The Bigger Picture: What gives us energy? For most of us, feeling sluggish and uninspired has become the norm. Trying to generate a burst of momentum from our engines, we eat foods high in sugar and calories and sit back waiting, hoping, for a rush.
However, this never comes - at least not in any consistent way that enables us to feel good about our bodies and selves. Instead, we feel much worse: our lack of good nutrients leave us without the building blocks for sustained functioning, and the extra garbage, accompanied by inactivity, only turns our bodies into enormous, weighted balloons rather than energetic machines.
In the quest for energy, the food we eat only makes up part of the answer. Water is certainly a significant part of the equation. However, exercise - the mass consumption of energy - is the key, paradoxically.
We need to get up and move ourselves in order to continue to be able to move. Ironically, it's not taking in additional calories but more intensely burning them off that creates the ability to manufacture more energy.
Choosing to move is not just a matter of becoming physically fit, although who can argue against the importance of body strength and flexibility to our welfare? It has great implications for our emotional and social wellbeing.
When we are fit, we feel better about ourselves, are more attractive to others and are more willing to take risks to express who we are.
When we have more energy, we are more likely to take charge of other aspects of our lives. We may follow our dreams, feel inspired about life and move in closer to those we love.
Rather than being a luxury, becoming physically fit is essential to our quality of life. Yet, simple movement continues to elude most of us.
Indeed, there are so many ways to move! We can, of course, invest our money in gym memberships and make a pact with ourselves to go three times a week. However, there are so many more wonderful and accessible ways to get off the couch and into action. Possibly the most available, effective and inspiring of these is dance.
Through dance we can increase our heart rates, flexibility and develop strength.
Uniquely, dance gives us the opportunity to enjoy our imaginations. Alongside engaging every aspect of our bodies, dance can be creative and express our individuality. When we dance freely, we bring out the best of who we are and we can do this anywhere!
Far too many people, however, are afraid to express themselves in this way. We are afraid of our bodies - what they look like, how they carry us, and how others will judge us. The fact that dance has been manipulated into a pretence for sexual activity puts us all under far too much pressure.
Where dance should be fun and creative - like painting, singing, writing or building - it is reduced to sexual innuendo. As a result, many of us opt out. Even worse, we feel inadequate and use drugs (such as alcohol) to numb us sufficiently before we will dare to dance.
There is no doubt that dancing involves us deeply. It requires us to believe in ourselves, show ourselves and love our bodies rather than ridicule them. Perhaps it is too tall an order for those of us who have not been able to appreciate ourselves in quite some time. However, it remains potentially the simplest way for us to move again after a long period of stillness.
Dance does not require a public venue, audience or even a partner. We can dance in the privacy of our own living rooms, together with a few friends or on our own. If the goal is 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity a day (yes, folks, each day!) then a private evening dancing - which includes stretching our creativity alongside our flexibility - may well be the best way to achieve it. We don't have to wait for good weather, buy special clothing or follow a routine. All we need is a small radio and playful imagination.
Regardless of how you choose to move, making the decision to finally exercise has benefits to our health beyond simply our physical selves. It begins a chain reaction where one is empowered, in charge, and complete. Physical prowess draws out our confidence and self-esteem.
The more we move and take charge of our bodies, the more it is possible for us to take charge of our lives.
Sometimes, regular, intense exercise is the only way we can achieve stillness in our life. By exerting our bodies, our minds have a chance to rest, recover, and even contemplate to deeper levels than is possible during daily functions. Fervent movement can give us a chance to meditate, rejuvenate and relax in a way we can never achieve in the bath or on the couch. Ironically, increasing our energy enables us to be much better rested in the long term.