Protecting our energy is far from easy sometimes. Especially in a toxic environment we can’t just walk out of, or when someone just happens to find a way to boil your blood.
I have to admit, I used to be swayed by small frustrations that came up during the day quite consistently. But not anymore!
Thank ffff, there is a way to be more in control of your reactions and therefore your energy. It takes practice, but anyone can learn to do this.
I know, this might feel like a stretch, but a toxic environment (or a beef) can actually be the best environment to practice this in. After all, if you can make it work there, you can make it work anywhere. ๐
When You Find Yourself In A Toxic Environment…
Obviously, the first advice is always to get yourself out of a toxic situation, but we all know that is not always an option. If it is an option though, do it. Leave. Nothing is worth more than protecting your energy. Self preservation should always come first.
So what is you find yourself in a situation that is super toxic and you just feel stuck? Maybe your stuck in a toxic work environment, family situation or some other challenging scenario.
Or maybe you find yourself constantly reacting to small triggers such as a**hole drivers, or people acting aggressively toward you elsewhere.
Starting off by trying to ‘stay positive’ might just not cut it in these situations. Dealing with beef is no small feat ๐ฅฉ
After a lot of trial and error, I found that these are the things that work for me.
Try them out, and see what works for you. Curious to hear about it (let me know in the comments)!
How To Protect Your Energy In A Toxic Environment (Or When You’ve Got Beef)
Creating Awareness With Yourself
Firstly, it is important to become aware of what is actually going on. It all starts with creating awareness with yourself when you are getting triggered.
Realize that you always have a choice in how you react to a situation. Always.
โถ๏ธ Not reacting does NOT mean to accept injustice. It simply means that you choose to react to the situation from a place of calm.
โถ๏ธโถ๏ธ By NOT giving your energy away to a toxic situation, you are taking back control. This is the most empowering thing we can all learn to do.
Try it for a day: take note of every moment that you feel you are getting triggered by something, and take note of how you react to it. How does it make you feel?
Tuning Into Your Body
When you find yourself feeling angry, tired or frustrated (or just drained), try to shift your focus to your body.
How do I physically feel? Where does it hurt? What can I do right now to improve the flow of energy physically? How can I release this negative energy from my body?
It seems logical to (over)analyze the situation in our head, but the answer is actually in the body.
What I find often helps to quickly uplift my energy, is simply taking a couple of deep breaths, taking a break, going for a walk, doing some stretches.
Visualizations are also great (more on that later), and you can do those without anyone noticing you are doing it.
When you prioritze the flow of energy in your body over anything else, you will find that your ‘energetic baseline’ will improve tremendously and you will feel more braced to handle a stressful situation.
Have A Grounding Practice
Now you are aware of when you are feeling triggered, and how it feels in your body, you will be able to instantly notice your physical reaction next time you are getting triggered.
When you feel this is happening, focus on your grounding:
- Firmly put your feet on the ground
- Take 5 deep breaths to your stomach (in through the nose, out through the mouth)
- On every out breath, visualize and feel the negativity energy being released back to the earth through your feet
You can practice this in the moment, but it’s even more effective if you practice this more regularly or even daily.
Try any of these 15 grounding exercises
Find The Underlying Fear
This is a deep one.
Everytime you get triggered, there is an underlying fear that is getting triggered. At first glance, it might not seem that way, but when you take the time to reflect on this for a while, you might be surprised.
Most people are not aware of what their deepest fears are. Be one of the few % that is.
This again comes back to awareness.
Only once you understand what your deepest fears are, you will be able to learn how to not let them control you.
To find out what these fears are. Take some time out and ponder this question, or journal about it. What is the actual underlying fear that is getting triggered?
You can read more here: How to not let fear hold you back
Use Visualization Techniques
Now you are aware of WHY you are getting triggered, you have already done about 80% of the work. Yeah! Congrats. Not many people make it to this point.
So besides grounding yourself, and releasing the negative energy back to the earth, these are some visualization exercises that you can try.
When you practice them for the first time, take some time to sit with your eyes closed and really feel them.
Once you have done it more often, you will find you can easily do them with your eyes open at any time or place.
Purple Fire Visualization
This is one of my favorites. It’s so effective and is especially great for clearing your fear.
Whenever you feel one of your fears is bubbling up, try this purple fire visualization:
- Sit down and close your eyes (straight spine)
- Take a few deep breaths to your stomach
- Visualize a purple fire burning in your heart
- With every breath, imagine the fire getting bigger and brighter
- Deeply feel your fear
- Imagine the energy getting burned in the purple fire
Repeat this as often as needed.
Shield Of White Light Visualization
Whenever you feel you are taking in the energy of your surroundings too much, try this:
- Sit or stand straight up
- Take a few deep breaths to your stomach
- Visualize a bright white light coming from your heart
- Feel how the light is surrounding you, and how a shield of white light is forming around you
- Imagine how at every out breath the shield is getting stronger
The shield will guard you from any negative energy interfering with yours.
Meditate Before Entering The Situation
If you are going to find yourself in a situation that will feel toxic, try to do a meditation before you go in.
I find this really helps to set the tone for the day. The more you practice, the stronger the effect.
If you are new to meditation, check out this Guide to Meditation to get started.
Learn To Center Yourself
By feeling more calm and centered in general, I find that any type of stress, beef or toxicity is a lot easier to deal with.
Meditation in general will help you become more centered, but there is a specific centering exercise that I really love –> You can find it here
And if you feel that meditation is not working for you, you might like to try these 10 alternatives for meditation. Whatever works for you!
Closing Words..
I am very curious to hear if this works for you, or if you found any other ways to protect your energy in a challenging situation. Let me know in the comments!
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