DAVID SIMON MD: Lack of vital energy is a problem that usually defies conventional allopathic medicine. In most cases, if you go to a doctor complaining of nagging fatigue and flagging enthusiasm for life, you will have a series of blood tests to rule out the diseases that sometimes cause these symptoms.

The chances are high that the tests will come back normal and your physician will not be able to diagnose your problem. You still feel tired and are now probably extremely frustrated as well.

Ayurveda offers a natural approach to healing fatigue that goes beyond the limitations of modern medicine. From the Ayurvedic perspective, fatigue represents a lack of integration between body, mind, and spirit. Due to accumulated toxins in the mind-body system, the life force is unable to flow freely, commonly resulting in fatigue, chronic pain, weak digestion, depression, and other disorders.

Fortunately, vital energy is the core of our being, and the solution to all of these imbalances is dissolving the accumulated toxins and allowing the life force to flow from its source deep within ourselves to every aspect of our lives.

Restoring Your Energy and Balance
The key to freeing the circulation of vital energy is identifying the patterns of behaviour that are disharmonious with your own individual nature. The lifestyle choices that are well suited for one person may be inappropriate for another.

Understanding your unique mind-body type or dosha, and learning how to make choices to reestablish balance is crucial. For example, someone with a Kapha imbalance may need to add or intensify their exercise routine, while a fatigued Vata - the dosha with the propensity for overdoing things to the point of exhaustion - may need to spend more time relaxing and substituting gentler exercise for the endurance sports that tend to attract Vatas.

While it's important to get a standard medical evaluation to rule out common physical causes of fatigue, such as thyroid or hormonal imbalances, disease is rarely the underlying cause. There are almost always other important issues impeding a person's vitality, so it's important to ask yourself a lot of questions and understand what was happening in your life when your energy began to wane, including:

1) Am I happy and enthusiastic about my job?
2) Do I like and respect the people I work with? Do they like and respect me?
3) How is my appetite? What am I eating?
4) Am I exercising regularly?
5) How is my elimination?
6) How well am I sleeping at night?
7) Are my most intimate relationships nourishing?
8) Can I openly communicate my feelings and needs to my family and friends?

Based on your understanding of your mind-body type and your responses to these questions, you can take steps to eliminate the toxins that are preventing you from experiencing the flow of vital energy and joy in your life. As you release the physical and emotional toxins, you will gradually but steadily recapture the vitality you have been missing.

If you are coping with fatigue, emotional turmoil or physical illness, The Chopra Center's Perfect Health program will help you heal. At Perfect Health, you will spend six days in our beautiful, compassionate setting, where you will be immersed in nourishing treatments and guided in a personalized healing plan that will give you immediate and long-term benefits.