Month: February 2011

In your previous tip, I discussed the two ends of the energy type
continuum: the Type A and the Type B.

Of course, only some people are completely one type or the other.
Most fall somewhere in between. But you probably tend toward one
type over the other.

It’s funny that I started off on this topic late last week, because
this one is really hitting home with me this week. Maybe I
intuitively tuned into the subject of energy because I knew I
needed to marshal more than the usual amount of energy this week.

You see, I’m traveling and have been in some pretty tense – and
long – business meetings for two days.

Now, as I write you, I’m sitting at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport,
getting ready to head to Miami to participate in and speak at a
conference.

I will finally arrive home about 12:30am Saturday morning.

Traveling can sap your energy. Being away from home and routine,
keeping an unusual schedule, meeting or exceeding expectations in
terms of participation and performance….

Don’t get me wrong. I love to travel. But I hate being away from
my family on trips like these, and I can’t wait to get back into
the arms of my love, and give my son a big hug and kiss.

In the meantime, I’m at the midway point of my trip and therefore,
will write some more about managing your energy. Not only to
remind myself of its importance…but because I know it will help
you too.

Recognizing your energy type can help you better manage your
performance, whether athletic, at work, or staying busy with
family.

As an example, my kickboxing instructor/coach taught me quite a
bit about ring management and energy management. He said that the
two were intertwined.

In terms of energy management, he used to hate watching boxers
or kickboxers come out and “showboat” in the first round. These
guys would come out and throw every punch and kick in their
arsenals, trying to score early and perhaps impress the judges.

Trouble was, by the end of the second round, they were exhausted.

Not only had they wasted a lot of energy, but they had not succeeded
in analyzing their opponent, using feints, fakes and different
defenses or counters to see how they responded.

A better way to start is to fight within yourself and follow your
plan, your strategy. Of course, you have to be prepared for the
other fighter to be aggressive, and you have to be able to alter
your tactics if necessary.

But, if you have conditioned well for the fight, and you manage
your own energy during the fight, you will have the gas to do what
you need to do, all the way to the end.

I learned that you can apply this concept to your work and personal
life.

Getting back to the energy types:

Type A’s are outgoing, energetic, and usually have a lot of drama
going on in their lives. They are energizing and often inspiring
to be around. However, they can use more energy than required and
burn out.

Type B people are more introspective. They appear more calm and
organized. They are very steady. However, they may waste energy
through over-thinking and worrying.

If you are a Type A, here are a few things you can do to better
manage your energy and avoid burnout:

-Slow your breathing. Take a minute or two at regular intervals to
breathe slowly and deeply. Connecting to a slow, steady breath will
slow your heartbeat and signal your nervous system to relax.

-Practice calming techniques. For example, visualize a successful
outcome of the situation that may be causing you stress. Or practice
the combination of breathing, movements and stretching you can find
in any of the Best Breathing Exercises programs.

-Eat more dietary fiber. Type A’s tend to produce more stomach acid.
The additional fiber can help soak up that extra acid.

-Build steady state activities into your life. You tend to work and
talk in short bursts of high energy. Balance that behavior by adding
in more slow, steady activities. Walking is a great choice. Not only
can you create a soothing rhythm with your pace, but you can also
take the time to relax and let any problems or issues be worked
around by your subconscious. (I often come up with solutions to the
most vexing problems after I have finished a run.)

These practices can help you balance your energy and increase your
efficiency and performance levels, while avoiding burnout.

If you are a Type B, here are a few things you can do to better
focus your energy:

-Schedule yourself. Get yourself into a routine in which you do
things at a specific time, every day. Wake up at the same time, eat
meals at the same time, exercise at the same time…you get the
picture.

-View worry with some perspective. Everybody worries. After the fact,
you realize that the worrying was far worse than the outcome. It’s
estimated that over 75% of what we worry about never comes to pass.

The best way to get past worry is to (1) contemplate and embrace the
worst case outcome. Often, while bad, it’s something you can deal
with. And (2) get busy and take action to start dealing with the
circumstance.

-Stop procrastinating. Worrying about the outcome and being a
perfectionist are the two primary reasons for procrastination.
(Laziness sometimes contributes too, but far less frequently than
you might think.) Not moving forward on something you know you need
to get done causes more stress and a decrease in performance. So
begin that project, even if you just do a small part of it.

-Change up your workouts by including intervals of activity, instead
of always doing steady state activities.

By restructuring your work and personal life so you move forward in
short, energetic bursts, you can better balance and focus your
energy.

You Can Do It!

Karen
http://www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. No matter what your energy type, you can make the best use
of your energy and personal resources when you are healthy and feel
good. And the fastest way to feel better and get healthy is to invest
in, and put to use, the strategies, principles and information from
any of the programs at the Best Breathing Exercises website.

Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011

Each of us is constantly battling the twin demons of not enough
time and not enough energy.

The two go hand in hand. When you feel pushed for time, you may
rush around, feel stressed and not be as effective in your actions,
or as accurate in your thinking.

If you don’t have the energy you need, you will not be able to
achieve as much during your day, because you are physically drained
and unable to mentally focus as clearly as you should.

There’s not much we can do about time. We each have 1,440 minutes
in our day, 168 hours in our week, to do with as we will.

Some people are better managers of their time than others. But it
is what it is.

However, there is a lot we can do on the energy side.

I’ve always been fascinated with one of those wonderful ironies of
nature: the more energy you expend in worthwhile or healthy
pursuits, the more energy you generate.

This is one of the reasons that performing dynamic deep breathing
exercises, like the exercises in the Secret Power of Dynamic Energy
Exercise Course, is so beneficial.

Whether you perform deep breathing, dynamic breathing exercises,
walk or run, do yoga, lift weights – whatever – this will actually
help you be more energetic the rest of the day.

The time you spend exercising is more than made up in “extra” time
(or so it seems) because you are physically and mentally
rejuvenated and refreshed. You crank through the items on your
“to-do” list.

Beyond exercising regularly, you should also become aware of your
own energy profile or style. It’s the first step to more
effectively managing your performance each day.

We all have different energy utilization styles. And your style
encompasses two major areas: one is the rhythm of your energy, its
natural peaks and valleys. The other is your energy type.

In terms of rhythm, you probably already know you are a “morning
person” or a “night owl”, to give the two extremes of the
continuum.

If you are a morning person, you like to get up and get going early.
You do your best creative and thinking work in the morning. If you
are a night owl, you may do your best work in the evenings — and
you can keep cranking right past the midnight hour without letting
up.

I used to be more of the night owl variety. If I could adapt the
world to me, I would probably stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning,
and wake up about 10am. That always seemed to be the time when I
mentally woke up and felt more physically energized.

After becoming a mom, I had to adjust. The little ones tend to wake
up early, dont’ they? And when they’re up, they are up and raring
to go!

In recent years, I’ve gradually morphed into being more of a
morning person. We get going early in our house, especially during
the week. I like to dig in to creative work, or projects that
require a lot of thought, early in the day. 

You may face a similar problem, where you have to try to adjust
your own natural rhythms. For example, most people feel really
sleepy and slow in the mid-afternoons. If your office has important
meetings in the afternoons, you may have difficulty contributing
and being at your best.

Adjusting your energy rhythm won’t just happen overnight. You have
to consistently make adaptations to the situation you are in.

It’s sort of like traveling overseas. No matter how well you
prepare yourself for the time change, you will still experience at
least a little jet lag for the first day or so. As you become
acclimated to the new time zone, your body and brain adapt and
you are fine.

Energy style is the other element in how you manage performance.
Energy style follows closely your personality type: Type A or
Type B.

Type A people are outgoing, energetic, and usually have a lot of
drama going on in their lives. They are energizing and often
inspiring to be around.

However, they can use more energy than required and burn out.

Type B people are more introspective. They appear more calm and
organized. They are very steady. However, they may waste energy
through over-thinking and worrying.

Most people are not entirely one type or the other. They have
apects of both depending on the situation or time of day (getting
back to the rhythm part of this).

But you probably tend more toward one energy style than the other.
How to recognize and manage your style for better performance is
something we’ll discuss in your next tip.

Until then, think about how you act and react all day, and what
that tells you about how well you manage your energy. You may be
surprised.

You Can Do It!

Karen
http://www.BestBreathingexercises.com/

Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011

Any kind of activity you do, from working at your desk, to lifting
weights, to walking or running, to having sekks (trying to avoid
the sp** filter)…can be enhanced through breathing.

This came up again today when I was speaking with a friend of mine.

He is an exercise enthusiast, lifts weights and runs regularly. He
likes to make fun of the fact that I teach people, through my
programs and private coaching, how to breathe.

He’s fond of saying, “Isn’t breathing natural? Don’t we
automatically breathe the way we need to when we do something?”

Well, to an extent he’s correct. We usually breathe the way we need
to when performing some type of movement.

For example, next time you have to pick up something reasonably
heavy, observe how your body reacts.

You’ll find that you naturally tense your abdominal muscles, your
core muscles, and hold your breath for a second as you lift up the
object. These actions provide you with greater strength and
stability.

But I’m constantly amazed at how many people do not carry this
natural breathing and tensing pattern into their exercise program.

Many women will do a set of weights, oftentimes holding their
breath through most of it. Or they seem like they’re hardly
breathing at all – perhaps because the resistance is too low. I
see that a lot. Many women use way less weight than they are
capable of and should be using.

Many men will use too much weight, especially in what I like to
call the “show off” lifts — like the bench press, biceps curl,
and squat. They load the barbell up, then are dependent on their
spotter to do most of the lifting after the first rep or so.

And their breathing — well, the only way to describe it is like
they are a baboon in heat or something. The depth and frequency of
their breathing is completely out of synch with the lift.

At any rate, I’ve learned over the years the importance of getting
my breathing in synch with my movement. I did it at first to help
compensate for the severe asthma I then suffered from.

Over time, I learned that breathing properly helped enhance my
power and stamina.

Whether lifting weights, performing bodyweight exercises
(calisthenics), stretching, walking, running — the activity
doesn’t matter. When you learn how to breathe, and then apply
that to your chosen activity, you will see what a difference it
makes.

Not just in terms of performance and results. But also in terms
of your enjoyment of the activity, and the buzz you feel after
completing the activity.

That’s why I walk out of the gym feeling great, ready to take on
the world.

On the other hand, my friend walks out feeling tired and beat,
needing a massage or hot shower.

He’s stubborn, but I’ll keep working on him.

You Can Do It!

Karen
www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. In the Secret Power of Dynamic Energy Exercise Course,
Volume I, I teach you how to breathe in coordination with your
movements. You can then apply this same skill to other types of
activity. To experience the sensation of being relaxed, in rhythm,
and in control, order your course CDs today at the Best Breathing
Exercises website.
Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011

It’s been a rough winter, hasn’t it?

And I’m not talking about the weather.

I’m talking about all the bugs, flus, viruses, strep throat, and
other assorted illnesses that seem to be proliferating right now.

My son was sick last week with a stomach bug…which he promptly
gifted on to us. Yesterday there were 60 kids out sick at his
elementary school. When I speak with colleagues in other cities,
they cite similar issues with kids and parents out ill, in some
cases for an entire week.

Yikes!

These types of illnesses may require a visit to your doctor, and
even aggressive remedies, such as antibiotics and Tamiflu, if
things are progressing into bronchitis or pneumonia.

However, if you or your child are in the early stages of a flu
or stomach bug or cold – or if you would like to take something
to help prevent your getting ill – you may wish to try out a
very effective, proven, “old fashioned” approach.

And the good news is, you may already have this inexpensive
remedy in your pantry!

I’m talking about honey, and the combination of honey and
cinnamon.

Honey has tremendous healing properties and has been used for
centuries to treat upper respiratory infection symptoms, such
as cough. In addition, honey has antioxidant and antimicrobial
effects, and can help prevent infections. It also soothes the
back of the throat.

It’s long been folklore medicine to use honey when you have a
cough or a cold. But in recent years, studies have proved its
effectiveness in fighting off winter flus and colds.

For example, back in 2007, a Penn State College of Medicine
study compared the effectiveness of a little bit of buckwheat
honey before bedtime versus either no treatment or
dextromethorphan (DM), the cough suppressant found in many
over-the-counter cold medicines. Their subjects were
children ages 2 to 8 who had colds and coughs.

The result: honey provided the greatest relief of symptoms
compared with the other treatments.

Specifically, honey was more effective in reducing the
severity and frequency of nighttime cough compared with DM or
no treatment. Honey also allowed the children to sleep (which,
as any parent knows, is half the battle when they are sick!).

More recently, there has been more attention on honey in
combination with cinnamon as a natural preventative for a
number of ailments and conditions, from high cholesterol to
upset stomach to bad breath.

Here’s how you can use honey and cinnamon as your natural
protectors against this winter’s ailments:

-Colds: take one tablespoon honey with one quarter spoon
cinnamon powder daily for three days. This helps with cough
and cold symptoms, and can help clear the sinuses.

-Immune system support: Honey has high amounts of key
vitamins and iron. Daily use of honey and cinnamon
powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body
from bacteria and viral attacks. It can also help alleviate,
or even get rid of, allergies.

For example, after I moved to Texas, I used locally grown
honey to combat the initial allergy symptoms I was
experiencing, as my body was exposed to new allergens. Now
I use it as a preventative.

-Fatigue: this can be a sign that you are catching
something, or perhaps simply run down from tending to
your sick family. To increase vitality, try drinking a 
honey and cinnamon mixture, taken in a glass of water, twice
a day (once in the morning, once in the afternoon).

And for an instant pick-me-up, try this drink I take after
really tough workouts, to help me recover:

Mix one tablespoon honey (preferably raw and locally grown),
one tablespoon apple cider vinegar, and one tablespoon
lemon juice into a glass of cold water. Stir well and
drink it down.

you’ll feel an immediate energy surge!

Good luck this winter, my friend. Stay healthy!
You Can Do It!

Karen
www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. Important point! A regular regimen of deep breathing
and breathing exercises is a surefire way to help prevent
colds, flus, bronchitis and pneumonia. If you would like
an enjoyable, health-promoting, and vitality-inspiring
routine to follow – one that’s easy to learn and takes
only minutes a day – pick up a copy of the Secret Power
of Dynamic Energy Exercise Course, Volume 1: Invigorate
and Rejuvenate.

Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011