Stress, Burnout and Exhaustion: Self-Help Energy Exercises

Imagine that your body's capacity to cope is like a bucket. The bucket represents your strength, your immune system, and your resistance to the stresses of life. Each time you put yourself under stress, it fills the bucket a little bit. Perhaps you are having a difficult time working with a new boss, then you argue with your partner and children. After that you catch the flu, then there is a rumour about job cuts. Each thing contributes a bit more stress to the bucket. Eventually, it over-flows and your body can no longer cope; illness, exhaustion, ME, depression, anxiety, hypertension and many other ailments can follow. There are, however, simple steps you can take to keep your stress levels under control, and prevent your system from imploding. Your body has a subtle energy system. When your energy is balanced internally, your body can heal and relax. If the energy is blocked, your stress increases, and illness can follow. Let me show you a couple of quick, easy exercises to unblock and balance your energies. They are highly effective at reducing your stress and can be incorporated into your everyday life. Switch Off the Panic Button Triple Warmer Sedating Exercise Always start with this exercise. The Triple Warmer is one of the energy meridians which runs through the body. (You may have come across energy meridians in Chinese medicine.) When the body gets locked into panic, the energy in this meridian goes hyper-active. This simple exercise calms down the energy flow, helping your body to switch back from panic to normal mode. Every client who comes to me for healing is taught this exercise as it is invaluable for breaking the cycle of stress.

1. Place your right palm at the outer end of your left eyebrow.
2. Now stroke with a gentle pressure from your left eyebrow to your left ear, down the side of your neck, down your shoulder, down your left arm and off your ring finger.
3. Repeat this at least another three times.
4. Now do the same thing down the right side of your body. Place your left palm at the outer end of your right eyebrow.
5. Stroke your left palm from your right eyebrow to your ear, down the side of your neck, down your shoulder, down your arm and off your ring finger.
6. Repeat this at least another three times.

By doing this, you are slowing down the flow of energy along the meridian and helping to normalise any hyper-activity. This tells your body that it can stop panicking, and go back into normal mode. Ideally, you should perform this exercise three times a day, and also whenever you feel yourself becoming anxious. Not only will your stress levels go down, but your body will have fewer allergic reactions. De-Stress Your Body and Mind This exercise is brilliant for bringing your stress levels down. Do this exercise whenever you feel your stress levels rising, when you're feeling frazzled and irritable, especially when getting in from work or after you've got the children into bed. When you do this exercise, you will feel calm spreading through your body after only a few seconds, and your mental focus will increase. It was developed by the bio-energy researcher Wayne Cook.

1. Put both your arms straight out in front of your body with the backs of your hands facing each other.
2. Now cross your right arm over your left arm and clasp your hands together.
3. Keeping your hands clasped, rotate them downwards and bring them up to rest on your chest.
4. Cross your ankles.
5. Now rest in this position for a couple of minutes with your eyes closed breathing comfortably. The longer you hold this position, the more relaxed you will become.

Replenish Your Batteries Finally, imagine or visualise a brilliant magenta light above your head. Let the light flow into your body, renewing and energising your system. Let this image continue for as long as you feel you need. When you have finished, you will be feeling much more relaxed and balanced. It is essential to do all three exercises, in the order I have outlined here. Although they are beneficial individually, their combined effect is much greater. The Triple Warmer exercise tells your body that it is no longer in danger. Only then can it really let the stress go in the second exercise. Once the stress is released, your body will be able to accept the universal healing energy. It is essential to do both these exercises, as I have outlined here. Although they are beneficial individually, their combined effect is much greater. The Triple Warmer exercise tells your body that it is no longer in danger. Only then can it really let the stress go in the Wayne Cook exercise. The key with these exercises is consistency. The aim is not only to keep your daily stress under control, but also to clear out the underlying years of accumulated stress too. If you do these exercises regularly, it will be an excellent insurance policy for your future health and wellbeing.