise - imagine your body surrounded by an energetic force field, a wall or bubble of light that surrounds and shiels you, imagine other people's negativity bouncing off any away from you.
🤸♀️ Move - movement allows blocked energy to be released from the body, walking, running, yoga, dance, any sport is helpful. Sometimes when we don’t feel like moving, this is exactly what we need.
🎵 Music - listening to music is incredibly powerful in shifting our energetic state. Want more energy? Listen to upbeat feel good tunes. Need a moment of calm? Listen to something classical or soothing. Need a good cry? Put on something emotive and allow yourself the cathartic release.
🤔 Be mindful – is your energy in a low or negative state because you are ruminating on the past or worrying about the future? Come back to the present moment, notice what is happening in the here and now. Check in with your energy regularly, what are you feeling? Where is your energy at? And what do you need? What do you want to invite in energetically?
You have more power than you realise, you can change your own energetic state, and ensure you do not give your power away to others.
If you want to explore the tools and techniques you can use to protect your energy, contact me to for a free 20 minute consultation to find out more.
Albert Einstein said, “Everything is energy and that's all there is to it... Match the frequency of the energy you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy, it is physics."
It's not woo woo, it's science 😉