Emergency cleaning

A Practice for Returning to Lightness

JASON NUTTING shares the liberating practice of Heartfulness Cleaning.

Sometimes the hardest part of letting go is knowing where to begin.

You feel it before you name it—the tension, the restlessness, the emotional weight. Something stirred up inside you: a tough conversation, a wave of stress, an old pattern resurfacing. You want to feel centered. But you’re carrying something that won’t let you settle. That’s where Heartfulness Cleaning comes in. It is a daily evening practice, but it’s also a powerful tool you can use anytime emotional residue shows up. This is Emergency Cleaning— a simple, powerful release practice to help you reset, realign, and return to inner light.

When the weight lingers. Throughout the day, we accumulate impressions— what Heartfulness calls samskaras— from thoughts, emotions, interactions, and reactions. While many dissolve naturally, others leave behind a heaviness in the system. You might not always know what caused it. You just feel off. That’s your signal: it’s time to release.

Emergency Cleaning: What and why

Traditional Heartfulness Cleaning is done in the evening
to remove the day’s accumulated impressions.
But sometimes, life doesn’t wait.
Emotional disturbances arise in the moment.
Emergency Cleaning is a shortened, focused version
of the evening practice.
It clears emotional clutter
so you can move forward with clarity—
without waiting for the day to end.
It’s not about suppressing what you feel.
It’s about creating space
so you’re no longer stuck in it.

A simple way in:

If sitting for a formal cleaning feels distant or abstract,
this framework offers a tangible entry point—
especially during moments of stress or resistance.
Take two to five minutes.
Sit comfortably.
Gently close your eyes.
Begin. 

Before you start: a mental bridge.
If you’re feeling too agitated or disconnected to drop in right away, try asking yourself:

• What am I holding onto right now?
• What do I no longer need in this moment?
• Can I let this move through me without controlling it?

You’re not trying to fix anything.
You’re simply acknowledging what’s present.
This gentle mental check-in
can soften resistance,
and help you move from mind to heart.

Step 1: One word

Choose a word to shift your internal stance:

• Allow—if you tend to suppress or avoid
• Open—if you feel guarded or braced
• Let go—if you’re clinging to control

Say it inwardly.
This soft cue signals your system that it’s safe to release. 

Step 2: Visualize the release

Gently imagine that all heaviness—
emotional residue, stress, confusion—
is leaving your system.
See it exiting from your back
like smoke, dissolving into space.
Let the feeling move.
Don’t force anything.
Just stay present and observe. 

Step 3: Breathe and relax

Take a conscious exhale.
Drop your shoulders.
Loosen your jaw.
Let your hands rest freely.
This physical shift allows your nervous system
to unwind—
making space for deeper cleaning.

Step 4: Invite light

Visualize a gentle, pure light
entering your heart from the front.
Let it fill the space
where the heaviness once was.
There’s no effort here—
just openness.
Feel the lightness expand.

Step 5: Return to presence

Rest in this space a few moments longer.
Then, gently bring your awareness
back to your body and surroundings.
Open your eyes when ready.
Don’t check to see if the feeling is ‘gone.’
Just notice: Do you feel clearer?
Lighter? A little more yourself?
That’s enough.

If you still feel heavy That’s okay.
Releasing is not erasing.
It’s loosening the grip.
You may still feel the emotion,
but now you’re no longer reacting
from it. You’ve broken the loop.
And the more you clean,
the more the impressions dissolve
at the source. This is how inner transformation
happens— not through force,
but through repeated letting go.
And over time, as the heart
becomes more refined and the
practice deepens, letting go
becomes more natural.
The heart begins to open on its
own—softened, sensitized, and
made teachable.

In these quiet moments, even
without effort, grace becomes accessible.
As we continue to clean, the
impressions lose their grip, and
the heart starts to remember its original state.
We realize: this process is not
only about removing—it’s about returning.

When to use Emergency Cleaning

• After emotional conversations
• Before making big decisions
• When your mind feels clouded
• During cravings, stress, or inner resistance
• Anytime you feel stuck or unsettled

Emergency Cleaning isn’t just for
difficult moments.
It’s for any moment
you want to return to lightness.

Letting go, living light
The more often you clean,
the more easily you return
to your natural state—
open, free, and grounded in the heart.
This isn’t about perfect peace
or emotional perfection.
It’s about living from clarity,
regardless of the storm.
In time, the practice becomes second nature:
One word. One breath. One release.
That’s all it takes
to return to yourself.
Let that be your new default.

Ready to experience it for yourself?

Visit www.heartfulness.org for guided meditations and resources.
Or watch: How to do the Heartfulness Cleaning  

Masterclass by Daaji:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePiMdh5X_r0