Simple Secret to Clear Your Mind & Boost Your Energy & Brain Function (By Kevin Schoeninger)

How often do you feel mentally foggy, emotionally stressed, and/or physically lethargic? In this article, you'll learn how to instantly clear your mind, while boosting your energy and brain function.

I went downstairs to my teenage son's lair the other day and found him intently slouched in front of the Xbox. He had been down there for a couple hours. When I asked him how he was doing, he returned a lethargic mumble. Xbox is one of his favorite activities, and I love that he can play online with his friends, strategize, problem solve, and have fun.

However, too much time sitting and playing Xbox makes his brain dull and his body lethargic.

We have a deal with him that he can play Xbox as long as he goes to Kung Fu at least 3 times a week. Fortunately, on this day, Kung Fu was just minutes away. I asked him to get his uniform on, so we could get going.

A remarkable thing happened at Kung Fu. After about 10 minutes of warm-ups, stretching, and forms, he was laughing and talking. His energy was brighter. By the end of class, he was talking up a storm in the car on the way home. The physical activity had transformed his energy, attitude, and mental clarity.

And this happens without fail pretty much every time he goes to Kung Fu.

In the same week, my wife was struggling with some old mental-emotional patterns. She was very self-critical on her looks and lacking confidence in what she is doing for work. From my perspective, this is crazy, because, for one, she is absolutely beautiful, and two, she is wonderfully good at her work doing Intuitive Readings and Reiki.

Nevertheless, there was no pumping her up or talking her into a better mood.

Then, she went to her Ninja training workout. This workout really tests her on obstacles, strength, mental focus, and endurance. She was a gymnast growing up, yet the balance, power, agility, and strength asked for by that class really pushes her to the edge.

She called me on the way home from her class-and she was gushing with enthusiasm. She had just made it up the "Warped Wall," and completed a preliminary "Salmon Ladder" that she had been working on for months. She was physically tired, but, at the same time, emotionally energized and happy.

The self-criticism and self-doubt were gone.

As a Personal Trainer, I've seen this happen again and again with my clients for over 35 years.

They come in tired, stressed, frazzled, frustrated, or worried-and they leave relaxed, energized, mentally clear, and feeling good. And, research back this up.

Physical training gets blood flowing, bringing more oxygen to all your cells-including your brain. It pumps lymphatic fluid, which clears toxins from your cells. It stimulates good-feeling neuro-chemicals called "endorphins." And, it even stimulates new neural connections, boosting your mental clarity, brain function, and creativity.

I've proven this time and time again with my own workouts. Whenever I am in a mental funk, feeling lethargic, or frustrated with a problem, I workout-and not only does it boost my energy and clear my frustration, the solutions to what I am working on seem to magically appear. Because of that, I often keep a pen and paper handy when I workout.

Now, over the years, I've discovered that there is one key to shifting your energy, clearing your mind, and boosting your brain function using physical activity. That key is to push up to your limits to some degree. That is what stimulates more oxygen delivery, new neural connections, and those endorphins.

You can do this using cardio, strength, stretching, or mind-body training-or ideally some combination of all of the above.

Using cardio training, which is any continuous rhythmic movement that elevates your heart-rate and respiration, you need to go at an intensity that makes you breathe heavily and rapidly, at least for a short period of time. It's best if you do this alternating harder and easier intervals.

Using strength training, with body weight or external resistance, you need to push your muscles until they feel somewhat challenged. Take a break and do it again.

Using flexibility training, you need to stretch to the limit of your flexibility and then work at that edge by imagining that you are breathing into and out of the muscles you are stretching. In this way, you gradually, mindfully, increase your range of motion.

Using mind-body training, you need to challenge your body with tasks that ask for your full attention, such as balancing, practicing a skillful activity, or focusing on the sensations inside your body while moving.

In these ways, you engage your mind and body, challenge yourself at least slightly, and come away feeling mentally clear and refreshed as well as physically relaxed and energized.

So, the next time you feel mentally foggy, emotionally stressed, and/or physically lethargic, take a break for physical activity. Engage your mind with your body by challenging yourself in some way and paying attention to the feeling of what you are doing. Then, notice how you feel afterwards.

Record that good feeling in your body, so you can remember it to motivate physical activity the next time you feel foggy, stressed, and lethargic.

If the memory of physical activity doesn't pull you out of your chair, consider putting a regular exercise class in your schedule, setting up a regular routine with a friend, and considering what physical activities you really enjoy-such as dancing or hiking in nature.

Physical activity that challenges you slightly and feels enjoyable is a surefire way to instantly clear your mind, while boosting energy and mental clarity.

So, what are you waiting for? Get up and move!

Your body and mind will thank you!

Too tired to exercise?

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Abraham Hicks ~ Listen To This Everytime You Need To Boost Your Energy!

6 Little Known Ways to Boost Your Energy in 5 Minutes or Less

Usually after noticing my energy reserves are getting low, the next thought that comes to mind is “Oh I should have got more sleep” or, “I shouldn’t have eaten so much at lunch”.

It’s always too late.

I’m steeped in regret and feel the only way to continue is to wait it out and start afresh tomorrow.

There’s a lot of practical guidelines out there for improving energy—eating more greens, getting more sleep, avoiding caffeine—but let’s face it, sometimes life doesn’t care about the guidelines.

Life is unpredictable and sporadic. Thus when we find ourselves staring blankly at your computer screen after a bad night’s sleep or a stress-filled morning, we crumble.

Thankfully it doesn’t have to be this way. When life throws a curveball, you adapt, regroup, and smash it out the park.

So check out these 6 little known ways to quickly re-energize yourself in the times you need it most.

1. Make yourself wet

Shock has gained a bad rep over the years—maybe from it’s presence in movies and shows where it inevitably leads to fainting or heart attacks. The reality is, shocking the body helps burn fat, induce muscle growth, stimulate the brain, and improve alertness.

Ideally, hop in a cold shower for 5 minutes. But if this isn’t practical, James Zacny, an Anesthesiologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, suggests simply splashing cool water on your wrists or face. This has its own energy boosting effects due to the high concentration of nerve endings in these areas.

2. Get a hit of oxytocin

You know that feeling when you are talking to a friend and all your weariness and troubles seem to just fade away? It’s largely thanks to oxytocin, a brain chemical that’s often referred to as the ‘trust hormone’. Through its release you not only trigger a sense of greater connection with others, but one of the body’s most powerful mood boosting effect too.

Send a message to a friend, have a chat with a colleague, or if you’re feeling cheeky, try a little flirting. It’s fun, harmless, and nothing quite gets the heart racing like it.

3. Think like a maniac

A common symptom of mania and manic depression is fast thinking or racing thoughts. But in one study from Princeton University, they found manic thinking to be a healthy way of improving energy, along with feelings of happiness, creativity, and power. During an average day, our thinking is rarely turned up to max speed. Shift to fifth gear, and watch as everything else follows suit.

4. Change your mindset

Chances are when I’m feeling lazy or burnt out, it’s primarily down to a problem of perception or relativity. “Wow two projects completed before lunch, I need to slow down” or, “Jenny has only done half the amount of work I did, I should relax”.

I like to think of not what those in the next cubicle are doing, but those in different walks of life. Those who are pushing their body’s stress levels to the limit working down mines or crab fishing in the vicious storms of the Pacific. Thinking in this way has the power to lift your energy and mood in any situation.

5. Touch yourself

Be honest, how often do you take a little time out of your day to touch yourself?

We stimulate the brain almost incessantly throughout the day while the body just sits there like a sack of potatoes. This is troubling as the physical state and actions of the body have a big impact on how we think, feel, and behave.

Treating the mind through the body is common in Eastern medicine—just look at acupuncture. But in the West, little is know about practices such as bioenergetics which help release trapped energy and anxiety through active expression and movement of the body. It all starts with a little bit of self-massage to loosen muscular tension and facilitate the free flowing of energy through the body.

6. Yawn!

Yawing may be the most misunderstood natural function of the body.

It’s usually something that’s seen as a bad thing and even suppressed, when in actual fact it’s an important process for keeping the body running at peak performance.

Research shows the strenuous movements involved in yawning help our mind reboot, primarily by pumping cerebrospinal fluid around the brain. On top of this, yawning is also proven to help regulate brain temperature to prevent overheating, increase blood flow in the neck, face, and head, and force spinal fluid down into the body.

Yawning can be triggered by reading or even thinking about doing it—you don’t need to be tired. So yawn away, and reap the brain boosting benefits.

Want to take the next step to consistent and longer-lasting energy?

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