Aftercare : What should i do after deep SPIRITUAL WORK

It’s a short and important list. This counts as what I’ve experienced and used as the best self care practices after any kind of spiritual, emotional or energy work.

The body goes through many subtle and some more obvious changes after energy work of any kind - emotional work, is energy work - so keep this article in your back pocket.

This applies to all new folks and those who’ve been seasoned a while. For the pros, you’ll have a different approach to integration I won’t detail here, so those dealing with ‘prove myself’ wounds don’t get tempted to try it.

The tips now begin:

1. HYDRATE

Drinking a lot of water helps the most post-energy work. Good quality water though - that is key.

The best, which is mostly inaccessible to many, is pure fresh water from a local reservoir or stream.

Otherwise, if you are not a land owner with ‘water rights’ (whoever came up with that needs to befriend a guillotine) it is very much essential to drink mineralized, high quality water.

Glass bottles are preferred to plastic. Purified water is TRASH. It serves use, but not for hydration. Pure water will not hydrate you, and the evidence you’ll experience of this, will be the urge to drink more water than seems natural, while lacking the feeling of being hydrated! And also lots of inconvenient peeing.

Even with good quality, mineralized water, try to 1.5x or double your normal amount of water - your body will tell you - after energetic work. Your body works harder after subtle energy activities no matter the source and water is something it tends to lose more of. Notice that emotions and water tend to work hand in hand.

Another way to make the water more hydrating is to add electrolytes. If you don’t have fancy ones, do what the Peruvians in Cusco do; use a squirt of lemon (or lime) plus pinch of Himalayan / Celtic salt, plus very tiny pinch of something sweet. They live 13,000 feet above sea level where the oxygen is thinner, so it works. They also chew coca leaves but that’s likely for the heart rate and mood upper. Anyway; electrolyte water will hydrate you more deeply with less water volume.

Energetics that move intensely through the body - emotions and moving trauma - actually engage caloric burn, and a greater activation of bio-electricity. This makes us dehydrate at a faster rate - the bio-electricity heats the body - and therefore need high quality hydration, with electrolytes.

2. PURGE / CRY / EMOTE / ETC…

You may have had some heavy emotional waves or purges; coughing, burping, yawning, phlegm, crying, vomiting, weeping, etc… All of this is expected. What helps individuals the most is to give the purges all the space and freedom they need, without fear or judgement. A typical pattern to be aware of is the moment of upset rising about a subject matter that has re-emerged for the umpteenth time.

Instead of embodying judgmental thought and feeling around it, it’s best to let that upset-ness fully present itself, and treat it as if it’s a child who needs space to just be as they are.

The state will be temporary, it’ll pass through and you’ll feel more relaxed, at peace and safe - eventually - with this approach.

3. SPACE FOR INTEGRATION

“Integration” is a hot new buzz word in the new age world, but all it really means is to have all that you’ve experienced and learned in spiritual work to be part of your life in a natural and seamless way.

Sometimes the sessions you have can be earth-shattering, devastating and jarring against the version of life you return to. To help the changes you want to hold longer, stay away from triggering situations for a week after session, if you can. Not easy for some if you have to return to a job with abusive bosses.

This also means NO picking up phone-calls or reading emails from people who have their fingers on the big red buttons; which means parents, bosses, siblings that irritate you, exes, etc...

You also need to move slower through you day. Less activities than usual (try 30-50% reduction in task lists), and moving slowly through the ones you do, so you can be present with feelings that arise.

You may need some extra time and space to be present as heavy and cathartic emotional movements can take a lot of energy, at least before they end up freeing energy in the long run. If you are feeling emotionally raw, it’s recommended to give yourself space to rest and recover.

A few days makes a meaningful difference. If you cannot do this due to 9-5 work logistics, then practice being present in your emotions and energies throughout the day, and plan something rejuvenating with enough space as soon as you’re able. Even macrodosing recovery activities like sauna or hot tub use somewhere is helpful.

Taking a few dedicated chunks of time where you can gradually ramp in to activities is helpful. It is wisest to avoid rushing, squeezing activities in, and stressing over the doing. Shocking the system from rest to immediate stress is not wise at all.

When you have space - you can try this any time, but the emotions may overwhelm you if you are yet to find comfort in them - focus on being present and non judgmental to yourself when these challenging feelings arise.

Be still with the sensations as if they are simply messages and nothing else… and knowing they will pass… is the key.

If you’ve worked with me, the Litmus technique will help you process this. And Modified Ana Pana will help prepare you as well.

4. REST

Rest as you need! If you have access, take a bath with 500 grams of Himalayan salt. Note that Himalayan salt has a higher electrolyte content according to friends living in high altitudes.

Some recommend the Dead Sea salts, but I can’t validate that with any proof; only anecdotal success, and you’ve got to be diligent about the source as there’s a lot of fakes out there. Try it if Himalayan doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything for you. Epsom salts feel good too, but it’s a different feeling and the more in tune to subtle energy you are, the more you’ll notice differences as well.

Other forms of rest include dance, singing, spending time with friends who give you energy - the ones you laugh with - and getting in nature. All of these are forms of rest / reset / recharge.

5. TRUST

Your intuition is often clearer after an emotional purge or energy work. Your intuition will likely know what you need to eat, drink, how much, when, and even when to sleep.

When people feel out of sync with their intuition for so long, it can be jarring, or a nice surprise pending your individual journey. Regardless, do your best to listen to it and follow it’s guidance.

It may seem out of sync with your typical trained / conditioned routine. That’s ok. If you’re in a position to trust your intuition and act upon it perfectly, it is highly recommended that you do. The rewards will stack into post-healing as well.

6. EARTHING

If you feel wonky and exhausted after, sometimes it’s a symptom of having not been energetically attuned before.

To alleviate this discomfort, it helps to get barefoot in some earth - forest earth, or sand is top of the list - and take a few minutes to stand and do some deep breathing cycles, visualizing any remaining heaviness in the body flowing out of your feet into the Earth.

Getting in the ocean or a river is pretty good for this too, if you have a clean one near you.

7. NO PARTY TIME

Hold off on booze, weed, vapes, cigarettes and anything else that is numbing or distracting away from any rising discomfort. And yes, this also means sex abstinence to help ground-in energetic sovereignty.

Medication is tougher to ween off and I’d advise talking to your psychiatrist if that’s a factor for you.

The key is to be present with all arising sensations as best you can and acknowledge them fully. For an energy to ‘leave’ your body or at least transform, it needs acknowledgment and witnessing, without judgment or resistance.

Somatic Mechanics can teach you all about that in-depth.

8. ABSTINENCE OF ENERGETIC NOISE AND ‘CHEAP’ DOPAMINE

Cheap dopamine is often extracted from app notifications, certain types of video game - mobile / cellphone free-to-play games, or Civilization, Starcraft or Cookie Clicker types of game - and definitely instant gratification medias like social media and of course, the news.

Cheap dopamine can drain energy and create spikes and dips in your energy levels.

EMFs from electronic devices can also be a drain on a freshly cleansed and sensitive system. Be wary to get right back into your emails, socials and video games after a session.

While you may be used to feeling soothed by those things, it’s important to remind yourself what it feels like to be you without those things.

Another thing to be aware of is dense technology-rich city areas. Sensitive systems can feels tense in these spaces, as subconsciously, we’re aware of all the activity around us and we may not be attuned to it.

It’s not natural to our systems and could be likened to a poorly wired house with electrical issues, or being in the middle of a festival where 5 different loud bands of differing genres are playing at the same time and you can’t hear one over the other.

Try abstaining briefly from these experiences. See what you learn!

For me, it’s a noticeable shift in energy reclamation and mental clarity. I’m 100% convinced the “ADHD” alleged epidemic is simply a populace mass-trained by notifications and disconnection from unprocessed Earth-based nature, coupled with a coping mechanism to avoid being present in the existential discomfort that is modern society living through an ongoing technology overdose and hangover.

And just in case it needs to be said, you will likely learn how to be in peace and thrive in these environments eventually, if you are a sensitive type. It might mean regular time away from them, or simply new ways to manage or relate to your energy. it is also possible you decide to never set foot in tech-heavy environments again!

The choice is all your’s of course!

For now, if you’re new to abstaining from these things, give it a try and see what you learn!

9. JOY AND SELF-CONTAINED PLEASURES

Look at pictures of cats, dogs, sunsets, go outside, frolic, laugh until your belly hurts and hug those you love. Anything that reminds you of why you like being alive and going through the sometimes hell-scape that is healing from trauma.

Sometimes people think they have to stay in the murk of the shadows and pain to make sure they can “get it out” from the deepest root, and be free of it finally! Truth is, the concept of destroying your shadows is an illusion.

Consciousness seems to consistently work through the method of “what I give attention to, I amplify or increase”.

Amplification is useful to expand what’s in attention, and therefore explore and reveal details within a point of interest. For example, “why is this thing not working"?” If I amplify the thing, maybe I can see more nuance and detail I missed.

We don’t need to do this all the time - this is clearly a useful state for specific needs.

Enjoyment and pleasure being pursued in tandem with a “shadow-work” process being activated is a lot like this: imagine you’ve just been operated on at a hospital. You feel tender, raw, and a bit wonky. You then slow go out into nature and sit in front of a river and tons of natural beauty. Or you get wheel-chaired to a cinema to watch a movie. Can you imagine what your body feels like in either circumstance?

Now if we focus only on the shadow-work processes we would probably just stay in the hospital bed thinking that’s what we need to heal. We would go in for surgery and then come out of surgery and lay in the bed, again, focusing on being in the process instead of in the result.

Staying in the bed means being surrounded by sickness, death and ugly furniture, in continual reminder of our suffering.

How much better do you think that is for your health?

How important do you think mental health, joy and pleasure are, in assisting the healing of the physical health?

Hopefully I’ve made my point.

Want a quick way to feel good? Hold a kitten. Even if it bites you, it’s still uplifting.

There’s more as well. If you’d like a better guide on cleansing, sign up for my newsletter and you’ll get access to a free download with all that info.