There’s no doubt also that today’s stressful lifestyle causes a drain on our energy levels and it is common to suffer from lethargy and fatigue as the rigours of the day take their toll on us.
There are a number of methods for increasing energy:
Breathing exercises – Sitting in a relaxed position and relaxing, place your hands on the ‘hara’ area around your belly button in the lower belly. Concentrate on breathing in slowly and deeply into this area and out again. You should feel your stomach area rise and fall as you are breathing and imagine you are blowing up a balloon. Keep doing this for as long as you feel it bringing in energy in the form of a warm sensation in the lower belly.
Deep relaxation – Again sitting in a relaxed position, eyes preferably closed, start to concentrate on the scalp initially and feel the tingling relaxation of the skin. Moving down to the forehead, repeat the exercise and continue slowly down the body through the arms and hands, then down the throat, chest and stomach through the legs and down to the feet. Once all the body is covered this way you should feel a tingling sensation over your whole body which you should enjoy and you will soon feel energised enough to resume your activities.
Physical exercise – Although the thought of physical exercise after a day’s work may seem to be more energy-sapping, it does get your blood circulating and helps remove the toxins in your blood. as long as it is not overdone and it is an activity you enjoy.Swimming is an excellent all round exerciser, and my own favorite is squash, which even in my late 50′s gets me invigorated and feeling energised after I”ve played, win or lose. The only problem again is fitting the time in and to organise other activities to fit it all in.
Energised drinks/snacks – These really are short-term fixes. There are various energy bars and high glucose drinks which can help but must be used with caution as they are not a natural way to energise the system and can have negative side-effects if overused.
Power naps - This is a popular method of re-energising during the day for those who can fit them in. If you can fall asleep for a short period of time during daylight hours it can be beneficial, but if you are having a stressful day the chances are you will not be able to relax enough to benefit.
Brainwave entrainment – By using monaural or binaural beats or isochronic tones played via headphones, in conjunction with a short relaxation period where the sounds are concentrated on, the effect is quite extraordinary and the benefit from a 10 minute session is equivalent to a power nap of 30minutes or more. Because the effect is automatic and relaxing this is like a spa break where the effect just lifts the listener and rejuvenates their energy level without effort.Nowadays they can be played by mp3 on a portable player so they can be fitted in anytime you are able to sit and listen to them, eg. on the train, restroom, etc.,
All these methods have some benefit and it is an important discipline to fit into your day. Functioning on low energy levels is equivalent to running a car on low grade fuel, although it might work in the short term it is building up damage which will have to be addressed in the future.
If you found this article useful you can access brainwave entrainment information and a link to energy boosting downloads at Hypnosis for Self Improvement and various self hypnosis motivation techniques at http://www.goodnews-only.com.
