How to shift your energy from the couch to enlightenment.

Energy management is something that I think we all struggle with. If you are like me and have very productive intentions it can be a huge downer when you have planned and set aside the time to complete a goal but really just don’t feel like it. This may be fear, but sometimes it’s that you don’t have the right energy for the task at hand.

This remained a mystery to me for many years. I knew that things like meditation and exercise were great for shifting energy levels but it still remained a mystery on when to use them as they seemed like very different methods with different applications.

If you want to be able to be effective in each moment, it is important to be able to shift your energy levels at will. As with all things it helps to have a framework or method to base your personal actions on and for me that came in the form of the Gunas from the Bhagvad Gita.

Within the Bhagvad Gita there is a description of three energy levels that exist within all things

The Gunas

Tamas — is the state of inactivity, materiality and our base instincts. I never like saying something is bad, but this is the state we find ourselves in when we are just concerned with staying in bed, eating too much and obsessing over sex. It is safe to say it is focused on the body and keeps our minds from reaching a higher sense of perception as we are constantly chasing fleeting pleasures.

Rajas — is the state where we inhabit our bodies in a more mindful and perceptive way. It is the stage of energy and action where we are engaged in the world around us but we still may be attached to the results of these actions. In a very holistic sense this state is the way we engage our physical form as the bridge into the depths of our mind.

Sattva — is the state of joy, harmony and truth. It is this state that many of the world’s religions train their members to reach through prayer, meditation etc. It is the state of transcendence, where we are able to rise above our present circumstances and engage with universal truths of love and compassion.

It is evident that we want to spend as much time as possible in a Sattvic state as this allows us to think and feel in a much more transcendent way. What if you just don’t feel like that though? Knowing what method to use is very important in being able to shift your energy in the most effective way.

Shifting Your Energy

Tamas to Rajas

What we are trying to do here is shift our state from the sluggish focus of hunger and lust to a more mindful existence within our body. This awakens our senses and gives us a profound sense of being alive and being in this moment. The most effective way to do this is with exercise. It doesn’t need to be high impact, but does need to engage our muscles and breathing to make us alert and awake. While I am a big fan of weight lifting, I feel yoga is the best exercise to help here due to its rhythmic interaction between breathing and strength-based stretching. For anyone who has done yoga regularly before, this probably does not come as a surprise. There is an alertness and calm that comes at the end of a session that provides a great doorway into perception and calm.

Rajas to Sattva

Modern yoga seems to be obsessed with the movement practice when the meditative focus is even more important. The meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein points out that “mindfulness is not enough”. A dog can be mindful and exist in the present moment but there is more focus required to remove our learned mental structures and see reality for what it truly is. This is what we are aiming for in the sense of Sattva. Again, there are many different paths and options for this, but I recommend breathing meditation to move from Raja to Sattva.

Tamas to Sattva

I hear you asking, “why can’t I just skip straight from Tamas to Sattva?”. I don’t have any reason why you shouldn’t be able to do this except for personal experience. I have rarely seen the body transition between these states without engaging a mind body connection and beginning an energy flow through movement and breathing. So, if you are in a Tamasic state, then combine your practice with a short yoga practice (sun salutation for example) and then move into a meditation. Your body and mind will be in a much more receptive state as meditation is a very active exercise and so requires an energised body.

What about the reverse?

Sattva is a very high energy state and so you won’t be able to stay there forever. Your body will need to sleep, eat and be regenerated. It will naturally return to it’s Tamasic state. It is up to you how long and how difficult it will be to get back the state of Sattva.

One other reason I like this model is that it seems to closely blend with the idea of Chakras and energy flow. If our energy is centered around our stomach (hunger) and pelvis (lust) then our brain won’t be switched on to engage with the universe. Similarly, if our energy is focused in the chest (exercise) then it is a simple process of moving this energy all the way up to our brain, where we will experience freedom from craving and suffering.