3 Simple Rituals to Get Unstuck and Back In The Flow

Whenever you’re feeling “stuck” in a project, place, relationship, decision, or any other aspect of life, or feeling fatigued or low vibration, the energy flow in your body is stuck.

Here are three simple ritual you can practice to move the energy in your body and get yourself back in the flow.

(1) Movement

Pretty obvious.

When you move your body, you move the energy in your body.

This is my philosophy behind my fitness first ritual — my practice of exercising first thing in the morning. After laying in bed all night, I want to move the energy through. Once I’ve moved the energy around, my thoughts and ideas start flowing.

As a bonus, I’m better able to focus.

Read more: Why Fitness First is Not a Habit

I’ve learned that this works well any time of day. When I feel stuck in my creative work, rather than sit and stare at a screen, I get out for a walk or another workout. If I can’t go far I’ll dance it out around my desk or do squats. This always works.

(2) Breathwork

Your breath is an excellent way to move energy within your physical body. If you’re anything like me, maybe you’ll notice that sometimes when you get hyper focused in your work, you stop breathing. When I get really fixated on something I tend to hold my breath. That’s not so great.

When you’re exercising, you’re already breathing. But the breath also works on its own. Conscious, intentional breathing will move energy through your body.

You can do this through a meditation practice, or simply by pausing to take a few conscious breaths — slowing down the pace of your inhales and exhales.

One of the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga is called pranayama — Sanskrit for control of the breath. Pranayama exercises provide different forms of structured breathing.

(3) Stillness

It might feel counterintuitive, but one of my favorite ways to move energy is by coming into stillness.

Stillness in this context means your body is still and your mind is not engaged in anything else, not even the focused attention on the breath or another object that we often have in meditation.

Ideally you want to be laying down, and fully present to your body in this moment.

sitting at your computer

laying on the couch watching TV or scrolling your phone/tablet

any position where you’re holding a device, whether electronic or otherwise

reading a book

listening to a podcast or most music

crashing in bed exhausted

What’s left? you may wonder.

Laying down and doing nothing…with a bit more intention. In the space of stillness you can cultivate an awareness of the energy as it moves through you.

Also read: Why Dormancy is the Key to Productivity

I feel the effects of this technique most in a restorative yoga practice, where poses are held for longer periods of time.

During these practices, I often feel the sensations of energy balls releasing in my body and moving through, the way water would rush through a pipe that got cleared out (although, admittedly, I don’t know if the pipe feels what I feel).

Sometimes I’ll even notice spontaneous movement in my limbs as this happens.

It’s like magic. Hard to describe, so you’ll have to experience it for yourself.

What’s your favorite way to move energy to get unstuck? Share your experiences in the comments.