Five quick hacks to boost energy and focus.
Whether you’ve not slept well, are struggling to concentrate or need a lift when the mid-afternoon slump hits, these quick fixers will help to boost your energy and focus. Combining a mixture of kinesiology, acupressure and yoga related movements each of these only take one minute to do and could noticeably improve your energy levels.
Standing Cross Crawl - This is great exercise to stimulate cerebral spinal fluid, improve coordination, memory and lymphatic flow via cross body movement, large muscle activation and subsequent stimulation of the lymphatic system via its mechanical pumping system. Although this will have effects on one minute you can do it up to 12 minutes a day for extra aerobic and circulatory benefits, also doing it on a rebounder really ups the effect. To do this exercise you simply lift your arms above your head and alternately lift one knee, tap your opposite hand to it and then switch to do the other side of each. Keep repeating for at least 1 minute.
Acupressure morning routine - This sequence is great to add into your morning routine to stimulate the digestive and lymphatic systems, waking the entire body to get you moving. To start rub your palms together vigorously for 10-15 seconds to build heat and Qi, then tap all over your scalp with your fingertips. Move on to raking your fingertips from your hairline to your chin and then finish by gently pinching (between thumb and index finger) from the inner to outer eyebrow. This can be done in 1 minute but if you have more time feel free to linger a little longer on each part of the sequence.
Banana point massage - In kinesiology we use a range of “fixes” to correct imbalances in the meridians and specific muscles linked to organs throughout the body. These can include nutrition, meridian work, neurovascular contact points and neuro-lymphatic massage points to release any blockages and stimulate optimal function. The “banana point” neuro-lymphatic massage addresses the central brain meridian and helps to alleviate mental fatigue, sluggishness and thus help with focus, alertness and concentration. To do this “massage” find the line that runs along the inside of your shoulder joint from shoulder to underarm (essentially where the line of a vest top would sit) and massage along this line on both sides of the body.
Bhastrika breathing - One of the yogic pranayama (breathing) exercises, Bhastrika is also known as “Bellows Breath” which draws air forcefully in and out of the lungs to stimulate digestion, enhance removal of toxins and boost energy. To do this you need to inhale sharply through the nose then tighten your abdomen to forcefully exhale the air out (you will notice that the sound made on the exhale resembles the sound of a bellows blowing on a fire), keep this exhale forcefully going for 20 exhales (you won’t need to consciously inhale as the exhalation will cause air to be naturally drawn in between each exhale). You may want to build up to 20 breaths if you’ve not done this exercise before. After the exhales take a long inhalation, hold for a few seconds and then gentle release. Repeat for 3 rounds. You can find a youtube instruction on this pranayama here -> Bing Videos
Crescent lunge - This yoga asana is energising and awakening for the whole body, recruiting all the major muscle groups to enhance circulation and oxygen movement through the body, opening the chest to allow deeper respiration and requires balance which encourages the mind to focus. To do this pose step one leg back at hip distance apart whilst keeping the heel lifted, then lift your arms up above your head. You can find instruction and images of this pose here -> Crescent Pose / High Lunge - Ekhart Yoga
It goes without saying that when fatigue and brain fog are ongoing that a quick fix isn’t necessarily going to fully clear the problem and it may be worth looking further into the cause and necessary steps to help treat it, but for a quick boost these hacks may help. So next time you feel an energy slump getting the better of you, try one of these out (or all of them if you have time) and let me know how you get on.