Mindfulness: Boost Your Energy

Contemporary life has undeniably become stressful and demanding, and as a consequence, many of us have come to accept that life is simply an exhausting business. But that is just not true. Healthy, smooth-flowing, balanced energy levels are attainable. When we’re filled with a sense of emotional, mental and physical vitality, life flows so much more positively. Mindfulness: Boost Your Energy is here to help you deal effectively with the curveballs that life occasionally throws at you, leaving you feeling drained. The fields of natural healing, mind-body medicine and psychology offer many paths to a vital and energetic life. Discover the uses and benefits of aromatherapy, acupuncture, yoga and much more in this simple, straightforward, and friendly guide through the maze of holistic living.…

Healthy, smooth-flowing, balanced energy levels supply the spark of life. Who among us has not noticed that, when we’re filled with a sense of emotional, mental and physical vitality, life flows so much more positively? Any problems that pop up – and, of course, it’s in the nature of day-to-day life that they will – can be faced with confidence and resourcefulness when we are brimful of healthy energy. Yet the opposite is also unfortunately true. We are unlikely to be able to think creatively and laterally when we feel completely drained and exhausted. These observations have significance for our personal relationships, as healthy levels of vital energy are important in helping us to make the most of the relationships that matter. High levels of vitality enable us to enjoy…

These days it is difficult to open the pages of a glossy magazine without finding at least one feature on alternative and complementary medicine. Therapies such as homeopathy, acupuncture and herbalism, once considered fringe practices or just for cranks, have moved firmly on to centre stage, where they are increasingly accepted as popular and effective systems of healing. Many of us may have friends or colleagues who think nothing of having reflexology, aromatherapy or chiropractic treatment to help with tension headaches or back pain. It is also not uncommon now for enlightened GPs to suggest to their patients that they consult a homeopath or traditional Chinese therapist in order to treat their persistent eczema or psoriasis. Perhaps the most telling indicators of alternative medicine’s broad-based popularity are the shelves of…

Speak to any alternative therapist and you are likely to find that, once they begin to talk about the way in which their therapy works, they will invariably discuss the stimulation of healing energy. What is noticeable is that each therapist will use different words to describe the same basic thing. For example, a homeopath will talk about the vital force, while an acupuncturist will refer to chi. An ayurvedic practitioner will discuss the balancing of doshas, while a yoga teacher will be concerned with the stimulation of prana, or the breath of life. While the terminology employed differs in each case, each practitioner is talking about exactly the same thing: energy. As a result, when these therapies are effective, they do much more than merely treat the symptoms of…

Before you embark on your plan to boost your energy naturally, you need to identify the level it is at now. Answer the following questions, noting down the responses that apply to you. HOW DO YOU FEEL PHYSICALLY ON WAKING? a) Refreshed and ready to start the day b) A bit slow to start, but fine once you’re up and moving c) Muzzy-headed as if you need another three or four hours’ sleep HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SLEEP PATTERN? a) Generally sound and unbroken b) Pretty sound as a rule, but less refreshing after a stressful day c) Almost always fitful, with a propensity for waking up too early HOW DO YOU FEEL MENTALLY ON WAKING? a) Mentally and emotionally relaxed b) A bit tense, but fine once you’re…

This is not an exhaustive rundown of the systems of alternative medicine available. There are of course many more alternative and complementary therapies to choose from, but I regard the ones I have selected as the best-established and the most comprehensive systems of alternative healing available. Any of these would be an excellent choice if you are feeling burnt out and need an energy kick-start to get you moving on the right track. Acupuncture Acupuncture is an integral part of an approach to healing found in traditional Chinese medicine (which also includes Chinese herbal medicine and chi gong). It is an impressively long-established, very well road-tested system of alternative medicine – it has been suggested that the origins of acupuncture lie well beyond recorded history. An acupuncturist works from the…