Could doing less be the answer to burnout?

As the final stretch of 2026 approaches, the familiar pressure to keep working, meeting deadlines and staying productive is beginning to collide with another reality: sustained exhaustion can carry consequences well beyond simply feeling tired.

That question is at the centre of international transformational facilitator Irena Kovaljukova’s South African tour, which brings her Safe Energy Activation (SEA) practice to Cape Town, Hout Bay and other parts of the country during September and October.

Burnout is often associated with being unable to continue working, but exhaustion can also exist alongside productivity.

A South African Medical Journal study involving 3 182 private-sector employees found that participants in the high-burnout group visited general practitioners more frequently and generated almost twice the medical-aid expenditure of those in the low-burnout group.

The relationship between prolonged stress and working life can also extend beyond the immediate period of exhaustion, although the evidence varies depending on the population and type of stress being studied.

For Kovaljukova, that has raised a broader question around how people approach rest.

Rather than adding another productivity goal to an already crowded routine, her sessions are designed around the idea of temporarily removing the expectation to perform.

What happens during a Safe Energy Activation session?

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Safe Energy Activation is described by Kovaljukova as a body-led complementary wellbeing practice.

During group sessions, participants lie comfortably while music forms part of the experience and the facilitator guides the session. There are no fitness levels to achieve, exercises to master or personal records to chase.

Participants may experience relaxation, physical sensations, emotion, spontaneous movement or periods of stillness. The response is not prescribed, and there is no particular outcome participants are expected to produce.

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Kovaljukova describes the approach as working with the body’s energy rather than asking participants to generate more effort.

Importantly, the practice is not presented as a treatment for burnout, anxiety, depression or other medical conditions, and the tour information advises that it should not replace professional healthcare or psychological support.

That distinction is particularly relevant when wellness practices are discussed alongside medical research.

Irena Kovaljukova brings Safe Energy Activation to Cape Town.
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What does the research actually show?

Research into energy-based or so-called biofield practices has expanded, but the evidence remains an emerging area and does not establish that all such practices are effective treatments for specific medical conditions.

A 2025 scoping review identified 353 peer-reviewed studies involving biofield therapies, including 255 randomised controlled trials.

The review found a mixture of positive, mixed and non-significant results and highlighted inconsistent methodologies and reporting as continuing limitations. Its authors said effectiveness for specific health conditions has not been established conclusively.

There are also studies of individual practices that are separate from Kovaljukova’s SEA method.

For example, a 2024 meta-analysis of 13 studies involving 824 adults examined Reiki and anxiety.

It reported a statistically significant reduction in anxiety, but the researchers also found substantial variation between the studies, with an I² value of 88.5%, indicating considerable heterogeneity.

Reiki is a separate energy-based practice and should not be treated as evidence specifically for Safe Energy Activation.

The distinction matters, as research into related practices can provide context for the wider wellbeing conversation, but it does not establish that Kovaljukova’s particular method treats burnout or other health conditions.

A pause from the performance cycle

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Kovaljukova’s own professional background informs the philosophy behind the practice.

Before moving into transformational work, she held senior corporate leadership positions and managed teams of more than 200 people.

She says her experience of professional achievement alongside a growing sense of internal disconnection eventually led her towards further study and work involving body awareness, psychology-related education and energy practices.

She later founded SEA Academy and developed Safe Energy Activation as the approach she now facilitates.

The South African programme has brought the practice into Cape Town’s wellness scene, with sessions listed at Lighthouse Holistic in Bree Street and Alila Yoga in Hout Bay.

Local event listings have also included Kovaljukova’s sessions among Cape Town’s September wellness offerings, describing the experience as a guided body and breath-focused practice rather than a conventional fitness class.

Group sessions are listed at R1 350 per person, while private sessions are offered separately.

The wider tour includes Johannesburg, Pretoria, Centurion, Cape Town, Hout Bay, Knysna and George, with additional private sessions and training opportunities forming part of the programme.

A two-day retreat is scheduled for 25–27 September, while a five-day Safe Energy Activation facilitator training programme is planned for 12–16 October.

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The broader conversation around burnout is not simply about finding another technique to become more productive.

For some people, the challenge is making space for recovery before exhaustion begins to affect work, relationships, sleep or everyday functioning.

That does not make an energy-based practice a substitute for evidence-based healthcare, as persistent exhaustion, anxiety, depression, sleep problems or other symptoms affecting daily life warrant appropriate professional assessment and support.

What Kovaljukova’s South African tour offers is a different kind of wellness experience, one centred on stillness, body awareness and a temporary break from the expectation to perform.

As the year moves towards its final quarter, the programme places a simple idea back into the wellness conversation: sometimes restoration begins not with another task, but with making room for a pause.

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