An Acupuncturist’s Restorative Rituals for Finding Positivity
In partnership with our friends at Miami Cocktail Company
The power of positivity has some potent benefits for our overall well-being. And happiness, as they say, is contagious. In this three-part series, we’ve teamed up with Miami Cocktail Company to explore what it means to have hope, what makes our lives meaningful, and how to find—and embrace—the joy within and around us.
If you’ve ever walked into a room and picked up on a certain vibe, chances are you’ve just absorbed someone else’s energy. We can’t choose whether that energy is good or bad, but what we can control, says acupuncturist and herbalist Nicole Batista, is how we deal with it. That requires us to set boundaries, which is a process of learning how to shift—and sometimes just sit with—our emotions.
Batista sees a lot of clients who come to her feeling stuck. Most seek her out when they’re going through big changes in their life. She helps people face their spiritual, emotional, and physical blockages. And she uses three techniques to create energetic boundaries so she’s not carrying other people’s emotional weight all the time. (We all know how exhausting it can be to pick up on others’ moods.) She teaches her clients these same techniques to help them have a more positive view and handle life with more ease, and she walks us through them here. Because being happier or more optimistic doesn’t mean you don’t feel the lows: It means you’re able to dive deeper into the highs knowing that the lows don’t last forever.
An Rx for Happiness
Energy and spiritual work isn’t rosy and fine all the time. It can be a lot, and to get my energy at a higher vibration, I have to put in the work. I do a lot of energetic cleansing, because when you work with so many people, you take on so much energy. Whether it’s cutting cords, using herbs and essential oils, or exercising the power of visualization and meditation, cleansing my energy allows me to show up for my clients in a more uplifted way.
Step 1: Cord Cutting
Cords are energetic, nonphysical structures that tie us to other people. As we go about life and interact with others, whether it be family, friends, or even someone we’ve just met for a second, we can sometimes create cords of attachment.
When we haven’t scanned our energy field and checked in with ourselves, we become more porous and susceptible to lower vibrations that don’t serve us. Strong energetic boundaries are more important than ever right now because fear and anxiety are contagious. Yes, we want to feel our feelings, but we don’t want to be so lost in them that we can’t move forward or show up in the world as our best selves.
Energetic cords can leave us feeling drained or even a little down. If you’re hung up on an ex, had a fling that you can’t seem to get over, or are feeling like someone in your life is needy of your energy, you may have some cord cutting to do—and that’s okay.
The Cord-Cutting Meditation
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Find a quiet space. Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths.
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Once your mind is clear and you’re in a meditative state, get ready to set your intention. You can invite a higher entity to help. I usually ask Archangel Michael to help me cut cords because that’s what my bruja aunt taught me growing up. You can invite whomever you want—god, angels, the universe, whatever feels right for you. Then ask, “Where are these cords?” Visualize a reflection of yourself or your spirit body and where these cords may be.
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Whatever presence you’ve invited into your space, bring them into your mind’s eye to cut these cords for you. You can say, “I ask you to go ahead and cut these cords for me right now.” Trust what’s happening, what you’re experiencing, and the sensations and messages that come up.
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Just like that, you’ve shifted some energy to feel a little lighter or more supported.
Step 2: Using Herbs and Essential Oils
I love to use essential oils as part of my daily routine, particularly frankincense in the morning. Frankincense helps bring satisfaction, peace, relaxation, and grounding to my day. Not only will your energetic body feel lighter, but the energy of the space will feel lighter, too. It clears out any unwanted energy that doesn’t serve us. When you feel like you’re not in your body, frankincense can bring you back home.
Burning lemongrass or using lemongrass essential oil is also energetically cleansing and invites positive energy. If you’re feeling stuck, heavy, or a little down, lemongrass can help you enter a cleansing state so that you can easily let go of old limiting beliefs, toxic energies, negativity, and anything that isn’t serving you. If you need support moving forward and committing to something, lemongrass opens the third eye to heighten intuition and purify the mind. It can also protect your aura from lower energetic vibrations.
The Mantras
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I am kind.
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I am capable of amazing things.
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Today I choose to release the past.
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I am brave.
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I am beautiful.
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I am enough just as I am.
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My heart knows.
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I am empowered.
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I celebrate all my wins.
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Today is my day.
Step 3: Acupressure (and Putting It All Together)
I usually incorporate the essential oils with a mantra and apply them to acupressure points. In acupuncture, the combination of these three points elevates our energy and our power:
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R17 for grounding. It is located at the heart chakra in the center of the sternum.
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PC6 for cultivating self-love or to feel more secure or soothed. I recommend putting the lemongrass on PC6 if you want to feel more seen or heard. It is located at the center of your wrist on your forearm. To find it, take your pointer, middle, and ring fingers on one hand and place them at your wrist crease on the opposite arm with your palm facing down. PC6 would be where your pointer finger ends.
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LU1 for connecting with our power, our inner wisdom, and our worthiness. Place your hand out in front of you as if you were going to high-five somebody. Take your other hand and place it level to your first intercostal space (the space between your first two ribs), about two inches below your clavicle. You can feel the depression and tenderness there when you press on it.
How to: Apply a few dabs of the essential oil to each spot and gently massage in a clockwise motion. Take a couple deep breaths and recite a mantra until you feel clear and uplifted.
Nicole Batista, DACM, LAc, is a board-certified licensed acupuncturist, an herbalist, an energy healer, an intuitive, and the founder of Contemporary Mystic Medicine. She has led events for Alo Yoga, the Sacred Space Miami, Unplug Meditation, and Digital Brand Architects, among others.
This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of goop.
