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5 Unexpected Ways To Boost Your Energy—Even If You're Experiencing A Health Crisis
At the beginning of 2018, I had the biggest health crisis of my life, where my body exploded in rashes head to toe, I had zero energy to do anything at all, and even it got to the point where I couldn’t get out of bed for weeks at a time.
I eventually was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, took space for myself to travel solo, took major time away from social media and technology, and saw every healer of every type imaginable. Slowly but surely, my energy came back, and much of that was due to the following practices, culled from months of trial and error. Here are the things that worked for me, when nothing else did:
1. Practice Kundalini breath work.
One of the biggest changes for me has been incorporating a morning kundalini breath work practice. I do my kundalini practice first thing in the morning, and it never fails to wake me up and gets me into a zen, focused, and alert headspace for my day. There are so many good resources for getting started with kundalini (including right here on MBG!) and my biggest tip is to be consistent and try out starting your day with some basic practices for 40 days. At the end of the 40 days, you will see a radical transformation.
2. Get outside.
My second tip is to always get outside and move at some point throughout the day. When I hike, I am all about catching up with friends and packing healthy, nourishing snacks like Justin’s Maple Almond Butter Squeeze Packs, fruit, and on-the-go veggies like celery and carrots with hummus. As far as the nut butter packets, it was the love of my life that turned me on to them. He uses the packets as fuel when he runs marathons and Ironman Races, and I am all about using them to energize my active lifestyle. I love how simple and delicious they are—you can just grab ‘em and run out the door (literally, if you’re him!).
3. Have a few go-to healthy snacks.
Since I know what it’s like to suffer from major fatigue and lack of energy, I know that the snacking and nourishment component for me is an important part of the puzzle. I also love coming home and eating Justin’s nut butter by the spoonful. Ask any of my friends, I am pretty much known for doing that and adding sugar-free, dairy-free chocolate chips to the spoonful!
4. Move with your body—not against it.
Yoga has been my saving grace in life again and again. To mix yoga with my love of the outdoors, I love doing a light intuitive flow at the top of my favorite hikes in LA. I stretch it out and let my body move into whichever shapes it’s craving that day. After my health scare, I have learned that intuitive movement is so much more important than high intensity or a daily sweaty vinyasa class. It’s all about listening to your body and doing what it needs, not what the outside world tells you that you should do.
5. Remember to treat yourself.
I also love to go for a healthy treat after an action-packed day. My current favorite is Justin’s Dark Chocolate Double Cups—not only are they organic, but they’re delicious, too! I am a big believer that it’s incredibly important, and even beneficial for our health, to treat ourselves. I have gone through phases of getting caught up in food rules and not listening to my own body, and I can attest to the fact that when I live in the flow and treat myself in a healthy way, I feel more nourished, energized, and satiated than ever before.
If you struggle with finding and marinating your energy levels, suffer from a chronic illness, or simply want to incorporate more energy and motivation into your day, I hope these tips will help you and guide you toward what you want to achieve. Balance is at all of our fingertips, all we have to do is listen to our bodies and provide the proper fuel to get us there!
