Whether you are seeking more joy, a deeper spiritual connection, less stress or are looking to alleviate physical and emotional wounds, there is likely a self-healing tool for you. I’ve tried a fair share of them myself (many on air on my podcast) — some more helpful than others, and many transformative emotionally and physically.
The challenge is that investing in a handful or a dozen healing modalities can end up costing you a pretty penny. So I turned to seven celebrated healers to ask their favorite healing methods that you can do yourself, for free, at home. Here’s what they had to say.
Self-healing for free: Take a ritual bath
“A ritual bath is one of the most powerful ways we can be our own healers,” shares Deborah Hanekamp, founder of Mama Medicine. “Even if you don’t have a bathtub, you can do one as a foot bath, bring a jar of the bath potion to wash yourself with it or even put the potion in a spray bottle and give yourself a gentle blessing with it from time to time.”
And you don’t need anything exotic to put in your bath, says Hanekamp — in fact, you may just have a favorite herb in your kitchen or garden. “One of my favorite healing tools is something most of us have at home in our spice rack: rosemary! Fresh or dried, this invigorating plant ally can be put in your bath or drinking water, and even just taking a deep breath and a quick smell of it will give you energy, clarity and radiance.”
Hanekamp shares ideas for baths and other rituals on her Instagram and in her upcoming book, Ritual Baths.
Practice Kirtan Kriya daily, a Kundalini meditation
Healing coach and Kundalini meditation guide Hilary Pearlson has seen the transformative power of using Kundalini meditation, both personally and with her clients. “I have personally practiced this modality for over six years, and love sharing it with my coaching clients, as they experience a shift in their energy immediately,” she reports.
Pearlson recommends starting with Kirtan Kriya, a meditation for clarity. “There are hundreds of Kundalini meditations available, each holding a specific benefit but all giving you the opportunity to be with yourself, connect to your breath and create stillness inside of you. For anyone getting started, I would recommend Kirtan Kriya, a powerful meditation for clarity and mental balance,” says Pearlson.
The meditation can be done in just 11 minutes a day, and is free and easy to practice (and I would know — I just completed Pearlson’s 40-day challenge). Kundalini’s benefits are far-reaching, Pearlson says. “The practice goes deep and can support you in accessing so many of its benefits, including an increase in energy, feeling at peace, a deeper connection to your intuition, clarity in your life, abundance (which comes in many forms) and feeling happier. All that is asked of you is to show up and do your best.”
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Practice presence through a walking meditation
Healing can be as simple as practicing mindfulness and presence.
“Mindfulness simply means being aware and purposefully bringing attention to the present. Mindfulness is a wonderful, free, easy tool that can be used anywhere. It’s helpful at combating feelings of anxiety, depression, frustration, anger and fear.
“When we experience these emotions, we are usually focusing on the future or the past, both of which we have no control over. Mindfulness brings our attention to where we are right now and the things we can control in the moment,” explains Carmen Mayes, astrologer and spiritual wellness coach.
To be more mindful, Mayes shares that the key is just outside your front door. “There are many mindfulness exercises, and one of my favorites is walking meditation.
“To conduct this exercise, a person simply goes for a walk and focuses on their steps. As you walk, bring full awareness to each step, how fast you move (don’t walk too fast), and the feeling of your foot hitting the ground with each step. Once you have awareness of your steps, notice your breathing. Your breath should be full and deep. Eventually, your movement and breath will sync. At this time, you should notice a greater sense of calmness and clarity.”
Activate your line to channel messages and connect to your inner knowing
You have access to deep inner knowing, guidance and wisdom — you just need to learn how to activate it.
Ashley Wood, founder of A Line Within, created a line activation technique that helps you easily connect in just a few minutes. “I practice a line activation every single day, multiple times a day whenever I need to show up as my highest self. This subtle yet powerful movement shifts my energetic frequency, allowing me to receive guidance from the highest realm and complete clarity. It’s free, it takes a minute and anyone can do it,” says Wood.
“This supports you in clearing the line within you, the energetic line that connects to the universe, through your body and into the earth below. Through this line, you’re receiving information 24/7 (downloads, gut feelings, intuition, and more).”
Wood demonstrates how to activate your line (which involves raising and lowering your hands in a prayer position up and down your body) in this video.
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Self-healing for free: Explore breathwork
Breathwork is a powerful healing tool that you can do wherever you are with no materials or props needed — just your breath.
“Breathwork is an active meditation technique that uses the breath to purge the body and nervous system of stuck emotional energy,” shares breathwork facilitator and teacher Erin Telford. “It is an efficient and effective way to emotionally detox. You can use it daily in place of a daily seated meditation practice, as this breathwork technique is designed to move your energy, change your emotional state, and connect you to your body. You may feel some vibration and tingling in the body as your energy gets flowing!” she shared.
Learn more about the technique and practice it yourself in Telford’s guided practice.
Explore automatic writing for connecting to your intuition
Psychic medium Jessica Peppler believes that one of the most healing tools is connecting to your intuition.
“We live in a culture of ‘should,’ and something I see a lot with my clients is that they have the best intentions for caring for themselves, but all the ‘shoulds’ get in the way of them listening to their own intuition about what they really need,” she says.
“Automatic writing is one of my favorite tools for accessing intuition. To practice automatic writing, simply grab a fresh piece of paper and a pen, or open a new document on your computer.
“Think of one question, decision or area of your life that you’d like some guidance on and write your question at the top of the page. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to center yourself in your body while holding your question in your mind, then open your eyes and start writing whatever answer or information comes through. Don’t edit, judge or question; just keep writing until you’re done!”
By practicing automatic writing, you will fine-tune your access to your intuition. “Keep in mind that intuition is quiet compared to the volume of your thoughts, and that intuition comes through quickly — it’s usually the first quick bit of information you receive. It also doesn’t always make logical sense, but will just feel right. The more you practice automatic writing, the more easily you’ll be able to access your intuition when you need it, so you can make the choices that are most aligned for you,” Peppler shares.
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Clear your mind daily
“My morning meditation helps me to keep inner peace and energetically armor up before taking on the day. Connecting with yourself before interacting with the world is so important, because it helps you stay in-sync with your own vibration,” shares Auriel Dickey, Reiki master and birth doula.
“Sit somewhere comfortable and with minimal distraction (if possible), palms up or down resting on your knees, close your eyes and breathe. You can focus on your breath or listen to/say a mantra,” Dickey suggests.
If you’ve tried meditation in the past and you are convinced you are “bad” at it because your mind is going a mile a minute, don’t worry; that’s normal, says Dickey.
“‘Monkey brain’ is OK! Remember, if you’re just starting, you can’t expect your mind to quieten down just because you decided to meditate. Instead of fighting your thoughts, let them flow while not giving them too much attention. Invite them in and escort them out.
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“Meditation, for me, is not about the quiet as much as it’s about flow. If you have a hard time doing that, learn a mantra or create an affirmation that resonates with you and repeat it to yourself and imagine it sinking into every part of you. Or even imagine your ‘happy place’ — what it smells like, what’s around you, etc. I also recommend keeping a journal near so you can note what thoughts or sensations come up.”