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Energy
levels
This is about whether you feel fatigued, tired or vigorous.
Some activities leave you feeling wiped out, whilst others don't.
People can also drain you; with negative emotions and being needy/demanding.
Draining
A lot of things can make you feel drained:
- bad poise/posture putting the body under duress
- not being moderate; doing too
much
- failure to rest, relax,
stop
- time management/commitments,
personal life,
work
- strong stretching,
exaggeration, over-commitment,
disconnected
movement and exertion are all physically
taxing; wasting energy
- tensing the muscles e.g. body building, being sedentary, being
uptight
- worrying/stress/over-thinking
Energy deficit
Modern life saps energy.
People are often exhausted, unhappy,
frustrated...
They are frequently
emotionally, physically and
psychologically unbalanced.
Feeling drained is commonplace.
Getting
angry is normal. This is not a healthy way to live...
Spend your time wisely
You can address a lot of things to conserve energy:
Posture
Poise
Healthy joints use
Flexibility
Healthy skeletal alignment
Optimal body use
How your muscles work
Timing
How and why to relax your body
Balanced use of the body
Proprioception (relative position of body parts/awareness of how much strength is being applied)
Rhythm
Mind/body unity
Leverage
Kinaesthetic awareness (knowing where your limbs are positioned without needing to look)
Footwork
Biofeedback
Ambidextrous use of the limbs
Gait (manner of walking)
Faux energy
Sugar, caffeine, energy drinks, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, sweets, over-stimulation,
over-activity, loud music,
TV,
distractions... these all provide bad energy.
Why is it bad?
Some of these energy sources affect your
mind and your emotions, whilst others provide a short-term
gain which costs you in the
future.
Unbalanced
Many people are essentially
borrowing energy from the future just to
get by.
None of the faux energy sources affect your life in a good
way.
Over time you start to look old and feel really
strung out.
Rest
When tired, rest.
Eating food or taking stimulants to stay active and alert is unhealthy.
Seeking activity is unwise.
Just stop and rest. Your body needs to stop. It needs to repair, recover and
grow.
Not relaxed?
Our culture is filled with things that make you anxious: the
news, advertising,
marketing, media, fashion, trends, fads, gossip, customs, family,
religion, peer
pressure, war, work, ill health...
An anxious person thinks constantly, talks, competes, worries,
over-eats and
spends money.
Instead of relaxing, they are compulsively active.
Retiring in the UK
When people retire in the UK they are often encouraged to
remain
active.
A common habit is to become embroiled in
ceaseless activity.
This can take many forms.
Tension
Well meaning people seeking to get fit wear themselves out by exerting
unnecessarily.
Avoid using muscular
tension.
In tai chi we use only the minimal amount of
strength; only what is necessary to hold
your limb in place.
Anything more is wasted.
Imagine waking up each morning full of energy and vitality yet also feeling
calm and relaxed about the day to come. It sounds like a miracle yet this
state of abundant health and wellbeing should be our birthright. In our
natural state we would face each day with joy, peace, and a deep connection
with our bodies.
(Jane Alexander)
Page created
12 January 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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