While the term “raising my vibe” may have surged in popularity recently, yoga is no stranger to what it means to do so. Whether you come from a yoga background in Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, or Kundalini (or none at all!), all styles of yoga have one (or multiple) frameworks that explain how Prana (life-force energy) moves and effects the body.
Have you ever heard of the chakras? What about meridians, Nadis, Koshas, or Vayus? All of these are different lenses or viewpoints one can take to begin to understand the complexities that science is just beginning to understand of a human’s energetic body, called the subtle body, which has sparked a newer study of energy medicine.
What yogis have known for thousands of years is only now being more widely accepted in our modern world, so it makes sense to turn to yoga and the practices that it provides to help learn how to raise your vibration.
How to Raise Your Vibration
Some styles of yoga, such as Kundalini raise your vibrational frequency by bringing your energy up to your third eye and crown chakras and then leaving you there. This is one way to look at raising your energy as it quite literally goes up. But another way to see it is to bring your energy back to centre. This could look like bringing your head down out of the clouds through some grounding yin yoga, or drawing your energy up into your heart space in a backbending flow. I like to think of raising your vibe as bringing you back to centre because your head being up in the clouds or stuck on always finding new ideas isn’t always ideal! And neither is being in your feels settled into your sacral chakra. This is why all of these suggestions and practices bring you to a place of calm, peace, and stillness…your centre or your unique frequency. From here you are your best, highest self.
Breath Control (Pranayama)
The breath is an often overlooked tool that can help raise your vibration fast. Sometimes all it takes is 3-5 breaths, sometimes a few minutes of breathing. Either way, there’s no need to settle into a full breathwork practice to get your energy boosted and feeling high vibe.
While the terms breathwork and Pranayama are commonly interchanged, they are not the same thing. Pranayama is breath control in order to calm the mind and is frequently done before meditation to make it easier! Breathwork can often leave you feeling “high” but Pranayama delivers a relaxed, calm space for you to settle into. When the mind is calm then you are more centred and thus able to raise your vibe more easily and without the nonsense of getting stuck in your thoughts.
Here are a few Pranayama techniques that you can try:
- When you are stuck in your head or anxious: Inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 6. The extended exhale will help you to reground, get out of your head, and create more stability in your mind. Take 10-15 breaths.
- When you are stuck in doing/get everything done now mode: Curl your tongue like you’re trying to create a taco shape with your tongue, the side edges coming to touch. If you can’t touch your tongue edges, lightly tap your teeth together and peel your lips away from your teeth like you’re doing a wide, awkward smile. For either option, suck in breath through your tongue or teeth, seal your lips, then exhale out through your nose. Sitali breath, otherwise known as taco breath, helps to cool you, and your nervous system, and brings you back to a place of homeostasis. Take 10-15 breaths.
- When you are feeling lazy/having a hard time doing or getting going: Find a place to stand where you can swing your arms forward and out to the sides. This 3 part inhale begins by swinging your arms forward to shoulder height as you suck in 1/3 of air. Inhale another 1/3 of air as you drop your arms and swing them out to the sides, again shoulder height. Inhale the final 1/3 of air as you swing your arms down, forward and all the way up over your head. Exhale and throw your arms down and fold forward over your legs (knees generously bent). This Pranayama technique called breath of joy will give you a boost in energy. Continue for 1-3 mins.
Cleanliness of Body, Mind & Relationships (Saucha)
Do you have a friend that you always feel uplifted after spending time with them? Or maybe a family member that you feel drained after being around even for 5 minutes? Do certain foods sit heavier in your body or give you a boost in energy? Noticing this will have a huge impact on what you do put into your body and who you surround yourself with, thus affecting your energic frequency.
I will never tell you what to eat, drink, or who to be with, but there is no doubt that food, drinks, and relationships affect your mood and thus your overall vibe. As easy as it is to reach for the bag of sweet or salty snacks or indulge in a glass of wine when you’re feeling low, these are considered “low vibe” and can make you feel even worse (but sometimes they’re just what you need so no we’re not eliminating here).
Saucha, one of the Niyamas (tools used to reprogram yourself) of the 8 limbs of yoga, encourages you to regularly clean your body, mind, and relationships of “toxins” so that your life can stay as easy as possible. This does not mean you need to diet or detox or kick people out of your life. Saucha encourages you to take a look at what “toxins” you are letting in and be aware of them. Sometimes this will mean a cleanse is in order, such as a break from a certain someone in your life. Other times it could be one less glass of wine in the evening (or none!). When you begin being more aware of these so-called toxins you can start to see where you are letting lower vibrational energy enter into your life and adjust accordingly.
Try these Saucha practices:
- Begin taking mental notes of what foods, drinks, and people you feel energetically drained by and try eating, drinking, or seeing less of those people for a week.
- Try doing the opposite of what you normally do. Maybe you have a glass of wine to chill out at the end of the day, try swapping it for tea instead and see what differences you notice. Or maybe you catch yourself sleeping in often, what does it feel like when you get up just 15 minutes earlier for a week?
Gratitude & Acceptance (Santosha)
Gratitude is an obvious practice when it comes to raising your vibration instantly which I like to categorize under Santosha, another of the Niyamas. More commonly Santosha is referred to as acceptance, and I believe that gratitude and acceptance go hand-in-hand as they both embrace exactly what Santosha is translated as “accepting what is.” In order to be grateful you must practice acceptance of what you currently have, what cards have been laid in front of you, how you look, and what experiences are happening for you.
When you accept where you’re at in life you are accepting the challenges and the life lessons they bring, your Karma. Only when you fully accept yourself and your situation can you truly be grateful for yourself, the lessons, and the things. Let me be clear that this doesn’t mean that you can’t wish for more or for something different. You can be grateful for what currently is and want something else entirely. That’s okay, your wants are allowed to change as you evolve, especially as your vibration rises!
Try these Santosha practices:
- Keep a gratitude list in your journal daily by writing down 3 things you’re grateful for (of any size!).
- Make eye contact with yourself in the mirror with your hands over your heart and say the affirmation “I accept…” whatever it is you may be facing as a challenge currently.
- Instead of doing the power yoga class you think you “should” do, opt for a yin instead or vice versa.
Self Awareness & Self Care (Svadhyaya)
Only when you are aware of what you need can you deliver yourself the right self care. When you are able to care for yourself properly you will more easily be able to attract love, be more grounded, experience contentment, and ease. Svadhyaya is a combination of these two practices. It’s recognizing when you’re tired and drained and knowing what you need to do to fill your cup up again. This could be spending even just 30 minutes alone reading a book, making yourself a latte, or indulging in a long walk. It’s being aware of when your mood is not your delightful self and knowing what you can do to get yourself back to that wonderful state of contentment, aka your higher vibe.
In my private yoga & coaching sessions, Sacred Exploration, I go into great detail about how you can best support and care for yourself. This could look like crafting the ideal morning routine (it’s often different than what you’d expect), or recognizing triggers that bring you down and what simple tips, like buying yourself flowers, can do to help boost you back up. Only I help you completely personalize your self-care and much more. If this sounds fabulous to you, book your first session today!
Try these Svadhyaya practices:
- What feels so outrageous or bougie that you would never let yourself do? Maybe it’s taking a bath in the middle of the day or treating yourself to a new book and latte even though you have plenty to read at home. Try that and notice how you feel. How can you do that more often?
- Instead of doing something because it simply must be done (like unloading the dishwasher), try doing something you want to do first (like lighting a candle and relaxing). How does it feel when you indulge in what you want first instead of it being the “reward” after?
Surrender (Ishvara Pranidhana)
Perhaps the most difficult yogic practice of all, the act of surrender is one that you are most likely familiar with, but struggle the most with (I know I do!). Letting go and releasing all expectations may seem like a simple task, but knowing and doing, embodying this practice requires a deep level of trust. Ishvara Pranidhana is yet another Niyama that leads you to a higher state of being by practicing releasing control of everything. When you are easily able to walk away from a situation you aren’t dipping into your lower vibration tendencies in order to get what you want. You’d be surprised how letting things go can truly leave you more space to focus on the things that automatically fuel you and bring you higher!
Try these Ishvara Pranidhana practices:
- The next time you want someone to do something and feel the need to tell them to do so, try not doing it and see what happens. Release any expectations of it happening on your timeline (such as your partner’s laundry being put away before you go to bed) and notice when it gets done. More times than not, it will and you will be calmer than when you tried to force it.
Meditation (Dharana)
Can meditation really raise your vibe? You bet! Meditation, or Dharana is the act of concentration. You’re concentrating on getting your vibe back to your core centre of being and letting your thoughts just be. Meditation is not the absence of thoughts, but learning to let them float away like clouds. When you meditate you are concentrating on not only recentreing, but also regrounding yourself.
Try these meditation practices:
- Grow Your Roots Meditation (from my Journey Home 30-Day Yoga Adventure)
- 5 Minute Self Confidence Meditation
- Guided Meditation for Self Love
Yoga to Raise Your Vibration (Asana)
The tool that many yogis begin with to get to that place of inner peace and feeling like you’re on top of the world because you’re so centred is Asana, the physical practice of yoga. While Asana requires more physical effort than mental, it’s a practice that is much more common, and thus a tried and true way to get your vibe out of its funk. Movement is always a surefire way to feel your best, especially if you can get outside and do it in nature! And if a yoga practice feels too daunting today or ever, a walk outside or even just standing on a balcony for fresh air can help do the trick too. I’ve even created an entire sequence to help you move your energy up to your higher chakras that is free on YouTube (don’t forget to subscribe 😉)!
What’s next?
- Don’t know what to focus on first and would love some guidance? Sacred Exploration, my yoga and coaching privates would be ideal for you.
- Begin your journey inward to better understand how to make your practice support you and your needs in my 30-day Journey Home program
- Practice yin & vinyasa styles classes with me on YouTube!