Lost your Balance?

Remember that movie, Inception, where walls would shapeshift and doors dissolve at a moment’s notice? Sometimes life can feel that discombobulated.

At times in our lives, it can be a result of raising children, ambition in the workplace, or having too many competing responsibilities that vie for our time and attention. Everything seems a little topsy-turvy. And we are probably not getting enough sleep, either.

Everyone has an imbalance at some point in their lives, whether it be not getting enough sleep, not eating enough healthy whole foods, or not being able to find time to get physical.

I know I am not telling you anything new. However, what I want to talk about is this notion of energy imbalance and how it is impacting us in very negative ways. How allowing energy imbalance to creep in affects us physically, mentally and spiritually. Don’t believe me. Check out The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. to find out how trauma is evidenced in the human body.

Speaking of disease, this nugget really got my attention today. I was listening to a podcast about health, and it stated that 30% of all cancers are caused by tobacco smoking (no surprise there). What was surprising is what came next - the #2 cause of cancer was “energy imbalance”. What??

I listened further and the guest stated that it is obesity, too many calories ingested, and not enough exercise that is the three-legged stool causing a substantial number of cancers. He also suggested that as smoking continues to go down, by the end of this decade the #2 cause would become #1. Scary!

Another name for this is metabolic syndrome, which is heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity and diabetes - all caused by lifestyle. And can oftentimes be reversed by lifestyle changes.

Let’s get some definitions down first before we dive in.

For example, energy imbalance is defined as not using or creating enough energy during the day, which affects levels of energy throughout the day. Most of this is caused by poor nutrition or sleep patterns and not being physically active, or having enough “me” time.

Positive or negative energy imbalance is when the difference between the number of calories consumed and the number expended daily, will either contribute to weight gain or loss and a chronic imbalance will cause a change in weight overall.

Another interesting way to look at energy imbalance is ayurvedically. In Ayurvedic medicine, there are (3) doshas - vata, pitta, kapha - which correspond to different types of energy. The air element guides vata energy, which regulates our body movement, both internally and externally. Kapha is associated with the earth and our sturdiness and form in the world. The third dosha, pitta, is aligned with the fire element, and hence our metabolism, how efficiently we metabolize what we ingest. When any, or all, of these doshas are imbalanced, dis-ease will manifest.

Much of the impact that we see today is centered around our work habits, especially in midlife. This seems to be when we have the most strains and constraints on our lives. And people wonder why there is such a thing as Quiet Quitting.

There, I have said it.

Our habits of working through lunch, constantly checking our emails, chats and calendars, shifting our attention from one thing to the next, taking work home, and delaying or cancelling restorative vacation time is impacting us negatively.

Coupled with stress over not being recognized at work, passed over for promotions, and making sacrifices in our personal lives to keep striving, it is no wonder people get sick.

And the real irony here is that I hear so many workers say they can’t retire, change careers, or quit full stop because they need the medical insurance. Probe a bit further and you will find that many of the maladies that people are taking medication for are really lifestyle illness, which can often be remedied by changing behaviors. I am sure you have heard of people who have lost weight or started a fitness program, and shortly thereafter have been removed from medications that they have been on for years.

So what can we do about it?

1. First, recognize and accept that the imbalance is there.

2. Second, choose to do something about it (now).

3. Third, reach out to someone you trust to help you get started on improving your overall health.

You deserve to be healthy so make time for your own care. Reach out for a free consultation today to find out how you can start making positive changes right away.

P.S. Walks are starting back up on Saturday, March 25. Check out events for more details.