REVITALISE ENERGY
By Lissette Maduro
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” This Norman Cousin quote caught my attention because, as a consummate professional, there was a nagging element of truth to it. It was easy to recognise why, since navigating daily conundrums, days filled with professional challenges, and little downtime, had finally taken their toll. While I was still going through the motions of existence, the energy needed for a blissful life was quietly passing away. I lacked, in short, what I believed was emotional energy, buried beneath the weights of life, to really care so much about anything real.
WHAT IS ENERGY?
Just as quickly as the predicament was discovered, however, a plan of recovery was hatched. Within a relatively short time frame (considering it is a resurrection miracle), I set out to uncover how to revitalise my emotional energy in 30 days. I needed a reset.
It seemed like an uncomplicated quest, but I promptly stumbled on the need to define the energy in question. I understood emotional connectivity, but I’d really only heard about emotional energy in passing. I didn’t know what energy really was. An online search landed me on Dictionary.com which describes energy as “the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.” Energy, it turns out, comes in multiple forms and is derived from diverse sources because our bodies are made up of different forms of energy.
For instance, thermal energy regulates our body temperature, and mechanical energy facilitates movement. While these forms of energy are essential for maintaining life, I am pretty sure their absence was not what Norman Cousin alluded to in his quote; he referenced an energy that persists while being insufficient to affect life.
That led me to explore other forms of energy housed in the body–specifically physical, mental, and emotional energy; aha! A singular definition of physical energy is difficult to pinpoint. The term can be used to include: being capable of activity, being in good health, or it can describe how someone carries themselves through life: ambitious or driven, to name a few options.
Mental energy is also not easily defined. In a 2007 PubMed Article, research psychologist HR Lieberman notes that “mental energy can also be defined as the ability or willingness to engage in cognitive work,” and he states that, “factors such as drugs, foods, sleep deprivation, and disease states can affect mental energy.”
What I found most interesting was what turned up on emotional energy. According to Dr. Kim and Dr. Hill, authors of the bestselling book The Happy Map: Your roadmap to happiness, “the emotional brain is considered the executive power of the brain, and influences all decision-making, thought processes, memories, and present experiences. Your ability to understand, deal with, and effectively use your emotional energy is vital to your happiness levels.”
Emotional energy is apparently a big deal, and on reviewing it I stumbled on to something called Jing, described as the basic energy reserves of the body; the substance that makes us who we are. These were the strength and vitality sources that required rejuvenation, and fortunately research indicated that it could be done in 30 days with a natural approach.
NATURAL RESET
While there are many available products boasting the ability to improve energy via specific formated nutrient dense super-foods and vitamins, the natural approach appears to be best. Researchers and physicians agree that the optimum strategy for increasing physical and emotional energy is diet modification. A plant-based healthy diet of natural nutrient-dense foods along with adequate water consumption is the recommended effective treatment from numerous studies on improving overall health. Paleo, Mediterranean, and Ketogenic diets have also shown noteworthy improvements.
A natural balanced approach for bolstering mental and emotional energy combine therapies from the emerging fields of holistic and integrative medicine such as homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and Reiki, along with nature immersion exercise, and diet changes.
Benefits will be observed with all the techniques above, but the most important natural way of harnessing energy is to free up the emotions. Remember, the emotional brain controls everything, so removing emotional restrictions releases emotional energy–naturally. Things that reinvigorate emotional energy include making time for self-reflection a priority, restructuring your workload, eliminating worry and stress by confronting issues when they occur, implementing me-time, and taking nature walks, or indulging in artistic hobbies that fuel creativity and inner joy.
At the Natural Detox Center we have the space, time and energy to help you engage in good mindfulness practices to encourage emotional energy.
Life happens daily and quickly so it is always a good idea to enjoy it thoroughly. With these simple reminders, you too can jumpstart your revitalisation:
- Make the switch to a healthy diet, and drink lots of water
- Get active: incorporate movement, and add exercise to your daily regimen
- Tackle mental obstacles: work through professional challenges and initiate anti-stress measures
- Clear out emotional clutter: let go of past hurt or pain; be the authentic version of yourself while pursuing the things that really matter to you
