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What does Bio-Energetic mean?

• Michelle Greenwell
• Jan 2, 2022

The latest conversations on social media are talking about well-being, wellness, mental health, social and emotional learning, post traumatic growth. All incredible words and opportunities for optimizing our healing potential.

At CanBeWell we spent several months researching a word that could describe what happens when we engage in activities that bring balance and flow to the systems in our body. What is the result of pro-active action to create the opportunity for our bodies to be inspired to heal?

In Touch for Health™ training we talk about the three words: Bio-Acidic, Bio-Static, and Bio-Energetic. That is, when we engage in something like physical activity, work, school, eating, sleeping etc., we have the potential to do something that affects how we will feel during and after the activity.

Bio-Acidic activities take energy away from our activity because the body needs more energy to process what we did or recover from it. For example, if we do an activity like a workout where we push through any pain or fatigue to get the achievement we want, like running further, lifting more weight, or moving beyond our range, then the body must go into recovery to repair any damage to tissue. Until this is done, we can feel fatigue from the workout, stiffness, pain, foggy brain and more. Another example is eating a food that the body has trouble digesting. When this happens, the body can get bloated, cramping, yawning, loss of strength, loss of concentration, thirsty. All these are ways that the body will react to overcome the challenges of energy needed to finish processing the food. We call this Bio-Acidic because the body needs more energy to do a task than it has in regular balance and flow. We can feel the drop in energy until the body has repaired and is back in balance, or we have a reaction like a cramp or sensitivity reaction.

Bio-Static activities are ones that don’t add anything to boost the system, but they also don’t take energy away. This might be something like reading a book quietly, taking a casual walk, eating a food that can be digested but that the body doesn’t actually need, doing mindless tasks without much exertion. We don’t feel fatigue from them, and they also don’t really excite us. Sometimes these activities are important to do, although they don’t really add to our livelihood of living.

Bio-Energetic activities are ones that bring more energy to us. This is not a jolt of caffeine to boost the adrenals and artificially give us a little high, but rather, engaging in an activity that supports balance and flow in the systems of the body and makes us feel good. An example can be taking a walk that is not energy depleting by going too far or too hard and that opens circulation and respiration and enlightens the spirit or eating a food that brings energy and focus to the mind. Proteins can often do this if there are the right digestive enzymes to process them. We eat and feel invigorated by their addition. Just drinking water can often have this result.

When we engage in activities that boost our systems and bring balance and flow, then we have Bio-Energetic Wellness. Harmonizing activities by the choices we make.

Many of the tools that we use in BioEnergetic Wellness disciplines are an opportunity to bring balance and flow to the wheel of energy that keeps the systems harmonizing and supporting of each other. This is known as the Five Element Theory from Traditional Chinese Medicine. It considers how each system functions within the body and supports the other systems. It is a whole-body approach to wellness. When everything has balance and flow, we feel energized, supported, emotionally supported, physically connected and nourished. These are the days when time goes by easily, activities do not require much effort, thoughts are coherent and productive, and we finish the day with a sense of accomplishment and energy to continue. When we have a day that drains us of energy we can finish with incomplete tasks, pessimism or judgement, loss of desire to do anything upon returning home from work etc. We all know those days!

Pro-active approaches to wellness utilized by those using tools from the BioEnergetic Wellness toolbox include muscle monitoring or awareness to understand what supports the systems, engaging in an energy activating or balancing activity to keep the flow open, having a focus on outcome, and connecting with others to support our dreams and desires. This key feature for our disciplines of study can enhance living well and with passion, ease, and joy.

To learn more about basic tools to easily implement each day, be sure to check out our “BioEnergetic Essentials” publication. (A FREE pdf is on our main page of the website). You can also purchase a hardcopy of the book or an “It’s in the Cards” deck of activities. All designed for ease of use with powerful adjustments to support living well – in a pro-active approach.

To see how simple this can be, try reaching towards your toes and see how it feels. Then, turn your head and see how the neck feels and how far around you can look. Then, take a sip of water, savor it by holding it in your mouth for a few moments, and then swallow. Now go back to see how turning your head now feels, and how the sensation to reach your toes has changed. Water to hydrate can bio-energetically support the systems and reduce tension in the body. A simple energizing activity you can do easily throughout the day.

Michelle Greenwell is currently our CanBeWell President, a doctoral student at Akamai University in Integrative Health, and a Choose Love Canadian Ambassador. Her passion to support people with wellbeing daily is imbedded in all that she does. You can find her at http://linktr.ee/dancedebut.

• Source: Be Well Informed Blogpost
• Author: Michelle Greenwell