For Empaths and Sensitives, in these trying times, it is a challenge for us to stay grounded as we are constantly being bombarded with a real mix of negative, external emotions. Even if we stay home and don’t venture out of our personal sanctuaries, our empathic antennas are picking up so much of the pain from the outside world. Because of this we can easily become consumed with depression, listlessness and apathy and lose sight of what our roles here are to do.

All of the following techniques have been tried and tested by yours truly and I can attest to the benefits of them, although I have to say on the darker days, especially when there is a lot of solar activity, even these techniques don’t always clear the emotional debris.

‘As one goes through life one learns if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move’. Katherine Hepburn

Change your thoughts: Many of us help create our life situations with the thoughts we keep, especially dark, repetitive ones. From the second a negative thought pops into our head we only have a matter of moments before its settles in and changes our mindset from positive to negative, once this happens, one bad thought after another keeps rolling in. The best way to avoid it is not to indulge in them in the first place. When a dark thought pounces, change it, immediately, to a good one. Sounds simple, it’s not. It’s difficult, but we do have a choice about what we think (and feel). We can allow our thoughts to rule us or we can rule our thoughts… Change your thoughts change your life!

Water: The body is made up of 75% water (some body tissue even contains 95%), so it will come as no surprise that this is way up there on the self-healing scale. Many of us are unaware of just how dehydrated we are. An insufficient supply of water creates problems with the functioning of our body, affects our wellbeing, appearance and accelerates the ageing process.

Most of us should be drinking at least 8 glasses of pure water a day, just to replenish what our body loses naturally through sweating, urination etc. The heavier we are the more water we need.

If you type, ‘the healing powers of water,’ into any search engine you will get hundreds of pages worth of information on the subject, but by far the best I have so far come across is the site of Dr F. Batmanghelidj M.D. who is a pioneer in the discoveries of the healing power of water. He has written many books on the subject, the most renowned being, The Body’s Many Cries for Water.  He reveals many of his findings on his website www.watercure.com.  Here you will find an abundance of well-researched-data on how water can heal the body and how to consume it safely, without flushing our necessary minerals from the body.  And, unlike many other sites, he does not charge for the information.

His mantra is, ‘You’re not sick; you’re thirsty. Don’t treat thirst with medication’. And it has been his life’s mission to get this word out to the world.

There is an old religious saying (or at least it was used by many God-fearing Christians in yesteryear), ‘Cleanliness is second to godliness.’ I used to believe the saying was a ridiculous, bully-tactic for making young children clean behind their ears (which in those days it probably was), but now I can see it from another point of view. Water washes more than just dirt away; it has the power to cleanse our energetic body and clear negative energies. If you’re sceptical, try this when you come home from a hard day at work: Instead of reaching for the wine, jump straight in the shower and see what a lifting effect it has on you. Combine it with the healing power of salt and you’re onto a winner.

To find out more on how you can get medicinal benefits from taking sea salt with water (the correct quantities), please refer to Dr F Bamaghelidji’s website www.watercure.com

Sea Salt: It is said that the ‘father of medicine,’ Socrates, was amongst the first to discover the, almost magical, healing ability of sea salt, after noticing how quickly seawater would heal wounded fishermen’s hands.

Not only is sea salt a great medicinal healer, it is deeply purifying. It has the power to draw out and dissolve negative energies from the emotional and physical body. This is especially helpful if your day involves interacting with others, where too often you end up picking their stressed or anxious energy.

The best way to get an external, daily, salt cleanse (if you don’t live near the ocean) is in a salt bath.Immersing the body for at least 20 minutes in salt water will get rid of any negative emotions picked up during the day. This is especially important for empaths who absorb negative energies like a sponge. For best results add 1 to 2 cups of sea salt to a warm bath (along with your favourite essential oil or a crystal. See below). If you don’t have time for a soak then another great option is a salt-scrub prior to showering. (You can easily make this from fine milled sea salt and oil).  Not only will the salt clear unwanted energies, it will also leave your skin silky smooth and glowing.

Nadi Shodhana/Alternate Nostril Breathing: Balance your inner masculine and feminine energy (which easily gets out of balance in these times) by doing alternate nostril breathing:

Sit comfortably with your back straight and eyes closed. Place the tip of the right thumb on the edge of the right nostril and the right, ring finger hovering over the left nostril. Closing off the right nostril inhale through the left for a count of 3. Close the left nostril then exhale through the right for a count of 3, inhale through the right for a count of 3. Close the right nostril and exhale through the left… this was 1 round of Nadi Shodhana, do 9 more then build up to at least 20. (If you are more of a visual learner there are lots of videos on Youtube for alternate-nostril breathing)

It is normal when beginning Pranyama (breathing exercises) to get a little dizzy, if this happens just resume normal breathing until it passes.

Exercise and play: In the western world many of us turn to exercise for the benefits of weight loss and a toned body. However, exercise offers so much more: it can release pent-up emotions, remove impurities through sweat, enhances and uplifts moods, energizes and allows us to have fun. Instead of referring to it as workout-time, we should call it playtime.

When it comes to playtime do what you love. Some of you maybe stuck in a boring exercise routine that you do out of necessity rather than play. If this is the case, find something you love. What did you love to do as a child? Being out on your bike? Skipping? Hula-Hooping? Bouncing up and down on a trampoline? Horse-riding? All excellent forms of play (exercise). If you detested running and were no good at it, chances are it will probably be the same now. If you loved gymnastics then yoga will definitely be a great one for you to try.

If you don’t like rules, routines or set times then go freestyle. Make the rules yourself. Get the music cranked up and dance like nobody’s watching (which it’s probably best if no one is whilst throwing your shapes out). Dance, stretch and jump your cares away and get a sweat on. All you need is 10 minutes a day, but I guarantee if you’re doing something you love those 10 minutes will easily turn into 20, 30 or 40… Who needs a gym or a class?

Meditation: This is a must if you have a busy head with endless mind-chatter and fearful thoughts. It will help you deal with stressful situations and give you clearer insight. There are many forms of meditation out there; it’s just a case of finding what suits you. If you’ve never attempted it here’s one to try:

Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight, close your eyes and, breathing through your nose, focus on your breath. Inhale for 3 seconds and exhale for 3 seconds. On the inhale feel your tummy expand and on the exhale feel it deflate (Note: when you first try this it is common to get dizzy or feel anxious). You will find, at first, your mind turns into a monkey and starts jumping all over the place, from one thought to the next, but just keep coming back to your breath. Start with a few minutes and build it up to whatever suits you.

Creativity: In a world of rules and routine, we seldom get time to be creative but this is one of the easiest ways to revel in the feel-good-factor. When we create, from our passions or interests, it has an uplifting effect on our psyche and because we’re engaging in something we love it keeps our minds away from dark thoughts and feelings.

Many will say that they’re not creative because they don’t see themselves as artistic. But you don’t have to be a master crafter or award-winning composer to indulge in creative outlets. Simply making a dance routine, writing a story or poem, arranging flowers or devising a menu, are forms of creativity. We all have a way to be creative, it maybe that you’ve just not discovered yours yet.

Chakra balancing: We have 7 main chakras which are part of our energetic body. They are our centres of spiritual power that run the length of our body, from our root chakra (lower torso) to our crown chakra (crown of head). The chakras are whirling vortices of energy that are aligned with our endocrine system (organs which secrete hormones such as adrenalin, cortisone and thyroxine into the body), which if out of whack can create disease (dis-ease) within the body. The 3 best ways to self-balance our chakras is through: meditation, yoga or using crystals:

Yoga: The Five Tibetan rites is one form of yoga specifically designed to balance the chakras as well as short (10 to 20 mins max), kick-ass workout for body and mind.

Meditation: through doing either a guided, chakra meditation or just focusing positively on each one in turn will help keep them balanced. You can get guided meditation CD’s at Amazon.com

Crystals (see below).

Yoga: Many people say yoga is not for them, but it’s the very people who turn away from yoga that are the ones who need it most. Yoga will serve anyone and everyone no matter what age or ability and it should be a staple in every person’s life.

There is a yogic saying that, ‘We’re only young as the spine is flexible.’ And because yoga works to create a supple spine it could be classed as an elixir of youth.

The very core of yoga is built on our breath. We breathe our way in and out of postures and for this reason yoga can be classed as a moving meditation. It stills and calms an overworked mind (which is why many will say it’s not for them because they fear the stillness) and creates a strong supple body.

There are many forms of yoga and there will be a fit for everyone. For those sporty types who love to work hard and build a sweat there’s Ashtanga or Bikram yoga. For those who need a gentler pace there’s Iyengar or Dru yoga.

The hardest part of yoga is getting on the mat, once there your body will flow gracefully through the poses and thank you for it after.

Nature: Being outdoors in nature will have a healing and uplifting effect on all. If you work in a city with no access to parkland make sure you get out at weekends away from cars and air pollution.

Laughter: As grown-ups we spend too much time being solemn and serious, and too little time having fun (especially in the current times). Do you remember the last time you had a proper belly laugh?

‘You don’t stop playing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop playing!’

We hear children laugh all the time. They don’t know how to take life seriously, it’s all about play and fun. We should all strive to stay childlike. To see the world in wonder and above all have fun and laugh. Anything that makes us laugh will make our spirits soar. It really is a therapy.

Crystals: The healing power of crystals has long been known in many cultures, from Atlantis to ancient Egypt.  Many ancients had crystal chambers that would be used to heal many an ailment.

Crystals can be used in conjunction with the chakras to help balance them and remove blockages. This can be done by matching the colour of the chakra with the colour of a crystal. For example: the solar plexus chakra is yellow so a good choice would be Citrine. The sacral chakra is orange so Amber could be used. And the throat chakra is blue so Blue-Lace Agate would work to balance it. Place the crystal on the body, inline with the chakra. It is best to do this whilst lying down (crystals fall off otherwise) and perhaps do a meditation or listen to soothing music for as long as you feel require. (Click here for best grounding stone)

• Red Base/root chakra: Red Jasper
• Orange Sacral chakra: Amber
• Yellow Solar Plexus chakra: Citrine
• Green/pink Heart chakra: Rose quartz/Aventurine
• Blue Throat Chakra: Blue-Lace Agate
• Indigo Third eye chakra: Sodalite
• Violet Crown chakra: Amethyst

Depending on your need (and on the crystal), you can put crystals in your bath, under your pillow, in your socks and use them in your meditations or just as a visual aide.

Essential oils: As with crystals the healing power of essential oils has been known through the ages. It is through the olfactory senses that much benefit is derived from the oils. The best all round essential oil is Lavender because, unlike all other oils, it can be used without a carrier-oil and applied directly to the skin or put straight into your bath water (other oils can irratate the skin if used neat). Amongst its many benefits, it is an antidepressant antiseptic, antifungal, it can even be used as a sleep aid. See the best oils for the Empath here

Love: The most important self-healing tool we have is love… it makes the world go round. Doing what you love will uplift you more than anything else. The Beatles were onto something when they sang, ‘All you need is love!’. Unfortunately, we are humans, having a human experience, in a human body and love is one of the last emotions we tend to bathe ourselves in.

Truth: (See The Truth will set you Free!) Truth is an all encompassing liberator and once you become an advocate your eyes will be opened to another world.