For those of us looking to release the negative energy that may be blocking our chakras, one area of our life we should carefully examine is our relationships. Relationships are an essential aspect of healthy living but just as we must maintain the health of our body, mind, and spirit, we must also monitor the healthiness of our relationships.

Sometimes we must cut off a relationship with someone that has become too toxic; such is the case when two people who are romantically involved decide to break up, but it is more common for us to encounter situations where we must mend a relationship rather than abandoning it.

Relationships take a lot of work, but the product of that work is happiness and positive energy. If this work is neglected it can result in physical, mental or spiritual maladies. The key to repairing relationships is communication and self-awareness. We cannot control what the other person does, but we must make it clear to them how we feel.

We also must take responsibility for our own actions, and see how they may be hurting a particular relationship. Oftentimes the things we do seem inconsequential in our own minds, and yet depending on what is going on within the other person, these behaviors can have a profound impact.

One practice that can be implemented to significantly improve our ability to manage relationships is meditation. Meditation allows us to become mindful of the fears and anxieties that are holding us back or affecting our decisions, and it can also help us to better understand and appreciate the needs and desires of others around us.

Take this example from the New York Times, a story about how a father and son used meditation to manage their relationship with each other and then apply it to their relationships with others:

His father would ask, “What are you majoring in? What are you going to do? What are you doing this summer?” which would set Ethan off. Meditation, he said, helped “take the edge off the whole situation. I think it helped me to know, in the back of my mind, ‘This is a compassionate person who has my best interest at heart.'” …With meditation, “you’re actually present with what’s happening,” he said. “You’re dealing with the difficulties, the strife, the awkwardness. You’re learning how to be accepting through that.

We all face moments in our lives like the ones Ethan did with his father during college. His father believed his questions were innocuous, he was asking them because he cared about what happened to his son. But oftentimes actions are interpreted differently than they are intended to be.

Like Ethan, there are times where we will face uncertainty and pressure. During these times, we feel unbalanced and the natural reaction of our body is to react defensively: to protect ourselves at the times when we are most vulnerable. We may lash out at those closest to us, and though we are not doing so intentionally, it usually causes pain in ourselves or the people we lash out at.

By meditating, we can identify these moments and take responsibility for them to repair any harm we may have caused. In addition, with time we can learn to foresee these situations and prevent ourselves from lashing out in the first place by acknowledging our fears and doubts so that they cannot control us.

It may only be one small piece to the larger puzzle that is complete well-being, but meditation is a very important piece of that puzzle. And by setting aside just a few minutes for it, we can become happier, and healthier.

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