Get emotional and clean up your act

Russian folk medicine suggests scrubbing your aura is a good way to get rid of negative feelings and energies, writes Tracey Lawson

Emotions are the vital organs which make the human spirit tick. From the joy of good events, to the sadness evoked by disappointments or loss, emotions impact and inform our daily lives and destinies.
That's fine when you are able to process your emotions, to savour the good ones and either eliminate or learn from those which cause pain.
But what happens when you can't? What happens when we become overwhelmed with anger or fear, or overexcited about things that will not bring us true fulfilment? According to Alla Svirinskaya, the author of Energy Secrets, the Ultimate Well-Being Plan, failure to deal with emotions effectively puts us at risk of becoming overloaded with those that can harm us, which can have serious implications for our physical and emotional health.
Svirinskaya studied for a medical degree at university in Russia but today describes herself as a "fifth-generation healer", employing techniques handed down through five generations of her own Russian family. (Her mother, a chemotherapist, set up one of the first clinics for healing in Moscow in the post-communist years).
Now based in London, Svirinskaya has won a huge following for her physical and emotional detox programme, and she reveals that stars, including Kylie Minogue, Trinny Woodall and Donna Karan, say they have benefited from her methods.
"If we are carrying some emotional burden, it creates too much adrenaline and tension in our bodies," Svirinskaya says, "and if we are physically detoxing, this build up of emotions can prevent our bodies from eliminating all the toxins in our system. If this happens we live in a reactive state, almost choking on our own emotions."
Svirinskaya says that "emotional cleansing" can help prevent or alleviate this emotional blockage, and advises us to practice this on a daily basis for our own sake and the sake of those around us: "That way we don't pollute our energy and we protect those around us. If your emotional body is polluted cleanse it, before it eats you up."
Here, she outlines some exercises which she says can help us cleanse our emotional energy, to make sure we harness the benefits of our feelings, and eliminate the negative aspects.
Spiritual cleansing is said to help both body and mind

RITUAL OF LETTING GO
This ritual is useful when you have a particular emotion that is really hard to deal with. You might find that however hard you try to keep a neutral state, the emotion just keeps s coming back, time and time again. In Russia we call this the "ritual of letting go" and it really does work. Here's how to do it. Do be careful while doing this. You will need a fireproof bowl (Pyrex, stone or metal) in which to place your burning pieces of paper. Alternatively, you could use an open fireplace in which to burn your paper.

Place a charcoal block on a small glass plate.
Light the charcoal by holding it over a candle or a lighter. It will splutter and spark for a while.
Wait until the whole block has turned pale grey.
Place a few granules o frankincense on top of the block. Allow it to bubble and burn for a few minutes, letting the smoke swirl around the room. You may need to top up the frankincense from time to time.
Light a plain beeswax candle.
Now sit opposite the candle with some small pieces of white paper.
On each piece of paper write down an emotion that is preventing you from living freely and happily, for example: "I often feel guilty"; "I often get offended"; "I cannot forgive", and so on.
Look at the candle flame for a while and, piece by piece, burn each piece of paper with the flame of the candle. You will feel yourself becoming freer and happier after doing this.
When you have finished, flush the ashes and the remains from the incense down the toilet.

COMBING RITUAL
In the old times in Russia, there was a ritual that was used whenever a person experienced deep negative emotions, or had been badly hurt and was unable to free him or herself from the emotion. The person would take a big wooden comb and brush their hair with it, while looking straight into their eyes in a mirror. They would fix their attention on the problem or the emotion and physically "brush out" what was troubling them. They would then bury the comb in the forest, often under an aspen tree, in Russian folk tradition, the aspen tree is said to ward off negative energies and spirits. Having performed this ritual, people would often describe a feeling of deep release.

Before you start, cleanse your room with essential oils of sandalwood or juniper. Alternatively place a few drops of these oils on your wrists before you begin.
Sit down. Breathe in and out deeply and relax.
Imagine that your hands and fingers are a comb. If you can, visualize your fingers are a few inches longer than they really are, so they become a more effective "comb".
Comb through your aura, from the outside towards yourself, starting above your head and sweeping down to your feet. Do not touch your physical body.
Continue with this or a few minutes. As the blockages start to disappear, you should feel much lighter.
After performing this aura combing you should immediately rinse your forearms under running cold water.

Tracey Lawson, The Scotsman
05/2005