How crystals can boost your well-being with Reiki Master and mental health first aider Eleena Rathaur

Reiki Master and mental health first aider Eleena Rathaur is an expert when it comes to all things well-being with her own range of products infused with crystals. We caught up with Eleena to discover more about these powerful stones to understand how to use them in our daily routines.

Tell us Eleena, how can crystals effect our well-being?
A lot of us live fast paced lifestyles and struggle to find time to slow our minds down - crystals can help us and can be used as a tool to facilitate mindful moments. Naturally, you can get lost in their beauty, but you can also use particular crystals as part of daily practice to elicit a specific effect.

For example, labradorite crystals are captivating because of the flashes of different blue, green and gold colours and it is also known for having calming properties. With this in mind you can have a moment to calm the mind by holding it and seeing what colours come through – giving you a chance to calm the chaotic mind by training it to focus on one thing, the crystal.

The beauty of this is it doesn’t take long and can be practiced wherever and whenever, so it can easily become a habit. Research shows long-term mindfulness can rewire the brain, therefore anything that helps this is beneficial to our mental well-being.

As a beginner to using crystals, which would you recommend starting out with?
I highly recommend a grounding or cleansing crystal. Black crystals are grounding and also known for protective properties, as they are known for absorbing low frequencies and stagnant energy. Smoky quartz is my favourite and I have this in my ‘detox your vibes’ CBD & Crystal Bath Bombs, you can then have a soak with the crystal and cleansing concoction created with detox in mind.

Shungite is another deeply detoxifying crystal which has also been studied for its use in water and antioxidant properties. It is thought to help with absorbing Electro Magnetic Frequencies (EMF) frequencies. As the world we live in is centred around technology, it’s important we detox our energy regularly, otherwise we can become drained.

How do we use them?
There are many ways crystals can be used, I encourage people to take a personal approach, something that feels right for them and that they enjoy, as it will then benefit them and become a habit. I have created crystal products to help introduce crystals into our natural routine; such as aromatherapy Serenity Sprays I make with soothing scents to help with relaxation, but also a detox on the go. I encourage the ritual of spraying it over our crown chakra and visualise the water washing away any worries or heaviness. It’s a practical way to incorporate such a beneficial practice, as you can’t always sit and meditate or have a bath to detox, but you can carry the spray and use it like a perfume, little do people know it is a way of cleansing and centering yourself! I recommend incorporating it into a daily routine that already exists and setting an intention to create a regular well-being habit.

To deepen mindfulness practice this takes time, but you can start building it up with just 10 minutes of meditation with a crystal, either holding it or placing it on the body (the certain chakra it resonates with or holding it in your hand). To help aid meditation I make Meditation Malas which are personal to someone’s energy and can be used during meditation, you can close your eyes and hold each bead working your way around the mala and repeating a mantra or chanting, this can be a powerful practice especially once it is developed. The mala can also be worn as a reminder to have those mindful moments.

What crystals can help calm and soothe us?
Calming crystals tend to be purple - fluorite, lepidolite and amethyst are some examples. However, It depends on the individual as amethyst can also be very activating to help with deep meditation and causes vivid dreams so I always raise awareness with this crystal, despite its known relaxing properties it is one to be wary of if you want a good nights rest don’t sleep with it!

A very soothing crystal is moonstone which every woman should have in their collection as it's known to help you harness your own cycle and aid hormone balance. Just like the moon goes through a constant cycle and affects the tides differently, there is now more awareness around how womens energy levels change throughout our own menstrual cycle and moonstone is recommended to help women through this. Most of my Goddess products are moonstone infused, it's a beautiful crystal featured in my wax melts, bath bombs and womb oil to help provide soothing support for women's well-being. 

Can crystals help reduce anxiety and stress?
Lepidolite is one of my favourites to help with anxiety and stress relief, it is a beautiful lilac colour and is lithium based therefore it is known for its mood stabilising effects and is what I recommend for helping mental health. I make the ‘Make time for Mental Health’ CBD & Crystal Bath Bomb with this crystal as it is water safe and I recommend it is placed on the forehead whilst soaking the day and any worries away! You can also sleep with lepidolite, either place it under your pillow or lie it on your forehead as you drift away and soothe any anxiety.

Anxiety can be caused by overactive energy therefore anything to bring balance is best, even grounding crystals such as tourmaline to help absorb any heightened energy.

Stress is activating the sympathetic nervous system and any mindful moment with a crystal helps you tune into the parasympathetic nervous system and calms the energy, the more time dedicated to this the more it will relieve the stress. Grounding crystals are great for supporting this as it works with your root chakra to help anchor you in the moment, a lovely exercise to do is visualise roots growing from your feet into the ground, grounding you deeper and deeper. Practicing this in nature is best, we will be doing a lot of grounding exercises at our Crystals, Creativity and Calm retreat to relieve stress.

You work with a lot of women, do you have any crystals you think are especially useful for women’s wellbeing?
Yellow, orange or red crystals are known as eliciting energising effects, which relates to the three lower chakras that govern our vitality. A lovely way to work with these crystals are lying down and placing them on the lower chakras or belly area and breathing into the tummy and visualise a ball of energy there, like the sunshine. Carnelian is a lovely crystal that tends to be red but sometimes has yellow/orange bands within it and this is known to bring balance in the lower chakras and is also a popular crystal for women’s well-being. 

Can crystals offer beauty benefits too?
A beautiful way to connect with crystals is through the use of crystal facial rollers and Gua shas to introduce facials into your beauty regime with the added crystal benefit. Rose quartz is the perfect crystal for self-love practice as it is a crystal that brings gentle love into the ritual, we all need our daily dose of love to fill up our own cup.

I think it's important to surround yourself in that love at the start of the day and end of the day as we tend to be our worst critic when looking in the mirror and that's why my sets have a loving affirmation and ritual to incorporate into the routine when looking into your own reflection to replace those negative remarks and speak kindly to oneself instead, a very powerful practice.

How do you suggest using crystals in a wind down bedtime routine? 
A lot of my clients came to me suffering from brain fog, scattered mind and a ‘heaviness’, they now use my obsidian facial rollers before bedtime, as part of their evening beauty routine to help ground and cleanse their energy and mind. They use this and the Gua Sha on their forehead area, specifically focusing on the third eye (centre of your forehead) and they say it is like a massage for the mind as well as the face, leaving them deeply relaxed, ready for a good night’s rest. They have also since reported that they wake up less groggy and feel focused now they have implemented this routine. 

Nighttime energetic hygiene is very important as we are subjected to so much throughout the day without realising it affects our energy. Adding a simple self-care routine before bedtime seems to help my client’s mental health and they report back that it's been a beautiful experience making it part of their beauty routine. I also advise staying away from highly energising crystals before bedtime because it can disrupt sleep, selenite is a great cleansing crystal but best to be used in the morning as it can be quite uplifting which can obviously interfere with a relaxing sleep.

Eleena will be sharing her expert knowledge of crystals, guiding you to make and bless your own Mama bead necklace and teaching you all about the wellbeing and beauty benefits of Crystals on our Crystals, Creativity and Calm retreat here at Purusha this September. Learn more and book your space here