How to Release Emotions at the River

The river carries a powerful energy and life force. Just walking near a stream or fast-moving river can be refreshing. It may help clarify your thoughts or rebalance your feelings. Being in the presence of a river often naturally brings a sense of renewal.

Now imagine working with the already potent energy of the river as an ally– to intentionally release old or heavy emotions, and wash your heart clean.

This is one of my favorite healing rituals. It’s very simple, yet remarkably transformational. I’ve been doing this for myself for 25 years, after experiencing a profound emotional release while in ceremony at a waterfall in Brazil. And I’ve been leading groups to do the same at the Bear Creek in the foothills near where I live for several years. Participants are always surprised at how something so simple can make them feel so much better.

River Wisdom

Let’s begin by exploring the essence of the river and how it mirrors aspects of ourselves. The river’s sweet waters are naturally clear, nourishing, and life-giving. When nature is in harmony, the water runs freely and infuses everything it touches with a sense of peaceful vitality. Life flourishes abundantly near the river.

If the river water becomes tainted or poisoned with toxic runoff or waste, however, everything shifts.  The life that depends on the river slowly mutates or shrivels and dies. Nearby life can’t thrive if the waters are poisoned. And so it is with our relationships—they depend on uninhibited and untainted love–whose source is an open and accepting heart. 

Many things can interrupt the flow of love to and from your heart. Large boulders (major trauma), accumulations of small stones (repeated painful incidents), dams (repressed emotions), toxic runoff (polluted people around you), and lack of rain or snow (isolation or loneliness) can all affect the flow of the river. These influences might alter your course, create stagnant pools, poison your water so that you can’t easily support others, or dry up your river.

Take a moment to reflect on your emotional state. How is love flowing to and from you right now? What is the quality of that love? Are there blockages? Close your eyes and notice how you’re feeling inside, then ask to become aware of anything that might need to be transformed.

Ritual of Release at the River

There are seven steps for this simple yet beautiful ritual of emotional release at the river:

1. Begin by meditating on what you want to release, and determine which emotions you are ready to set free and wash away.
2. Now find an object in nature to represent what you are letting go of. For example, look for a stone, dead wood, prickly pinecone, or dried-up flower that somehow resembles what you are releasing.
3. Bring your chosen object and a yellow rose or another type of yellow flower to the river with you.
4. Sit by the river with your object. Connect with what you’re releasing and then use your breath to blow the emotional blockage or painful incident into the object three times. If you feel the emotions anchored somewhere within your body, touch the object to that part of your body and use your breath and visualization to transfer the pain or heaviness to the object.
5. When ready, throw it into the river. Watch it sink or float away downstream. Keep breathing the old feelings out of your body, going deeper and deeper within yourself. Let the tears flow freely if they need to; this will help amplify the cleansing process.
6. Once you’ve released what you intended, take some river water and wash your crown and your heart with it, along with any part of your body that was holding what you released. If you are near a waterfall and can safely do so, stand directly under the water and let the cold force of the current finish washing it away.
7. Now sit by the river on a stone or riverbank and pick up a yellow flower. Focus on your prayers and intentions, what would you like to replace what you’ve released? Infuse each petal with a prayer, touching it to your heart or your lips. Release it into the river and watch it float downstream, carrying your prayer with it and out into the world, blessed by the loving tenderness of the sweet waters. Continue infusing the petals with your prayers until they are all gone. You can add prayers of gratitude, prayers for your loved ones, and prayers for the planet.

The earth underneath the riverbed will absorb the heaviness of what you released, mulching and transforming it. And the loving flow of the river will carry your prayers forward, and out into the world to be witnessed and answered.

As you complete your ritual of release, say a special thanks to the river and her flowing waters. Take a few deep breaths and notice which areas of your body feel lighter. Continue to feel the blessing of the river moving inside you, as you return to your day-to-day life.