When the sign of decreasing energy and losing appetite appears, it is time to turn your body into the winter mood, to hibernate, in other words, to recharge your body energy.

Yin and Yang exercise

How can the winter of body energy be initiated and our energy restored? Take a Yin type exercise is always the first step towards recharge.

According to Chinese philosophy, all sports and exercises can be divided into Yang and Ying type. Sky diving, rock climbing, boxing, soccer falls in the Yang category, which is fast acting, exciting, outgoing with a lot adrenalin surge, resulting the feeling of "high" during or after sports. Meanwhile, meditation, Yoga, Taichi, Qigong belong to the Yin category, which is slow, peaceful, inner going, resulting the feeling of peace and relaxation during or after exercise.

When the body is balanced with adequate energy, Yang type exercise brings the ultimate joy and happiness, which makes a perfect choice to spice up for our life. However, when a person experience overwhelmed summer and lacking winter, the Yin exercise is the only way for regaining the balance. Our body's energy in fact is a rechargeable battery. We exhaust the battery in the Yang exercise, and recharge it in the Yin exercise.

People might feel the pace of those exercises is too "mental" for them. Then, try out Salsa, belly dancing, painting or even golf. Recharging energy doesn't need to be slow or boring. The key is let the body get in touch with feelings, aware the coordination between them and realize the balance within them. In Chinese medicine, the body is Yang and the feeling is Yin. When there is harmony between the Yin and Yang, the balance of energy is achieved.

How to relax at a busy and chaotic day?

You might say: "I try to relax by TV until falling asleep in the sofa. But I didn't feel any better, on the contrary, I still feel mentally and physically exhausted as soon as I switch off the TV." Yes, this is true, because while one's physical body was resting as a couch potato, one's mental energy was passively excited and strained by all the visual and audio stimulations. According to Chinese practice, the real meaning of relaxation is not just about being physically laid back, but more importantly have a time-out for the mind.

However, many of us may experience that whenever the mind has a single free moment or wants to sleep, countless thoughts rush in the head, the heart cannot be still, body and mind can't go into sleep mood? There is an old Chinese saying, "When Heart is still, Chi will remain in the body." Try listening to a meditation tape, or simply sit and let thoughts fly away while looking into a candle-light. Even 5 minutes of simple relaxation will make a difference between quality sleep and restless sleep. Thoughts are like a river, the water never stops running, but the mind should be a rock that not drifts away.

Being in the NOW

The key for the relaxation of mind is to get in touch with the moment of NOW.

When was the last time you were aware of the aroma of the soap when you washing hands? Whilst sitting in the traffic, have you been conscious of the touch of the texture of the driving wheel? While you reading this article, which feeling is on your neck and shoulders?

Once found a quiet time to sit down, try to ask yourself, what is your feeling right now? "Do you feeling tired?"; "Does the shoulder feel tight?"; "What is your breath pattern?" When you start to listen, you are on your first step into the relaxation. Second, let your mind focus on your breathing in and out. There is a practice in the Buddhist monastery, monks be asked to aware the feelings of air flow at nostril while meditate. Many times, your mind quickly run off from the Moment of NOW by start to ask whys, like "Why the lower back hurt me?"; "When was the last time I felt this tired?" Then, very likely, your mind will be drifted away in your thoughts. In the beginning of your practicing, it is ok to see yourself constantly fought to bring the drifted mind back to NOW.

What are signs of energy recharging?

As mentioned in previous chapter, there are only two ways to recharge, according to Chinese medicine: sleep well and eat well.

How we should sleep to be sleep well? When your body is ready for recharge, in another word, turned the body into an energy winter, two signs appear. First, when you wake up, you notice you slept well, but still feeling tired and wanting sleep more. That means an optimal energy recharging channel has been established from sleep, but the energy still not fully recharged yet. This stage usually last between three days to two weeks. Then, they feeling refreshed right away when waken up, in which indicates the energy recharging process is over.

Second, a stronger hungrier appears. People may say: "Hungry? No way! I will put weight on, which is the least thing I want". However, the real scenario often is the opposite. Many people have noticed when they feeling hunger and eat well, their trousers/skirts getting looser. That sounds strange, but understandable. Because the sign of hungry indicates the function of digestive system has optimized. When body has better absorption and faster metabolism, the food becomes energy rather than fat stores in the body. Meanwhile, bloating often disappears as soon as the hunger comes back. Moreover, been hungry is not a reason for overeat. Eating small amount and more frequent meals are essential to maintain a good metabolism.

What is the feeling when the energy is fully restored, and the balance has returned?

In Chinese medicine, the balance of body energy could manifest in sleeping well, eating well, the clarity in the mind, and more importantly, a sense of peace within you and the world around you.