Today I want to talk about something we often ignore because we can’t measure it on a lab report: energy. When it comes to recovery and prevention, we talk about symptoms, root causes, nutrition, supplements, and the right protocols. But we forget the one thing that decides how well you follow anything, how well you heal, and how well you cope: your energy.

Because healing doesn’t happen just because nutrients are present, immunity doesn’t rise just because medication is taken. Relationships don’t survive on intention alone. Even purpose fades when energy is depleted. Everything that keeps us alive, connected, and recovering runs on one invisible currency.

Energy. Your life force.

Not the kind that comes from stimulants or adrenaline highs, but the kind that sustains repair, clarity, calm, and resilience. What we call sacred energy.

Over the last 14 years, we’ve noticed something that blood reports don’t always show. People walk in having done everything they were told to do. They’ve cleaned up their food. They sleep on time. They take their medicines. Some even say, “I don’t know what else to fix.”

And yet, when they sit down, there’s a familiar look. Quiet exhaustion. Low resilience. A body that feels heavy. A mind that feels constantly on edge. Healing feels slow, motivation feels forced, and life starts to feel like effort instead of flow.

That’s when we stop asking only about food, sleep, or supplements and start asking a different question.

So, how is your energy?

This conversation is not about doing more or fixing another habit. It’s about understanding where your energy is going and learning how to protect it. Because when energy is preserved, the body remembers what to do. And when it’s constantly drained, no protocol in the world can compensate.

What We Mean by Energy (And What It Is Not)

In Indian wisdom, energy has never been viewed as a vague or abstract idea. It has always been central to life itself.

The yogic sciences call it prana, the vital life force that animates every cell, every breath, every thought. Ayurveda speaks of Ojas, the subtle essence formed when digestion, sleep, emotions, and lifestyle are aligned. When Ojas is strong, the body feels resilient, calm, and capable of healing. When it is depleted, immunity drops, inflammation rises, and even the mind begins to feel fragile.

Long before we spoke about mitochondria and Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), our systems understood this: health depends on how well energy is generated, preserved, and protected.

Modern science now echoes the same truth. At a cellular level, energy is produced inside the mitochondria using oxygen, nutrients, and minerals. This energy fuels repair, immunity, hormone balance, and nervous system stability. Without it, healing cannot occur, no matter how good the medicine or nutrition looks on paper.

What often gets misunderstood today is stimulation.

In yogic philosophy, stimulation activates rajas, restlessness, agitation, and constant movement. It creates activity without nourishment. Anger, adrenaline, caffeine, endless scrolling, breaking news, drama — all of these stimulate the nervous system. They feel intense, even powerful, but they burn through energy instead of building it.

True energy, what Ayurveda would associate with sattva, feels very different. It is steady, grounded, and restorative. It supports digestion, deep sleep, emotional regulation, and immune intelligence.

As we often remind people: bad news stimulates you; it does not nourish you.

This distinction matters deeply. Because many people today are not lacking effort or discipline, they are simply living in a constant state of stimulation while their deeper energy reserves quietly drain.

And when energy drains long enough, the body doesn’t just feel tired. It begins to fall sick.

Why You Can Sleep Well, Eat Well, Exercise Appropriately, and Still Feel Drained

This is one of the most confusing experiences for people.
They are sleeping on time. They are eating clean. They are exercising regularly. Some are even supplementing wisely. On paper, everything looks right. And yet, the exhaustion remains.

This is not to undermine the importance of food, sleep, movement, or medicine. These are non-negotiables. But here is the missing piece we often overlook.

You can keep adding energy inputs endlessly, but if energy is leaking, nothing sticks.

Think of someone who is gluten or lactose-intolerant. The moment they consume what their body cannot tolerate, energy drops almost immediately. Bloating, heaviness, brain fog, fatigue. The nutrients may be present, but the system is under stress. The body diverts energy away from repair and toward defence.

Now zoom out.

We see children who fall sick repeatedly during exam season, or when they dread going to school because of a teacher or a friend who makes them feel unsafe. Adults who feel short of breath, inflamed, or constantly fatigued in workplaces where they feel unseen, unheard, or disrespected. People who feel drained in relationships that look stable from the outside but feel emotionally suffocating inside.

Clear Reports, But Still Drained?

Sometimes, this is where the biggest confusion begins: all your blood reports are normal, scans are clear, doctors say there is nothing wrong, and yet your body feels exhausted.

That does not make your experience imaginary. It means the problem is no longer only where tests can see it.

 

Chronic overstimulation sits in the nervous system,  in how often it is in fight, flight, or freeze, and that is real biology, not weakness.

Science calls this allostatic load, the cumulative burden of chronic stress on the nervous, immune, and hormonal systems. When the body perceives threat, whether physical or emotional, cortisol rises, inflammation increases, immunity weakens, and mitochondrial energy production drops. No amount of good food, sleep, or exercise can override a system stuck in survival mode.

When someone says, ‘It’s all in your head,’ what they often mean (but don’t explain) is that it’s in your stress pathways, your perception of threat, your emotional load.

The body cannot repair when the nervous system is always bracing for impact.

Energy is not lost only through poor habits. It leaks through environments, emotions, relationships, and unresolved stress. The inner world you’re living in, reflected through your outer world – and vice versa.

Until those leaks are addressed, the body keeps running on reserve. And eventually, even the best routines stop working.

 

The Silent Energy Drainers We Normalize

Many of the biggest drains on our health are not dramatic or obvious. They are subtle, repetitive, and socially normalised. Over time, they quietly erode the very energy the body needs to heal, regulate, and feel alive.

1. Chronic Stress and Emotional Overload

• Persistent stress, anxiety, and unresolved anger keep the nervous system in a constant state of alert.
• Cortisol remains elevated, inflammation rises, digestion weakens, and cellular repair slows down.
• The body is never truly at rest, even when you are sleeping.

This is why people can follow perfect routines and still feel wired, tired, and inflamed.

 

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2. Staying Stuck in the Past

• Mentally replaying arguments, betrayals, regrets, or negative conversations
• Overthinking what should have been said or done differently

Each replay reactivates the same stress chemistry in the body, as if the event is happening again. The body does not know the difference between memory and reality.

3. Toxic Relationships, Low Boundaries and Unwanted Obligations

• Staying in relationships that feel draining, critical, or emotionally unsafe
• Saying yes out of guilt, obligation, or fear of disappointing others, even when your body says no
• Socialising when your system is already depleted
• Trying to be available, agreeable, and helpful to everyone
• Carrying emotional responsibility that isn’t yours

These situations steadily drain emotional and physiological reserves, even if nothing “bad” is visibly happening.

4. Misaligned Work and Environments

• Jobs or roles that conflict with your values or sense of self
• Feeling unseen, unheard, or disrespected consistently

This keeps the body in survival mode, contributing to fatigue, frequent illness, breathlessness, and burnout.

5. Ego and Identity Drains

• Maintaining a false image or constantly proving competence
• Needing to be right, in control, or strong at all times
• Performing resilience while internally exhausted

Holding up an identity costs energy, especially when it is disconnected from how you truly feel.

6. Resentment, Guilt, and Perfectionism

• Resentment and guilt act like slow leaks, draining energy daily
• Perfectionism, unlike excellence, keeps the system tense and dissatisfied

Many chronic conditions persist not because treatment is missing, but because energy is being siphoned faster than it can be restored.

7. Tolerating Disrespect and Not Speaking Up

• Staying silent when boundaries are crossed
• Allowing repeated disrespect because it feels easier than confrontation
• Shrinking yourself to keep the peace

8. Lack of Solitude and Inner Connection

• Never spending time alone to reset
• Filling every quiet moment with noise, screens, or conversation

Solitude is not withdrawal. It is a biological and emotional reset the nervous system needs.

9. Unsupportive Circles and One-Sided Relationships

• Friends, peers, or family who take but don’t reciprocate
• Being the listener, fixer, or emotional anchor without support in return
• Friends and acquaintances who reach out only to trauma dump on you

Energy flows best where there is mutual respect and nourishment. Constant imbalance leads to depletion.

10. Ignoring Inner Knowing

• Pushing through when the body asks for rest
• Staying where something feels deeply wrong
• Dismissing intuition again and again

When we repeatedly override the body’s wisdom, energy doesn’t just drop. Trust in oneself erodes.

Many health issues persist not because nutrition, medicine, or supplements are missing, but because energy is being drained faster than it can be rebuilt. Until these leaks are acknowledged, the body remains stuck in compensation mode instead of healing.

Alignment: When Intention and Energy Don’t Match

There is a reason why some intentions never move beyond the journal page.
You can say, “I want to heal,” but spend most of your day rehearsing worst-case scenarios.
You can say, “I want a healthy relationship,” but operate from fear, suspicion, or unprocessed hurt.
You can say, “I want calm,” but keep feeding drama, conflict, and overstimulation.

On the surface, the intention sounds right. But underneath, the energy is rooted in fear, pride, or old pain. That gap creates friction.

Alignment is when three things begin to match:

• Desire – what you say you want
• Emotional state – what you actually feel and feed daily
• Action – what you repeatedly do, not occasionally attempt

When these three point in different directions, life feels stuck. When they start to face the same way – I want healing, I speak healing, I act in ways that support healing – the system relaxes and responds.

Healing, love, and change are not just decisions. They are energetic commitments.

Before You Add More, Stop the Leak

Before you add another protocol, another supplement, or another habit, pause and look at the bucket you are pouring into. If there are holes in it, more effort will not fill it faster; it will only drain you more quickly. 

That is what happens when we keep ‘doing more’ without addressing where our energy is leaking. You can have the best medicine, the cleanest food, the perfect sleep routine – and still feel worse if every day is spent in resentment, fear, overthinking, or environments that deplete you.

Sometimes healing is not about addition, it is about subtraction. Taking away what constantly drains you. Stepping back from what is not aligned. The first intervention is not another task; it is awareness. Once you see where your energy goes, you can choose differently.

What Actually Builds Energy Back

Once you see where your energy is leaking, the next step is not to do everything. It is to choose a few simple, repeatable ways to build it back.

A. Awareness and Redirection

The first shift is internal:

• Notice where your mind goes on autopilot – the same problem, the same person, the same story.
• Ask yourself: Am I feeding the problem or feeding the solution?

If you want to lose weight, you already know you want to lose weight. You have an action plan. At that point, repeating “Why am I still not losing?” only drains you.

Instead, gently redirect:

• From ‘I’m stuck’ → “What is one small action I can take today?”
• From rehearsing the worst outcome → rehearsing the next honest step

Awareness is not passive. It is an active choice to move energy from rumination to action.

B. Movement as Emotional Release

Some emotions will not leave through thinking. They leave through movement.

• Anger, frustration, and restlessness often sit in the body as tight shoulders, clenched jaws, and shallow breath.
• A few push-ups, a brisk 10-minute walk, climbing stairs, or shaking out your arms and legs can dissolve that charge.

The problem may still exist, but the intensity drops. That difference is everything. A regulated body makes better decisions, speaks softer truths, and protects energy more wisely.

C. Nature, Sunlight, Music, and Rhythm

Think of nature as a regulator, not a background.

• Morning light and fresh air signal your nervous system that it is safe to relax and reset.
• Even standing by a window with sunlight on your face for a few minutes can change how you feel.

Music works the same way.

• A personal ‘good energy playlist’ of songs that genuinely uplift you can shift your state in minutes.
• When you feel flat, instead of another scroll or coffee, try one track and three deep breaths.

Add rhythm to your day: a short walk after meals, a stretch break between calls, one song you always play before sleep. The body loves rhythm; it spends less energy when life has a gentle pattern.

D. Service, Boundaries, and Solitude

Some of the deepest energy comes from how we relate to people.

• Service and contribution: Helping someone, listening without judgment, volunteering quietly – these acts often leave you more energised, not less, when they come from the heart and not from performance.
• Boundaries: Saying ‘no’ to constant disrespect, to conversations that only revolve around gossip, to people who use your time and never show up for you – this is not selfishness. It is energy hygiene.
• Solitude: Time alone is not a luxury; it is a biological reset. A few minutes in silence, journaling, prayer, or reflection allows your nervous system to exhale and return to itself.

Every ‘yes’ and every ‘no’ is an energy decision. Choose more relationships that feel reciprocal, more spaces where you can be honest, and just enough solitude for your system to come back home to itself.

These are not dramatic changes. They are small, deliberate ways of telling your body: I value this energy. I will not waste it anymore.

You can also keep going deeper with this work.

When we wrote The Calm Prescription, it came from the same place as this message: the understanding that without calm, there is no real energy, and without energy, there is no healing. In that book,we share over 75 simple, science-backed practices to regulate your nervous system, reclaim your attention, and protect the quiet power you need to live, love, and recover well. If this idea of sacred energy speaks to you, that book is simply a more detailed companion on the same journey.

Energy Vampires and Conscious Currency Spending

The term energy vampire has become a social media buzzword. It is often used casually to label anyone we find difficult, which can be unfair and unkind. But behind the trend, there is a real psychological reality we need to acknowledge.

In emotional health, what people call energy vampires often overlaps with patterns like:

• Chronic negativity and emotional dumping without mutuality
• Poor boundaries, where one person constantly leans on another to regulate their emotions
• High-conflict styles – constant arguments, drama, criticism or blame
• Manipulative patterns like guilt-tripping, silent treatment, or using fear/approval to control

All of these can create relational dynamics where you feel drained, anxious, or hyper-vigilant after every interaction.

All of us have energy vampires in our lives. People, spaces, or conversations that leave us feeling smaller, tense, or silently exhausted after every interaction. It could be a WhatsApp group, a relative, a colleague, or even a social media account you keep visiting.

The key is this: You are not responsible for diagnosing or fixing anyone. You are responsible for noticing what repeated interactions do to your nervous system and choosing how much access people have to your time, attention, and emotional bandwidth.

Just like money, your energy is a currency. You would not hand your entire salary to someone who disrespects you or drains you. In the same way, you do not have to keep paying attention, time, and emotional bandwidth to people or patterns that don’t honour you.

You may not change who they are. But you can absolutely change your participation. That single decision itself is an act of healing

A Nightly Reflection: Where Is My Energy Going?

You don’t need an hour-long ritual. You need 3 to 5 honest minutes before sleep. Think of it as closing your energy accounts for the day.

You can do this mentally or with a journal. Use these prompts as a gentle check-in, not a self-critique:

Step 1: Quick Scan

• Who or what received most of my energy today?
• Did they truly deserve that much of me?
• Where did I feel most alive, present, or peaceful?

Step 2: Spot the Leaks

• What drained me more than it should have?
• Did I stay too long in a conversation, thought, or situation that felt wrong in my body?
• Did I ignore any red flags from my own intuition?

Step 3: Choose Tomorrow’s Investment

• What is one small way I can protect my energy tomorrow?
• Who or what genuinely deserves more of my presence?

Keep it simple. One insight a night is enough to start changing how your energy – and health – move through your life.

Final Word: Protect What Keeps You Alive

When I look back at the people who really turned their health around, they all had one thing in common. It wasn’t the “perfect” meal plan. It wasn’t the most advanced test. It wasn’t a supplement stack.

At some point, they quietly decided:
I will no longer spend my inner strength on everything and everyone that drains me.

That decision never looks dramatic from the outside. It shows up in small places: saying no to one pointless argument, walking away from one toxic chat, choosing five minutes of silence over another scroll, catching yourself before you replay the same hurt for the hundredth time.

This is where responsibility comes in. No one else can do this part for you. Your doctor can prescribe. Your family can support. We can guide, teach, and remind you. But only you can decide what gets your time, your thoughts, your breath, and your presence.

You don’t have to fix your whole life tonight.
Just choose one shift today that honours your energy a little more than yesterday.

Maybe it is:

• Not engaging with that one person who always leaves you feeling smaller.
• Taking a short walk instead of replaying the same worry.
• Writing down what hurt you, instead of carrying it to bed.
• Going to sleep 20 minutes earlier so your system can reset.

Your body is listening to every choice you make about where your power goes. Protect it gently, consistently. Over time, health stops feeling like a fight and starts feeling like something your whole system is finally ready for.

WATCH: How to Channel Your Energy for Healing, Strength & Deep Sleep 🌙✨ #EnergyHealing

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Ready to Protect Your Energy, Protect Your Health?

 

If today’s piece stirred something in you, let that awareness become your starting point. You do not have to redesign your entire life. Begin with one choice: a boundary you honour, a conversation you delay, five quiet minutes before bed to check where your energy went.

 

If you are navigating chronic stress, burnout, or a health condition and want personalised guidance, you do not have to walk that journey alone.

 

Start your journey with our Wellness Program, built on Foundational Medicine and nervous system balance.

 

For personalised support, book a one-on-one consultation with Team Luke to create a plan that respects your reality, your energy, and your healing pace.

 

📞 Call us at 1800 102 0253

📧 Or write to us at consults@lukecoutinho.com 

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DisclaimerThis blog is for educational and awareness purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your doctor or qualified mental health professional before making changes to your medication, therapy, or treatment plan, especially if you are living with a diagnosed medical or mental health condition.

If you are experiencing persistent low mood, anxiety, thoughts of self-harm, or overwhelming distress, please seek help from a licensed professional or local helpline immediately.