My father was a hard worker and I was fortunate to be able to work with him in my teens and early twenties. He was a painting contractor. He didn’t have a lot of business know-how, so he never had employees or large contracts. Three of his brothers were also painting contractors and each of them had equipment and crews. My father and I would often help them on their jobs.

My father also cleaned apartments, washing walls and cleaning surfaces coated with flat paint with something called a “miracle sponge.” He was incredibly fast at this cleaning work and in his sixties, he could outwork young men in their 20s. I know, because he could always outwork me.

He told me his secret. He said that the secret was to stay relaxed--to not let your muscles get tense. He said that to work faster, you had to learn to increase your speed without getting tense. I didn’t really understand what he was talking about--not then, at least.

Working summers with my dad and his brothers, painting and house-cleaning, was how I earned money through high school and college. It was also something I fell back on for a short period of time after graduation. I’ve always been glad that I learned these practical skills and more importantly, how to work hard, from my father and uncles. However, it has only been recently that I’ve started to learn what my dad tried to teach me about staying relaxed.

How relaxed or tense we are has a direct affect on our energy level and our energy level has a direct affect on our health. In fact, our level of health is pretty much connected to our level of energy. Fatigue opens the door for disease and is one of the early signs that we are losing health. The body needs energy to repair and maintain itself. Increasing energy prevents disease and helps the body heal.

Growing up, I was both tense and sickly. Changing my diet was part of my healing process, but getting regular chiropractic care (which helped relax the tension in my neck and back) was also a big part of my healing process. Through the years, I’ve noticed that getting massages and chiropractic care have both relaxed me and given me more energy.

Still, I’ve run on a kind of nervous, tense energy for much of my life. As a young father, I was often going from early morning until late at night, staying constantly occupied. I rarely got a full eight hours of sleep and often played “catch up” with a Sunday afternoon nap.

Once or twice a year the fatigue would get to me. That’s when I got sick. I honestly felt it was my body’s way of seeking revenge for how hard I pushed it. If I wasn’t going to voluntarily take some time off to relax, then, my body was going to force me to do so by getting sick and refusing to co-operate with my hard-driving demands.
It’s not that there was anything wrong with me being a hard-worker. My dad was a hard worker, too. It’s just that my father wasn’t an “up tight” worker, and I was.

As I turned 40, I noticed that I just couldn’t push myself quite as much as I used to, and now that I’m over 50 I’ve noticed my ability to push myself that hard has continued to decline. The nervous energy I used to be able to use to push myself is gone, and sometimes I have felt so tired that I don’t feel I have the energy to get basic tasks done. It’s not that I’m suffering from chronic fatigue or something; it’s just that I have felt my energetic capacity has been slowly fading.

Tips for Increasing Energy Production

During this time, I have sought out ways to increase my energy and have found some useful aids. For instance, herbs and supplements, which support my adrenal glands have been lifesavers for me. In particular, I have found Nervous Fatigue Formula and Adrenal Support have helped me have more stamina, particularly during times of intense stress. They have helped me through the periods when I was going through divorce, financial troubles and the death of loved ones.

These kinds of stressful experiences have always exact a toil on our adrenal glands, which can result in a serious loss of energy and our ability to get a peaceful night’s sleep. Supplements like Nervous Fatigue Formula and Adrenal Support can restore healthy sleep patterns, reduce confusion and feelings of stress, while increasing energy levels. In some cases, extra pantothenic acid has also proven helpful.

I have also found benefit in supporting my thyroid. This is the other major gland that is involved in energy production. Thyroid Support and Liquid Dulse have helped me here, too. More recently, when I first started taking Iodoral (a high potency iodine supplement), I felt a surge in energy that made me feel like I was ten years younger. It didn’t last, however, and I’ll explain why in a minute.

Another key I’ve found in maintaining energy is detoxification. I’m not just talking about staying regular (although that’s part of it). I’m talking about the whole process of helping the body rid itself of toxins, which involves lymphatic flow, liver function, kidney function, bowel function and the skin. I’ve noticed that when my lymph nodes are a little congested or my kidneys aren’t working quite right or I’m a little constipated, my level of energy goes down. Flushing my body with fluids (particularly a little lemon water) and taking some herbs like All Cell Detox and some enzymes really helps.

You can learn more about all of these approaches to increasing energy in my Herbal Hour DVD, Get Up and Go--Natural Ways to Increase Your Energy and Vitality. In addition to addressing the thyroid, adrenals and detoxification, it covers diet, sleep problems, blood deficiency and low-grade infections--all factors that can affect your energy level. However, I’m just mentioning this to cover all the possible reasons for low energy.  Right now, let’s get back to the issue of tension.

I mentioned earlier that the Iodoral seemed to give me a big energy boost, but it didn’t last. I think that’s because at the same time I started taking iodine, I was also working with DeAnna Hansen and writing Love Your Body Beautiful. DeAnna had been giving me treatments that were releasing tension from my body in a way that nothing had ever done before. So, it wasn’t just the iodine that was giving me energy.

Supplements that help your thyroid and adrenals can help energy production, but they can’t increase energy storage. A relaxed body has more energy storage capacity than a tense one, and, if you’re too tense, then your body won’t be able to store the extra energy it is producing.