How to Stay Energized & Energetic the Natural Way

The 2012 Olympic Games is beginning to be noticed in the media. When we notice this it tweaks our mental or emotional notion of exercise, winners and losers, and where we are personally in our lifestyle and health.

The tips this week are for people in sport, who go to gyms, and taking up new exercise practice (I hesitate to say regimes). These tips are mainly for young girls, and women in sport and/or exercise therapies and for men who coach, treat, or train them in these area.

Do you listen to yourself? Or do you listen to other people more? Do you listen to your own thoughts and what they are saying to you?

Most importantly do you listen to your own body signals and act on what they tell you?

In our extremely noisy and busy environment it is easy to miss the signals we are get, both from within us, and in our environment. We are forgetting to listen. Our very ‘busy’ness allows us to do this until we get a sharp health reminder. Pick up on your personal messages and act to prevent serious health problems in the near and distant future.

1. Tiredness Trap.

Do you wake up tired three or four mornings a week? If this has been happening for a couple of months then you have entered a warning zone. Notice when you first feel tired during the day and what you are doing, or about to do at that time. Listen to the message from your body and act on it.

Check your posture, breathe out three long breaths, then stretch your body, arms, and legs.

Check your thoughts, if they are negative think of something you enjoyed and hold briefly the point between you eyebrows while you remember the experience.

2. Stop, Look, and Listen.

The old crossing the road rules work well for our inner health too. Take time each day, even 5 minutes to stop, look, and listen. First listen to what is outside of you. Then listen to inside your body. It is quite a noisy place; hear first the breath, the heart beat, and maybe a stomach rumble. Are these sounds relaxed, regular, feel okay? Get to know them so when they are not in synchronicity you will notice and be able to act to assist them.

3. Stretch Your Boundaries gradually.

If you are part of a sport team, regularly go to the gym or an exercise class, or follow your own physical fitness program listen to your body messages while you are active in this area. Are you being expected or expect of yourself to keep increasing areas of your individual training – push harder, run faster, lift heavier items, train longer and so on?

Remember everything in your body is programmed to keep you healthy and your immune system is programmed to keep out invaders. Stop an activity when your body complains and check what you are doing. If it is a new activity you can expect your muscles and tendons to make a few complaints. It this continues then you are straining your body and possibly creating future problems.

Do what you think you can do, then do a little more before you cease that activity. Build up gradually using your mind and body as a team and good results will come.

For people who are team coaches and trainers or one who works with individuals please take a breath now and again and check your practices match the players/clients especially if they are young girls and women. The rate of physical injuries occurring in teenage players, especially girls is far too frequent. The girls and young women are eager to succeed and eager to please yet their bodies are still growing and developing at different rates.

For young people listen to yourself and notice the rhythm and growth that is happening within you and keep an inner check on your increasing abilities.

Listen to yourself and act so you can continue to enjoy all you do.