The Healer's Guide to Mindful Living and Cultivating a Sustainable Practice

Half the work of being a healer is learning how to keep your instrument clean. Self-healing, purification, continual growth and development are all ongoing chapters on the Healer’s Path.

When I refer to your ‘instrument’ I’m referring to your energy body, or the sphere of energy that encompasses your entire being. That is your instrument. It’s your physical body, your mind, your emotions, your energetic self and it can be developed in such a way that you can draw in healing energy be it for yourself, others or for the world in which we live.

Straight out of the gate — when we do energy healing for another person, we’re not using our own energy. We’re drawing it from the world around us. That’s why, over the years, I’ve always come back to this truth: it isn’t me — I’m just an instrument. My job is to keep that instrument clean and finely tuned. If we were to use our own energy, our careers would be short-lived. We’d likely end up tired, unwell, and running on empty most of the time.

Keeping your instrument clean—through self-healing, mindful lifestyle choices, and a consistent personal practice—is the foundation of becoming an effective, sustainable healer.

Tips for Improving Your Healing Sessions and Developing as a Healer

Let’s dive into what these chapters look like in practice:

Healing Starts with You

When you’re doing energy healing for another person, it’s essential that you’re not experiencing physical pain or illness. If you’re sick, in pain, dealing with cramps, or anything similar, do not perform a healing session. The likelihood of that energy transferring to your client is high, whether the session is in person or remote. Not all healing modalities are the same, but I’m specifically referring to those that channel energy through your energy body to another person. In these cases, the energy can easily become contaminated with your own pain or inflammation as it passes through you.

Many times, our hearts are in the right place, but our bodies aren’t in a position to do the healing—and that’s okay. Cancel or reschedule the session. Healers get sick, have menstrual cramps, and experience physical limitations too. Honour your clients time and let them know as early and soon as possible. 

In my early days of working clients would be taken aback that I’d have sick days, that as healer I should never be sick! Over the years I’ve learned it’s important to debunk this myth. Healers are human. Humans get sick.

Honoring your own body and limits isn’t weakness—it’s part of what makes you an effective, sustainable healer.

Doing self-healing on one’s self is an important part of the journey whether you have pain or not. This can obviously include working on any area of one’s life that may need some TLC. Emotions, patterns, belief systems, old wounds to name a few. What we call ‘negative’ thoughts, emotions, and belief systems are not who we truly are. They are not our true nature, and by clearing out what we’re not - we become what we are. Our true essence or self can shine through. Energetically speaking this can be seen as an expansion of the energy body and chakras. The particles of the energy body become more refined which allows us to draw in higher frequencies of energies to work with. 

Be Mindful of Diet & Lifestyle Choices

Some dietary and lifestyle choices are like oil and water in this work. I hate to be the heavy here… really, I do. But if you want to develop your instrument, it’s important to avoid drugs, excessive alcohol, etc.  These things don’t mix well with the healing energy flowing through you — and they can actually cause problems.

They can block your energy channels, introduce energy into your chakras that isn’t helpful for healing, dirty your energy body, and even shrink your chakras — which makes energy healing much harder. On a personal level, they can lead to inflammation, pain, illness, and other imbalances.

To grow as a healer, your energy body and chakras need to be big and clean. When they are, you can draw in higher frequencies, move more energy, and your healings become stronger and more effective.

There’s a lot to cover when it comes to lifestyle, but one key point is this: energy healers need energy. Get your sleep. Being well-rested keeps your instrument in top shape and supports more successful sessions.

Establish a Daily Personal Practice

I cannot stress this one enough. A personal practice at the start of your day is essential for this line of work. Taking time to sit down—before you’re available to anyone else—and do what you need to do to be the best dang instrument you can be is non-negotiable.

Ideally, your personal practice should include purification practices. I emphasize this because purification helps your chakras get clean, bright, and big, which, as mentioned before, allows you to draw in more energy. And we all know what that means! It’s also through purification that we increase our receptivity to higher energies, making our healing sessions effortless, smooth, and successful.

I also think it’s important to use this time to work on your own personal growth—energetically speaking. Do your self-healing, clear your blocks and limitations, and address anything that supports the path you’re on.

A personal practice is unique and customized to you. It should fit your needs and goals—a time to purify, tune in, develop, and build your energy for the day. And don’t forget to ground yourself. Ground all this beautiful energy you’re bringing in so you can carry it with you throughout your day.

Embrace Your Healing Journey

I want to offer some encouragement: if you’re waiting to be ‘perfect’ before stepping into this line of work, you’ll be waiting forever. Well… maybe that’s not entirely encouraging, but here’s what I mean: perfection doesn’t exist, and all of us have our flaws. The standards in this line of work can be high, and if you can’t always meet them—that’s okay! Strive to improve, but don’t beat yourself up over it. 

Keeping your instrument clean—through self-healing, mindful lifestyle choices, and a consistent personal practice—is the foundation of becoming an effective, sustainable healer. It’s a journey, not a destination, and it’s perfectly human to have ups and downs along the way. Honor your body, your energy, and your growth, and remember: your effectiveness as a healer comes from how well you care for yourself first.

If you’re ready to take your practice to the next level and want guidance on building your instrument, I invite you to join my mentorship sessions. Together, we’ll create a plan to strengthen your energy, refine your skills, and deepen your connection to this work in a way that’s sustainable and deeply rewarding.