Do you wake up feeling tired? Are the stresses in your life taking a toll? Are you feeling depleted and running on empty.
When your energy is low there are some very practical tweaks that you can make to shift things quickly. Some of these may seem so obvious that you dismiss them. Don't! Minute changes can create huge shifts in the amount of energy available to you.
Play with one or more of these 5 physical factors that affect your energy:
1. Breathing is one of the most profound and direct ways you have of changing or fine-tuning your chemical and biological state. Each breath contains life-force (energy, ki. chi, prana, etc.) and it can be increased through your awareness. Breath is a medium of exchange with your surroundings. The air you breathe today was once the exhalation of someone else. Breath not only connects you to your center, it connects you to ‘All That Is'.
2. Water was your initial environment, prior to birth. Three quarters of your body is made from it and your digestion and metabolism depend on it. Evolution has shifted the ocean outside of you to within your tissues — salt water is the internal medium in which materials are transported around the body. Your brain is over 70% water, your blood 60% and your bones 30%. It is required for assimilation of nutrients and elimination of waste. Water also conducts electricity, a form of energy. Your available energy is enhanced when you are hydrated.
3. Quality of your food impacts the quality of your energy. Eat fresh, organic, locally grown food. Too much refined and processed food robs the body of vital nutrients and increases your intake of fat, sugar, chemicals and additives. Eat more vegetables (especially leafy greens and cruciferous carbs such as cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts) and less animal products (meat, milk, eggs). Eating fresh fruit and raw salads each day increases your fiber and reduces your salt intake, helps to optimize absorption of protein and ensures a rich supply of cancer-busting phytochemicals — substances only found in plant foods. Eat Intuitively! Add whole foods to your diet and eliminate stressful foods. This will awaken your body's intelligence.
4. Exercise increases oxygen in your blood, boosts metabolism and pumps up circulation—just what your sleepy brain needs. If you're bored with your workout routine vary them: try belly dancing, African dance, water aerobics, or whatever you can do consistently that's fun. For maximum drive, make movement part of your daily routine: take the stairs instead of the elevator, bike to work, park in the farthest corner of the grocery store lot. And add mini-workouts to amp up your energy all day long. One of my favorites is dancing between telephone calls.
5. Quality of your rest — whether it's sleep, meditation or mindfulness — directly impacts your ability to restore. We know that muscles grow when you rest, we also know that sleep and meditation are deeply restorative. Your body requires deep, sound, uninterrupted sleep to be at its energetic best. Establish a routine for bedtime – take a warm bath, drink chamomile tea, meditate, etc. Be conscious of things that may contribute to unrest such as violent films or books. Design your sleep space to induce a relaxed, peaceful state — use a water fountain, an alarm clock with sounds of nature or gentle chimes, delicious comforters, scents that are calming.
Tweaking the physical factors that influence your energy will expand your bandwidth of experience. The more energy you have, the more that's available for you to play. Fine tune yours today!
