“Ch’i,” or Vital Energy – How to Get It; How to Use It

Like most of you, my sense of personal vital energy, or ch’i, is sometimes up, and sometimes down. About a month ago, after completing (yet another) huge proofing round for Unveiling (due out at the end of this month!), my ch’i was down – and so was I. Too many hours at the computer. Too many hours in a tight-focused mindset, driving myself to “accomplish,” and over-ruling the needs of both my body and psyche.

But this is just part of being human.

All of us, at some point or other, push ourselves to extremes in order to accomplish something important – something that may even (temporarily!) override what we know is right for our overall well-being.

I’m not talking about indulging in negative behaviors, such as extreme overeating, or use of drugs, or even indulging in (protracted) negative thought-patterns. (But for a good blogpost on this subject, see the recent posting by Julie Marie Rahm (aka “America’s Mindset Mechanic”) on The “Shoulda” Virus.

But today, I’m talking about how we recover from – not so much a deep well – but from stumbling into a little ditch. Not horrendous, but we do need to get ourselves out of it.

Over the past month, I’ve made a lot of improvements, and both look a lot better, and feel much better also. (“Better” as in – friends telling me that I’m looking “great” and “fabulous” – without makeup! “Better” as in – my energy and mood are consistently a good notch improved from where they are a month ago, so that things might still upset me, or get to me a little bit, but my recovery – both physically and emotionally – is much, much faster.)

There are really just three things that kick this “recovery” off:

• Exercise: Walking, together with yoga, Chinese “silk-weaving” exercises (for ch’i building, and a bit of free weights and core
• Diet: Lots of raw foods, lots of freshly-juiced drinks of greens, veggies, and a bit of apple. Minimal carbs. (Yes, I still indulge in things that would be better less-indulged-in. That’s the next step.)
• Supplements: Liquid vitamins with ginseng. Recently added Co-Q10, Salmon oil, and acetyl-L-carnitine, for metabolism boosting.

The result? In the past month, I’ve increased my early-morning walk from a mile to three or four miles, and feel fabulous while so doing. While my productivity level feels the same, my feeling of flow and ease while working are both increased, and I’m happier.

All of this is just the precursor work — just getting in shape, both physically and energetically, to really get in shape – which is my next major intention.