Before even jumping head first into this, there is something that must be said: not all strategies will work for all people. The human body is such a wonderfully complex system and sometimes a little extra help is needed to calm the nerves and amp up the energy.
Here, you’re going to find several ways that meditation and relaxation can improve your energy over time. There is no quick fix or sudden dose of ethereal caffeine that is going to get you up and going. These methods rely on consistency, the practice of meditation, and the use of the five senses to harness what energy you have so that you can direct it the way you want to.
Table of Contents
The Importance of Daily Practice
Because the human body is so often in fight or flight mode, it makes it difficult to try and find that moment to meditate or relax on a daily basis. Here’s the major problem, if you aren’t relaxing or meditating daily, then you are allowing your body to stay in an anxious or tense state.
It doesn’t matter how many naps you take, how much coffee you drink, or how much Yerba Mate you get through in a day. If you don’t have the ability to calm yourself and relax, then what you do healthwise during the day is going to just keep you at the status quo.
Even if you carve out ten minutes of space daily, that is enough to start!
Understanding Your Needs
Let’s be real here: some of us are a little more hopped up on coffee and anxiety than we would like to admit. This wears down the body, exhausts all systems, and leaves you feeling drained pretty much 24/7.
This is where directed meditation or meditation in conjunction with cannabis can create a more beneficial space to help you gain some energy. Rather than sipping on a cup of coffee, take a few hits of a sativa-type cannabis with some calming effects.
In combination, meditation and the sativa effects will help balance out your mental struggle and help you relax into what can be a highly productive day.
Cannabis isn’t the only thing that you can use either. Test out adaptogenic mushrooms in the form of tea or coffee, try red kratom to soothe muscle pain and relax the nervous system.
If it doesn’t hit you too hard, try sipping on valerian and chamomile tea if you are having a particularly stressful day. This calms the nervous system and can make you sleepy if you don’t have high anxiety. If anxiety is your middle name, then valerian can help stop the pounding in your chest and help you focus on meditation.
Use the Five Senses
Thich Naht Hahn was one of the most respected practitioners of meditation of his time. His teachings spanned across religions all across the world because he did not teach religion, rather he taught how to control the mind and emotions.
One thing that he taught in several of his books was that there is a need to address all of the senses especially when you first begin meditation. He would walk in the forest to meditate, changing the sounds, sights, smells, and even the temperature around him to help enter a state of meditation.
For you, this may be going outside, finding that extra comfy shirt, lighting a candle, having your pets close, and hugging yourself while trying to center your mind. Anything that engages your senses and redirects your energy away from stressors is going to help you charge up and redeposit that energy where you want it to go.
Important Positions
Different practices have different relaxing positions that can help you engage with your energy in different ways.
For meditation, the most often suggested position is sitting with your legs crossed, hands relaxed on your knees and back straight or propped against a wall. This is considered a grounding position.
Yoga generally has you rest and meditate in what is known as the child’s pose or another position called savasana. Both require you to relax into position and connect to the ground below you.
Conclusion
Meditation can be done in pretty much any position. The important thing is that you actually focus on emptying your mind and breathing in and out through your nose.
The idea is to calm the mind and slowly process through what is going on rather than rushing head first into everything. Take ten minutes today to just breathe and focus on a sound or phrase that keeps your mind clear.
It can take time to find what works so remember to practice daily and zone in using your senses and different positions.