How to Bring Good Vibes Into Your Space Under Lockdown

Though she may have been a stylist in a former life, Colleen McCann is best known to her fashionable clientele as a shamanic energy medicine practitioner. As the founder of Style Rituals, she offers a laundry list of services that straddle the worlds of fashion and mycitism, including what she calls energetic closet cleansing consultations. (In other words, if there are lingering bad or low vibrations lurking in your wardrobe, she’ll weed them out.

In addition to her personal styling services, McCann offers guidance on how to bring positivity into one’s space with the help of crystals. As we continue to adjust to life during the coronavirus pandemic, such acts of self-care take on even greater importance.

With that in mind, we asked McCann to share her five essential tips for re-energizing a home space under lockdown, starting with the closet.

1. Sage Yourself… But Do It Properly

“Light the sage, palo santo, or other sacred herb in a safe manner. Have a fire proof dish close by. It’s important to remember when performing an energy clearing on people, places, or things to provide the ‘unwanted energy’ an exit strategy. Please make sure a door or window is open to allow the smoke and the energy to leave the premises. Sage, palo santo, and other herbs are considered sacred in a vast amount of spiritual and indigenous traditions dating back to the Ancient Egyptians. When using these herbs, it is customary to show respect by holding the herb in your hand before lighting and saying a simple ‘thank you.’ If using a sage bundle at home to clear energy, remove one sprig from the bundle to clear your space rather than lighting the whole bundle. This is considered a much more respectful way to work with the plant. Don’t take more than you need.”

2. Invest in Crystals

“Placing Amethyst and Black Obsidian by your front door keeps unwanted energy out of the space. Amethyst wards off ‘energy vampires’ and Black Obsidian is a stone of grounding and protection. We are all on Zoom in record numbers as we work from home: keep Shungite or Smokey Quartz next to your current DIY desk. Both stones help to absorb man-made EMFs (electromagnetic frequency) that emit from our devices, which are considered harmful to the body. Citrine is the stone of business abundance. Crystals to call in monetary abundance include Green Moss Agate, Green Aventurine, and Jade. Iron Pyrite is a great crystal to sit atop a to-do list or business wish list, as it is the stone of manifestation. Selenite is considered an energetic air purifier. Place this salt-based crystal in places in the home where energy can get “stuck” like under the bed or couch, corners of the room, closets, shoe boxes, storage areas, or window ledges.

Other crystals to know:

1. Phosphosiderite: Lung vitality
2. Dumortierite: Patience
3. Snowflake Obsidian: Releasing stuck emotions
4. Rose Quartz: Self-love and love of others
5. Lepidolite: The Xanax of the crystal kingdom
6. Dalmatian Stone: Helps calm a running mind
7. Carnelian: Creativity

Crystal cleaning tip: You can use items right from your kitchen to clear your crystals! Put a spoonful of sea salt in water in a bowl and stir. Place the crystal inside the bowl and leave in the sun for 24 hours. You can also bury your crystal in a house plant or dirt in your yard for 24 hours. You can take a deeper dive into the above practices in my book, Crystal RX.”

3. Practice Intentional Dressing

“Pump up your aura and channel your mood by intentional dressing. Wearing different hues can influence how we feel:

Red: Passion and determination

Orange: Success and creativity

Yellow: Joy and happiness

Green: Calm and safety

Blue: Stability and confidence

Purple: Wisdom and independence.”

4. Conduct an Energetic Closet Cleanse

“I like to look at our closets as a window to our soul. If you have extra time on your hands while at home, cleaning out your closet could be the right project. I have seen clients discover so many things about themselves by what was shoved in the back of the closet. Perhaps you really wanted to start working out, and while cleaning you came to the realization that all your exercise clothes were shoved into a ball on the floor. Perhaps you have been trying to call in a new position at work with more responsibility, and realized that your closet is filled with business attire you bought when first working that no longer fits your body, your personality, or where your career track is headed. Everything starts on an energetic level first and then manifests mentally, physically, and emotionally. When you start to change the energy of a space, the rest will follow.”

5. Give Yourself a Self-Love Bomb

“Now is the time to pamper yourself. Give yourself the space to try a beauty routine that you normally wouldn’t have had time to explore: Put your hand on your heart for two minutes and say to yourself, “I love you.” Think about all the reasons you are awesome! Move your body through some form of exercise. The last form that energy takes is the physical, so shake it out! Energy literally has the ability to get stuck in the body and appear as disease. Pick a mantra for yourself, like “I am grateful,” and if you find your thoughts and emotions in a tailspin, stop, and repeat the mantra until your mood starts to shift.”