According to new age beliefs, your aura is like a magnet picking up vibrational energies that are all around you in an energy field. This field around your physical body is known as your aura. It is important to cleanse your aura freeing it of foreign vibrations and negative energies. Your aura can experience and exhibit stress, fragmentation, and a loss of luminosity. There are physical and mental ways to cleanse your aura. Take a look at the various ways.

Mental Cleansing

One of the best ways to cleanse your aura is to visualize it and mentally rid yourself of the negativity that may be swirling around you.

Sit in a quiet, distraction-free zone in your house. Stay seated comfortably in a position you can relax in for about 15 minutes while practicing breathing exercises. Remain conscious of what you are doing. Be aware of your inhales and exhales. You can even meditate. Once you find yourself beginning to totally relax, form a white light in your mind and have it surround you. Allow it to flow throughout you, from the tips of your toes to the top of your head and visualize it moving up and down your back.

Comb Your Aura

Another visualization exercise that is combined with a physical action is to comb your aura. The way to to do this is to wash and dry your hands thoroughly. Spread your fingers into a comb and comb through the space surrounding your body starting at your head continuing downward to the toes.

Afterward, clean your hands again with running water allowing all combed up energies to be washed away.

Cleanse with Water

Water has wonderful aura cleansing and energy healing properties. You can either physically wash with water or just visualize water washing over you cleansing your energy.

While in the shower or under an outdoor waterfall, allow the water to flow generously over every inch of your body: head, face, arms, torso, legs, and feet. As you watch the water disappear down the drain breathe freely and imagine all your troubles and stress flowing away from your mind along with the water.

Treating yourself to a salt water soak is a good way to give your aura a really good cleanout. Salt has wonderful healing properties for the body. An Epsom salt soak or a swim in salt water does wonders for your aura.

The cleansing properties of the rain on the earth are likewise beneficial for cleansing auras. Walk outdoors in the rain, look up to the sky as you breathe the humid air and allow the raindrops to caress your face. A word of warning, do not do this during an electrical storm. That is not the energy rejuvenation you are looking for.

You can also meditate that a waterfall is flowing over you, instead of water, white light envelopes you and washes away negativity, pain, grief or sadness and cleanses you, refreshing you, making you sparkle. Allow the cleansing to make you feel whole and full of light and beautiful energy.

Wind, Sun, and Play

The word "aura" in Latin and ancient Greek means wind, breeze or breath. Likewise, you can use the wind to help cleanse your aura. When it is windy out, try simply standing outside facing the wind, arms outstretched. Close your eyes and let the wind whip around you, removing and transforming challenging and stuck energies into pure positivity and exhilaration. Free your mind and run freely and playfully in the wind. Feel free to give your body a spin on a grassy lawn or meadow.

This is particularly effective on a sunny day, the sun can be energetically purifying as well.

Feather Whisk

Another physical tool you can use to cleanse your aura are feathers, particularly owl or turkey feathers. Using a single feather or a feather whisk, make sweeping motions through the space surrounding your body. Begin at your feet and work upwards, much like a bird would fly from the ground to the top of a tree. Ask a friend to assist by sweeping your backside or any areas around your physical being that you cannot reach easily.

Smudge Your Aura

The smudging ritual is a Native American one, where smoke from dried white sage or other herbs is used to cleanse the aura. Light the end of the smudge stick or bundle and wait until the flame goes out. The stick will be left smoldering and producing smoke. Encircle the stick around your body, reaching up and down and front and back as far as you can. The smoke will cleanse your energy as it penetrates your energy field. Herbs that are helpful to use for aura cleansing can include sage, lavender, sweetgrass, or other smudging herbs. You can also gently breathe in some of the smudged air.

Protect Your Aura

Once you have cleansed your aura, you need to protect it from negative energy. One way to protect yourself is to make sure you surround yourself with more positive people than negative ones. Find positive people who always have a smile to offer and have kind souls. These people can help offset negativity in your aura.

If you still feel like you have negative energy, look inward. Start paying attention to your thoughts. Are there a lot of negative feelings? Focus on the bright side of things. If you are having a really bad day, it is OK to express your feelings, but do not wallow. Make your day better. Fill it with something fun, exciting, or fulfilling. If you notice that a negative thought is trying to creep in, confront it with a positive one. If you keep practicing this, you will be able to conquer the effects of negative thinking.