9 Ways to Protect Your Energy

Every day we are bombarded with other peoples’ energy. At home, at work, at social events - these interactions can sap your own energy and leave you feeling drained. These 9 techniques will help you protect your energy so you can keep your vibe high.

1. Use others’ energy as a mirror.

When someone’s energy is sparking something negative inside you, take a moment to examine why. Use their negative energy as a way to examine your own. By acknowledging that negative energy resides in you and coming at it with self-love and self-examination to explore why their energy made you feel that way, you allow it to pass through you and heal itself. For example, if a competitive friend always irritates you when they talk about their money or house, examine whether it irritates you because you feel you are lacking financially or worried about your own finances in some way. By recognizing those feelings of inadequacy, you can then replace them with feeling gratitude for what YOU have and using abundance affirmations (“My life is full of abundance”) to shift your energy.

2. Set boundaries.

Realize that some situations or people may make you feel overwhelmed and learn your limits. Whether that means avoiding or limiting time with people who drain your energy or setting a time limit for a party or event that you know will eventually become too much. In my case, I seem to have a welcoming energy that makes strangers or people I don’t know well talk to me as if they are my friend. While this may seem like a good thing, it can be draining when you are simply trying to do a task like get your car fixed and someone becomes overly familiar or when people want more of your time than you have to give. It can feel like you constantly have to be “on”. I’ve learned to set limits by being nice, but firm when someone I don’t know that well seems to want too much.

3. Use black tourmaline.

Keep some black tourmaline in your pocket or purse and also near your front door. Black tourmaline is a protective crystal that will help ground you and protect you from negative energy from others and even yourself. Tourmaline absorbs negative energy. If your tourmaline breaks, that means it was doing its job and absorbed the negative energy around you!

4. Smudging.

Smudging with sage or palo santo is one of the oldest ways to cleanse energy. Smudging removes negativity, cleanses and purifies your space or yourself, improves your mood, and reduces your stress. You can buy sage bundles or palo santo to burn. Set your intention as your light the bundle or stick and guide the smoke around your space or your body. Open a window while smudging to let the negative energy out. I’ve also recently tried smudge spray. I spray it around my space to give the same effect as smudging without the smoke.

5. Use Selenite.

Selenite is a cleansing crystal. You can use it to cleanse your space and also cleanse and recharge other crystals. Cleanse your energy by guiding the Selenite around your body like combing away the bad energy. Keep it in your home or office to protect the energy of the space.

6. Take time to recharge.

People, events, or places like work can drain your energy. Some people need more time to recharge than others. Recognize your need for “you” time and take that time to recharge yourself so your energy can remain high. I find that if I’m around a lot of people for an extended period of time, I feel drained and need to take some alone time to get back to myself. Having time for yourself isn’t selfish - it’s practicing self-care so you can be your best.

7. Use visualization.

Use visualizing to shift your energy from overwhelmed to at peace. Take a hot shower and visualize the negative energy washing away and you getting filled up with fresh, clean energy. You don’t even have to be in the shower to do this. You can use the same visualization by imagining the negative energy flowing away from you and the new energy filling you up like a cup.

8. Ground yourself.

Shift your negative energy by doing activities that will ground yourself. Walk barefoot in the grass, sit in the sun for a bit, tend to some plants or animals, meditate, or do some Pilates or yoga. Focus on your five senses. Light a scented candle or use essential oils. Listen to soothing music. Engage your senses of sight or touch. Doing these kinds of grounding activities will keep you from spiraling when you are bombarded by negative energy from people or the news or stressful situations.

9. Practice gratitude.

Practicing gratitude is the counterintuitive cure for negative people or situations. Gratitude is a powerful, loving energy that diffuses the negative energy and protects yourself in the process. I had to deal with someone at work who had negative energy. I felt like he was picking on me or looking for me to do something wrong. Seeing him started to make me feel anxious. Even though I initially felt uncomfortable, I started being super nice to him, laughing and making jokes and treating him like a friend. I would give him a big smile when I saw him. Eventually, I could feel his energy shift. By treating him with love and kindness, it seemed to melt his hard exterior and I no longer feel anxious when I see him and he no longer seems to be treating me in negative way.