“When my spiritual life is balanced, I am grounded and my life becomes less chaotic.” These are the words of spiritually gifted Thamsanqa Zisongo, who defines his spiritual journey as fulfilling, eye-opening and interesting.

“I become fully aware of my environment. I am able to self-correct and learn where I need to go. All of that is reliant on my spiritual hygiene,” he said.

While we exist in physical bodies, we as people are spiritual beings. As such, spiritual hygiene is of utmost importance. Spirituality is vast and each person has their own spiritual journey, the concept of spiritual hygiene may mean different things to different people.

For the Vaal-based healer, teacher and academic, spiritual hygiene has a lot to do with his alignment and listening closely to what his ancestors prescribe.

“It means being pure and aligned with my gift. My ancestors don’t like noisy places that are full of people. They also prefer that I spend time by myself every now and then. In doing so, I make time for them as well.”  

In striving towards spiritual hygiene, Zisongo has measures in place to ensure that he protects his energy and does what is best for his spiritual life, and ultimately his overall well-being.

“There’s certain food that I cannot eat, such as pork. My diet must be balanced. It’s also advised to minimise oily food and beans,” he explained.

Outside of watching what he eats, Zisongo is also cautious of the environments he places himself in. As much as possible, he strives to be in the presence of peace, calm and harmony. He also tries by all means to not be consumed by anger.

“Your aura also has to do with spiritual hygiene. As a spiritual person, you have to minimise being in stressful positions where you’re having altercations with people.”

Zisongo added that, as a result of his spiritual gift, he also tries to stay away from handshakes as he is able to pick up certain things about an individual’s life through personal touch. Sometimes, social settings aren’t always the best time for that person to receive the message being communicated. Therefore, a simple handshake can weigh quite heavily on him and his mood can very quickly change since he is on conversation with a world that is unseen to those around him while simultaneously existing in a physical social setting.

Notwithstanding, being at church or in his shrine allows for his spirit to thrive. In order to protect his energy and ensure that his space remains spiritually pure, he burns impepho (incense) and lights candles. This allows him to not only invite the presence and protection of his ancestors, but also to cleanse the space he’s in.  

According to Vuyiswa Xekatwane, ancestrally known as Gogo Mahlodi, spiritual hygiene is also about maintaining a level of wellness and should be normalised as part of self-care.

“It’s about maintaining a certain level of wellness and trying to eradicate dis-ease and any other imbalance. It’s about taking care of you. People take care of their oral and physical hygiene, but seem to neglect their physical hygiene.”

“When we’re speaking about spiritual hygiene, we’re speaking about taking care of your body, taking care of your mental health and how that aids your spiritual wellness,” she said.

Gogo Mahlodi also emphasised the importance of spiritual hygiene as it pertains to the body. When the body operates at its optimum, it’s more open to being a site of ancestral communication.

“Our dreams, intuition and even our nervous system can sometimes be a vessel or a site that ancestors use to communicate their needs, demands or sometimes events that are going to happen.

"People are so used to being burdened in their bodies, withstanding and tolerating discomfort, that sometimes they take for granted that the body’s intelligence is trying to alert them that something is not right.”

Indeed, the phrase "you are what you eat" is just as true where spirituality is concerned. Gogo Mahlodi agrees with the importance of diet when it comes to spiritual hygiene.

“Things like dairy, spicy foods, alcohol, intoxicants and other narcotics can have a negative impact when we’re looking at the body as a vessel. People need to have a deeper and intentional consideration for their bodies.”

Tips to stay spiritually balanced

Working towards spiritual hygiene requires one to be aware and intentional. These are a few tips from Gogo Mahlodi on staying spiritually balanced and hygienic.

1. Meditate

Meditation brings you to the present moment and makes you more aware. This enables you to observe not only your body and surroundings, but your state of mind too.

2. Dance a little more

Dancing is inherent to us as Africans. It’s a great way to align your head, heart and feet. Your spirit is lifted when your feet touch the ground and move to the rhythm of the beat.

3. Be observant and aware

Observe your emotions and do not avoid them. Emotions such as fear are some of the ways in which our bodies communicate with us. Being observant also includes listening to your intuition, which becomes louder and sharper the more you engage it.

4. Adopt cleansing rituals

Depending on your spiritual path, there are various ways to cleanse spiritually. In African spirituality, these include practices such as ukugeza (spiritual bath), ukuphalaza (purging) and ukufutha (steaming). While these practices take place physically, they have spiritual significance and can assist with spiritual awareness and hygiene.