(At the end of this post there is a guided audio relaxation exercise. This  Part One of Two, is the first step in “recharging your batteries”)

How exactly you get back your energy and motivation is a difficult question to answer. We are all different despite  similarities, and the issue is very complex both psychologically and socially.  One common trait most of us share and can agree  upon however, is that we usually feel better when we have something nice to look forward to. Something we like, something enjoyable, in contrast to an insurmountable schedule of difficult tasks and boring duties.

Too much on the agenda both at work and home.

The psychology of energy mobilization

Do you remember those days when we were tired of school and hadn’t done all our homework? It was a math and a history test that day, and the week was only Tuesday morning. Then it was much harder to wake up, the body felt heavier on the way to the bathroom.

Preferably we would sleep at least to ten o’clock that day. And this experience of fatigue, and a heavy and lazy body, the feeling that the day would be a trial to come through also lowered our mood at breakfast. We were not necessarily sulky and crossed. We were mostly silent, as if still lying peacefully under the blanket in our bed, far from all the noise and demands of the world.

Psychologically energy seems like zero on days with mountains of homework.

Can you recall quite the opposite situation, the morning of our first holiday? When we woke up before the others, jumping out of bed, looking eagerly out of the window, whistling, humming, our whole body was ready for action.

A morning to reach out for.

Jippi!

Then there was no limit to how fast we would run into the day and enjoy the world, enjoy our freedom and opportunities. Where did this energy come from, when just the week before we seemed completely exhausted?

“I’m gonna fly out into the new day!”

Balancing on the line between effort and rest, action and reaction.

It’s important to remember that our entire body, from micro to macro-level, is balancing from side to side on a precarious line between effort and rest. Even the nerve cells in the eye that constantly receive visual impressions, must periodically be inactive. That is, they must go into sleep mode to restore the electrochemical condition that allows for further transport of visual imaging to the brain.

The time between action and rest in neurons on the retina of our eyes.

This restfulness is naturally not a condition of total inactivity. Then our cell, body or whole person would have died.

It is really a restoration of the ability to fully endure, to keep on doing what our fabulous body is supposed to do. It’s a quiet work of restoration going on while relaxing, resting or sleeping.

She rebuilds her energy after a long tiresome walk.

Overtraining with too much workout.

When I was working with athletes, there were many so keen on exercising and training that they eventually got over-trained. What does that mean in English? Well, they were so motivated and eager in their exercises that their muscles didn’t get long enough resting time between each session. Thus, the big effort in training gave little or no effect on the results in competitions.

Time to rest.

– How to improve in strength and muscle force.

This made them of course very disappointed and self depreciating. But despite of aching muscles they even went on training harder. This way they pushed their bodies to the edge and left themselves in despair. The evil circle I am referring to here, often ended at the doctor’s and the psychologist’s office.( I guess this problem is more under control in most professional athlete’s circles nowadays)

Redefining the difference between lazyness and necessary rest

We had to redefine what it means to lie on the bench or couch to rest. We had to call it a necessary part of all kinds of workout. We had to identify the resting period as that part of the training where the targeted effort together with the food they consumed, gives their bodies time to rebuild.

We called it the commutation between catabolic, i.e. degradational processes, and anabolic, building-up processes. Catabolic processes, we have when we exercise hard and break down the body’s nutrition. Anabolic processes we have, when letting the body recover after training sessions.

Neither catabolic, nor anabolic processes alone have any positive effect, rather on the contrary. It is the effective commuting between effort and rest, catabolic and anabolic exercise that makes success.

– Utilizing the reserves.

The body though, usually has many reserves to keep it going. We have noticed that Olympic athletes suddenly can move into a race, and like a rocket pass all the other competitors, to join the prestigious group of gold medalists. With determination and motivation, ignition and self-esteem, we may all occasionally bring out unprecedented physical reserves from our body in a hard-to-win competition or an emergency crisis.

Gold Medallists and runner Usain Bolt,

Gold medalist and most winning Olympic medalist Marit Bjoergen.

But soon after this extra effort, and this is my point here, our bodies also requires extra time for rest and recreation. As if most of you did not yet know that! The reason for me underlining this again, however, is just to support that insight, and make you remember practicing it too.

Therese Johaug and Marit Bjoergen chilling down after championships.

What about the rest of us without any gold medals?

Even though we are not top athletes or in physical hard work, it takes a lot of us to stay updated and operate efficiently in the digital world. We are in a constant bombardment by all sorts of information, and from all kinds of sources. That’s the rule for most of us, from waking up in the morning until falling exhausted asleep late at night. Sometimes we even wake up in the middle of the night to check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or text messages.

This constant claim for our attention requires more of us than we like to admit. Our brains must therefore constantly process and interpret information that require response. We get tense and stressed because it’s impossible to respond to all this.

We should least have had a 48hour day to complete it. Therefore, many of us use the night, when we should have been fast asleep. Maybe that’s one important reason why many young and middle aged adults experience burnout, where almost everything suddenly feels heavy and tiring.

We can compare this with the lightbulb in our flashlight, when the battery is almost flat. The bulb hardly emits light. And that’s not because it’s gone. The battery is too discharged to light it up. Then our mood doesn’t only lose light, but also the desire to keep on living.

In other words, it’s time charging our batteries. To be honest, time is overdue! (You already know this, and very soon a guided exercise worth trying is coming up.)

Yes, I have a two-part relaxation exercise that can be used to restore contact between body and mind, and even regain some energy and motivation for further effort at home or at work. The exercise is very simple and there are probably thousands of techniques out there more effective than this, But, give it a try, test it out, and notice if you feel any difference right after or later in the day. The second part will be presented in a week.

Relaxing exercise part I. ( with audio guidance)

First, I recommend that you turn off everything like mobiles and digital media for 20 to 25 minutes. Ideally, you should turn off the light as well. But I will not make it so difficult that there will be a hassle and struggle just to settle down before the relaxation begins.

And that’s the next. Now you are going to lay down on a flat underlay surface, – a bed, mattress, bench or on a floor with a soft mat under yourself. When you are in place upon your underlay, try to lie straight on your back, or if not possible, in whatever position that is best for you.

Then let your arms land and rest beside you, and close your eyes. Try to listen to what I say, as best as you can. But first, tap the audio file below and just let me be your guide. It’s not made in a studio I am afraid,  only on my Iphone, and there is some rumble from the Tube in the start. You can of course stop the recording at any time if you don’t feel comfortable with it, or don’t like my rather conservative british accent. (English is not my native language, however) I hope you manage to listen through this filter, and get to the core of my message.

Click on the audiofile below and keep lying down.

Relaxation exercise by Psychological Universe, acc. Music by Atli Ørvarsson, “The Hug”, and “Midnight in the Garden”

Lake Sognsvann, Oslo,  Norway, photo: Psychological Universe