In this day and age, most of us run fairly busy and demanding lifestyles, so it’s natural for us to feel tired, exhausted and take any help we can get along the way. The problem is, that a lot of these quick fixes many of us use in our day to day lives to get us through can be detrimental to our health in the long run.
This is why I thought I’d share with you some of my fav ways to naturally boost energy! We don’t always have to reach for that coffee after waking up or the naughty snack when approaching that afternoon slum. There are fast and natural alternatives that are sooo much better for us and will actually improve your overall health– Yay! So, here they are…
Fill the lungs, not the diaphragm – we can breathe either through our chest/lungs, through our stomach/diaphragm or both. Deep breathing through the lungs activates the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight response) while deep breathing through the diaphragm activates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relax response). So if you’re feeling tired and need to wake up, stretch back, open the chest and take some deep breaths in through the lungs to energise the bod quickly.
Breathe the Breath of Fire – Yoga’s breathing technique (kapalbhati pranayama) is another great and fast way to create energy and build heat in the body (hence its name – breath of fire).This is done by exhaling through the nose quickly and forcefully while the inhale is passive and comes naturally. Place your hand on your belly to feel the abs pump towards the spine. This can be done in round of 5-100, but do whatever feels good for you, I usually do 3 rounds of 30 with my head down resting in between. This one even burns calories the equivalent to running if you do enough!
While we’re on the topic of breathing – this may seem like an obvious one but…
Yawn and stretch out – stretching helps blood flow to muscles that have become inactive (along with a long list of other benefits) and yawning gives your body a big oxygen boost, combined with stretching out the face muscles. Try for a full body stretch with a big yawn to give your muscles and bod instant energy next time.
I’ve written 2 full newsletters on his next one but I just can’t go without saying…
Go green – Yes, we all know how I’m kind of obsessed with green juice, and for so many reasons! – If you missed why, here are the links to previous blogs https://elev8lifeholistic.com/green-thirsty-thursday/ and https://elev8lifeholistic.com/green-thirsty-thursday-part-2/ – Green juice is packed vitamins and minerals and has a good amount of protein in it which will keep your energy up for longer. Vit B6 will help you properly digest energy from the food you eat and the iron in it will increase blood flow which makes you feel more awake because enough oxygen is getting around your body delivering the nutrients you need. I’m green queening every single day now, I’m literally addicted to how it makes me feel.
Snack well – one of my favourite snacks ever is rice crackers with hummus, avo, spinach on one and almond butter (or any nut butter) with blue berries or any fruit on top. YUM! These types of snacks have been shown to help weight loss and boost energy by curbing unhealthy snacking. This satisfies all my fatty, salty and sweet needs, with healthy fats from the nut butters and avocado and healthy sugars from the fruit (or maple syrup if you want to go all out and add a drizzle like I sometimes do)
And if you need an instant pick-me-up around meal time then sprinkle some spice like chilli, coriander or cumin on your savoury food to naturally invigorate your bod with no chance of sugar lows after.
Go ahead, try one of these next time you need a boost, your body will thank you.
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