No, Harnessing your Energy isn't a Witch thing

Whenever I hear someone talk about “harnessing your energy,” I picture a woman wearing flowing clothes, layers of beaded necklaces, and long, wild hair saying it as she reads my tarot cards. That might be an unfair image of a witch — I hear there are modern witches now who wear activewear.

Okay, seriously, it seems like its not a real thing, but, it actually is. It's about taking what serves you and leaving behind what doesn't. It's about activating and balancing your energy as well as training your nervous system to handle stress more effectively. Emptying and refilling the metaphorical cup with intention.

Harnessing your energy is about focusing on your intention and where you expend that energy. For example, you might use a lot of energy rushing out the door to get to work on time, and by the time lunch comes around, you feel depleted. Instead, you might set your alarm an hour or two earlier and use a smaller amount of energy to enjoy a slow, calm morning.

Think of it like you’re a runner, and these are the different runs you can take throughout the day. If you rush and stress about getting to work on time — that’s a sprint. You burn more energy to go fast for a short distance. If you have a slow morning without stress, that’s a marathon — you expend your energy steadily throughout the day at a consistent pace. At the end of both the sprint and the marathon, you’ll still feel tired, but after your stressful morning sprint, you’ve used a huge portion of your energy before the day has even begun.

We can also do mental sprints when we feel anxious or stressed about things without taking any action. These still leave us depleted. This is why it’s important to be aware of where you’re spending your limited energy and what you’re doing to refuel it.

One of the best ways to harness your energy is to recognise when you’re stressed and use your breath to help transition your body from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest.” At Recovery Lab Mornington, we suggest using the box breathing method: breathe in for four, hold for four, breathe out for four, and hold for four. Repeat this until you can feel your mind and body physically relaxing.

Practice this in the ice bath. It might seem counterintuitive, but teaching your body and mind to recognise stress and transition quickly can help you stop wasting energy on things that don’t serve you or improve the situation. If you can move into a calm state in an ice bath, you can certainly calm yourself during stressful workdays or when you’re lying in bed overthinking before sleep.

Try it for yourself this week!

See you in the Lab,

Zahli