Probably, the most important thing in life is energy. Without it, we have little drive to move forward in our lives. Considering its importance, it’s no wonder why so many of us start something impassioned, but fizzle out when the going gets tough. Countless think they suffer from procrastination when in fact they suffer from energy depletion.
Think about it like this: when a locomotive is headed up a hill, it needs more power to travel up the incline. The locomotives of yesteryear had guys in the back shoveling more coal as it moved up the hill. Now imagine when on a hill, what would happen if the workers were shoveling coal at the same pace as they did on flat land. The result is clear; the locomotive would most likely stall, or worse, roll backwards.
This scenario reflects our lives. In the beginning, we get excited about a new project. Shortly afterwards, we meet the inevitable unknown – you know the gray areas where lack of experience causes us to second-guess ourselves. We face a daunting hill so to speak. If we are low on energy, likely we’ll stop for a while-stall in a holding position. If we are really low on energy, we could stop altogether and back track. Of course, we would call this procrastination or succumbing to fear…in part, this is true. But, as my experience tells me, when we have sufficient energy to push forward, no amount of fear will stop us from reaching our destination.
This brings me to an amazing story about keeping an engine energized and the amazing trip accomplished.
I teach a Course in human potential called Shen Life. It offers a holistic framework for healing, wholeness and longevity; in essence, its shows “how to be all that we can be!” When based in the Los Angeles area, we trained the participants to prepare for a huge hiking trip alongside taking the Course. Not just any trip…the journey of their lives! The trip was symbolic. It was a reward for completing the Course, and a metaphor for overcoming obstacles in life by implementing the education from the Course. The goal was simple-once finishing the hike, we had a genuine understanding to never sweat the small stuff, because after you hike Whitney everything else in life seems small.
How is that possible?
The hike was along the famous Mt. Whitney Trail in California’s John Muir Wilderness. It summits the highest peak in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney, at 14,496 feet. Total, it’s a 21.5 miles round trip, practically a marathon that gains 6,000 feet in elevation. All of these factors make this hiking trip intense…and we do it in one day. Yes, I said as a day trip-in one day!
On the last adventure in 2006, one of our dozen participants, who I will not name, was a senior, not the only one though. Call her Rose. She was 67 years young and never hiked before in her life-not at all. In fact, she was allergic to sunlight; hence she often avoided outdoor activities. This aversion made going outside for any strenuous activity a challenge. When we committed to the trip, she wasn’t in the best condition. In our meditative fitness classes, she regularly went to her knees for a break for fear of overheating and fainting. Her endurance was not very strong. All of that said, Rose stepped up to the challenge…it was the last time I planned to offer the Course from our Los Angeles Center, and she wanted to be part of it. For several years, she’d sat on the sidelines watching everyone else go through amazing changes. This year she didn’t want to miss out.
At the onset of the group’s training, which began 10 months out, I wasn’t sure Rose was going to make it. The training was difficult-ten to twelve maintenance hikes a month with mandatory day trips that focused on distance, incline, altitude and group synchronicity. Since she was overweight, disliked being outdoors and she wasn’t a spring chicken anymore, Rose faced quite a challenge. Besides all of that, I knew it would be a gamble. Having done this hike several times, even in my excellent physical condition, summiting Whitney is always a challenge.
What Rose hadn’t experienced was that we were headed for extreme altitude and elevation gain with little time to properly acclimate. Even with our disciplined training regimen, I was concerned. At 12,000 feet, I’ve watched endurance athletes buckle under altitude sickness. For Rose to make it all the way, I knew she needed an edge.
Being an herbalist, I am familiar with certain herbs have powerful energy boosting properties. In Chinese Medicine, these are called tonic herbs or better known as adaptogens. Adaptogens are known for there amazing ability to help the body “adapt” to all kinds of stressors, whether they be mental, emotional, physical, or environmental. They revitalize the adrenal glands, the body’s primary mechanism for coping with stress. More importantly, by reviving the adrenals, adaptogens recharge the body’s batteries-our storage supply of energy and endurance.
My plan was to give Rose an extra tool. My wife and I gave her our special herbal decoction that uses a wide array of adaptogens; the entire group took the formula during our training time. By revitalizing the body’s ability to adapt to stress, we extended Rose’s ability to train and successfully hike Mt. Whitney. Along with the herbal regimen, we supplemented with some greens, superfoods, and hemp protein powder for the omegas and amino acids to create a healthy and powerful energy snack. Some of the herbs used were Rhodiola, American Ginseng, Polygonum Multiflorum, Eleuthero Root, Royal Jelly, and Reishi Mushroom.
The result was success. The Rhodiola, which is known to increase lung capacity and treat altitude sickness, helped her tremendously. When people 1/3 of her age and in great condition got sick at 12,000 feet, she just kept on going like the little engine that could, and did! When other hikers ran out of energy at 13,000 feet and began to carb-load, the Ginseng and Eleuthero Root acted like the extra coal in her furnace. Rose kept walking. The Polygonum Multiflorum, Reishi Mushroom, and Royal Jelly helped reduce the stress on her adrenals and immune system.
It was an amazing trip!
I won’t give all of the credit to our amazing herbal decoction made from adaptogens; I must give credit where credit is due. Rose and everyone else dug deep and pushed beyond their limits. Certainly though, the herbs helped immensely!
Do you want more energy?
Having been extensively studied for thousands of years, adaptogens prove to increase stamina, endurance, vitality and most importantly, energy. Those in the Orient used them to treat all manner of disease, but the most common use is for fatigue, general malaise, and low energy.
Whatever you are facing, be it the challenging hikes in your life, do yourself a huge favor-nourish your body’s batteries. Use adaptogens to heal your body, so you have more energy and stamina. Supplement your diet with adaptogenic herbs.
They help miracles happen!
