Health Tips
Here are some things which worked for me in case they're helpful. Creating health naturally is a hobby of mine.
That C word
I share this for information for those interested in holistically coming through it, and because I want you to know it feels REALLY good to know your immune system is up to healing this.
Late Feb 2020 I had all the original severe symptoms of CVD except my fever wasn't crazy high. (This was before testing existed, and a month before lockdown.) Went to morning Sadhana that Thursday, and part way through a little cough began. The yoga set was for improving lung capacity. I thought perhaps the little cough meant my lungs were clearing.
By 2:30pm that day I went home from work early, not feeling well - highly unusual for me.
The next day my voice was octaves lower, the exhaustion was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. I could barely crawl to the washroom. Mild nausea.
After that first day, I started to feel microscopically better each day. I started to get out of bed and do yoga in the morning. Okay so the first day I did Sat Kriya laying down (instead of upright), whispering "Sat Nam" (not chanting, and barely moving my abdomen) , but I was starting. I breathed the chants. Despite the modifications, the time of day I felt best was always after my morning yoga/sadhana.
After the first day in bed, I spent some time each day on my rebounder which is supposed to get the lymph moving and assist the immune system. Initially I lay on it and couldn't bounce much. I progressed to sitting on it with my feet on the floor and doing little health bounces that way. The day came when I was able to stand and do my 31 minutes of gentle health bounces that way.
The weird little not-phelgmy cough continued. It was becoming exhausting to cough so much. I found myself breathing shallowly to try to avoid triggering it.
At some point, I lost my voice and began sitting up against the wall to sleep. A few times my lungs gurgled when I breathed.
One evening I thought of using Peppermint in the diffuser. This is a very strong essential oil yet I couldn't smell it. - how odd. I pondered why that might be.
On the Monday, I suddenly realized I had to do the exercises for bronchitis. My sister once told me her MD had told her to do deep breathing exercises when she got bronchitis since she's allergic to antibiotics. My way of doing that is simply to breathe deeply in a noisy way whenever I think of it during the day. Stuff started to come up. (I had bronchitis as a teen. That phlegm was green. This was not.)
As soon as I started to breathe more deeply, I coughed more initially, but as the stuff started to come up and out, I coughed less and less.
On the following Thursday, a lot came up and I realized I would definitely survive.
It was the slowest recovery of anything I've ever had. I went back to work on day 12 and it seemed like almost everyone had a little cough. (I wonder how many people already have immunity.) The exhaustion and mild nausea took weeks or maybe months to lift completely. I still got a sore throat and a slight temperature at times that lingered on.
In addition to Sadhana (prayer, yoga, and chanting), I stumbled upon Sadhguru's breathing exercise and I did it most days and could tell it was helping me (though I didn't enjoy doing it!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWEIJs5FFjA&t=2s
I came across the book Medical Medium by Anthony Williams which has a 28 day cleanse that's supposed to be anti-viral. I thought, well, what have I got to lose. I did it and at the end of the 28 days, the sore throat and temperature were gone.
This fall, I got the mild temperature and sore throat again and got a homeopathic remedy and those symptoms went again. (Homeopathic remedies are tailored specifically to the individual so there's no point in me telling you what I got. You'd have to go to a homeopathic doctor and get your own remedy that's a fit for you.)
If you have co-morbidities, do seek out help (perhaps a Homeopathic or Naturopathic Doctor). Fear not, this is not like diphtheria which would wipe out a third of the population. The survival rate is high. Warm wishes for good health to all.
Late Feb 2020 I had all the original severe symptoms of CVD except my fever wasn't crazy high. (This was before testing existed, and a month before lockdown.) Went to morning Sadhana that Thursday, and part way through a little cough began. The yoga set was for improving lung capacity. I thought perhaps the little cough meant my lungs were clearing.
By 2:30pm that day I went home from work early, not feeling well - highly unusual for me.
The next day my voice was octaves lower, the exhaustion was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. I could barely crawl to the washroom. Mild nausea.
After that first day, I started to feel microscopically better each day. I started to get out of bed and do yoga in the morning. Okay so the first day I did Sat Kriya laying down (instead of upright), whispering "Sat Nam" (not chanting, and barely moving my abdomen) , but I was starting. I breathed the chants. Despite the modifications, the time of day I felt best was always after my morning yoga/sadhana.
After the first day in bed, I spent some time each day on my rebounder which is supposed to get the lymph moving and assist the immune system. Initially I lay on it and couldn't bounce much. I progressed to sitting on it with my feet on the floor and doing little health bounces that way. The day came when I was able to stand and do my 31 minutes of gentle health bounces that way.
The weird little not-phelgmy cough continued. It was becoming exhausting to cough so much. I found myself breathing shallowly to try to avoid triggering it.
At some point, I lost my voice and began sitting up against the wall to sleep. A few times my lungs gurgled when I breathed.
One evening I thought of using Peppermint in the diffuser. This is a very strong essential oil yet I couldn't smell it. - how odd. I pondered why that might be.
On the Monday, I suddenly realized I had to do the exercises for bronchitis. My sister once told me her MD had told her to do deep breathing exercises when she got bronchitis since she's allergic to antibiotics. My way of doing that is simply to breathe deeply in a noisy way whenever I think of it during the day. Stuff started to come up. (I had bronchitis as a teen. That phlegm was green. This was not.)
As soon as I started to breathe more deeply, I coughed more initially, but as the stuff started to come up and out, I coughed less and less.
On the following Thursday, a lot came up and I realized I would definitely survive.
It was the slowest recovery of anything I've ever had. I went back to work on day 12 and it seemed like almost everyone had a little cough. (I wonder how many people already have immunity.) The exhaustion and mild nausea took weeks or maybe months to lift completely. I still got a sore throat and a slight temperature at times that lingered on.
In addition to Sadhana (prayer, yoga, and chanting), I stumbled upon Sadhguru's breathing exercise and I did it most days and could tell it was helping me (though I didn't enjoy doing it!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWEIJs5FFjA&t=2s
I came across the book Medical Medium by Anthony Williams which has a 28 day cleanse that's supposed to be anti-viral. I thought, well, what have I got to lose. I did it and at the end of the 28 days, the sore throat and temperature were gone.
This fall, I got the mild temperature and sore throat again and got a homeopathic remedy and those symptoms went again. (Homeopathic remedies are tailored specifically to the individual so there's no point in me telling you what I got. You'd have to go to a homeopathic doctor and get your own remedy that's a fit for you.)
If you have co-morbidities, do seek out help (perhaps a Homeopathic or Naturopathic Doctor). Fear not, this is not like diphtheria which would wipe out a third of the population. The survival rate is high. Warm wishes for good health to all.
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The Common Cold
I attribute eliminating dairy as the reason I don't get all the phlegm I used to. I rarely get colds anymore. (A chiropractor recently told me that processed sugar and wheat also contribute to phlegm.) However one year I got a cold that just kept recurring month after month. I tried everything, eating more leafy greens, garlic, and I forget what all. What finally worked was breathing more deeply!!! Whenever I feel a cold coming on, I simply go around for a few days breathing really deeply whenever I think of it and it stops the cold in its tracks.
Migraine Headaches
Decades ago my boyfriend at the time read the book Fit for Life by Harvey & Marilyn Diamond. After he changed his eating according to this book he kept saying, "I feel so good eating this way, you have to try it." When I met him, I ate healthier than he did and I didn't have his health problems so I couldn't see any reason to change my eating, but finally I said to him, "Okay, I'll try it, but then you have to leave me alone." I read the book and I began to incorporate changes despite having no expectation that it would change anything. To my very great surprise, after 3 months, my migraines, which I'd had for about 15 years and which often wiped me out one day a week so I'd have to spend a day in bed - were gone, never to come back.
MSG triggers migraines for me. ( Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, textured protein, calcium caseinate, and natural flavour are some other names to look for since they can include varying amounts of MSG).
This book got me to stop eating MSG. I also increased my water intake. I removed processed meats, foods with processed sugars, and other processed foods. I removed dairy. I started eating fresh fruit for breakfast. I ate more raw veggies. As the years went on, even my non-migraine headaches became less frequent and less intense so that I haven't taken an aspirin in about 15 years.
I re-read the book recently and noticed that it says to remove dairy to stop migraines. Funny, I never noticed anything about migraines the first time I read it!
MSG triggers migraines for me. ( Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, textured protein, calcium caseinate, and natural flavour are some other names to look for since they can include varying amounts of MSG).
This book got me to stop eating MSG. I also increased my water intake. I removed processed meats, foods with processed sugars, and other processed foods. I removed dairy. I started eating fresh fruit for breakfast. I ate more raw veggies. As the years went on, even my non-migraine headaches became less frequent and less intense so that I haven't taken an aspirin in about 15 years.
I re-read the book recently and noticed that it says to remove dairy to stop migraines. Funny, I never noticed anything about migraines the first time I read it!
Back & Joint Pain
I love chiropractors who also work on muscles, but one chiropractor was having trouble eliminating pain that had developed at the top of my butt which bothered me enough to wake me up sometimes. She told me about Egoscue Method.
I originally tried exercises from Pete Egoscue's books (Pain Free and Egoscue Method of Health through Motion). They helped; my chiropractor immediately noticed a significant difference. I eventually sent in pictures of my posture and bought "menus" of exercises to address my posture issues. Over 10 years later I still do those Egoscue exercises regularly. They feel so good in my body.
Egoscue exercise is not a quick fix, it took about 2 years for the butt pain to completely disappear. Also you have to keep doing them or the pain will come back. It's a lifestyle change. I used to be a couch potato, but Pete Egoscue convinced me that we need a lot of varied motion to keep pain away. Some people achieve this through yoga or going to the gym.
The other thing that helped was changing my diet. (See Migraines). The hip pain disappeared without me realizing it when I changed my food plan, but some time later I was birdsitting for a customer who'd left healthy meals for me but not quite as healthy as I was used to eating, and at the end of the week, the hip pain was back. When I went back to my food plan, the hip pain disappeared again. I believe the way I eat also eliminated a bunch of the knee pain I used to have. My guess is that the way I eat reduces inflammation.
I originally tried exercises from Pete Egoscue's books (Pain Free and Egoscue Method of Health through Motion). They helped; my chiropractor immediately noticed a significant difference. I eventually sent in pictures of my posture and bought "menus" of exercises to address my posture issues. Over 10 years later I still do those Egoscue exercises regularly. They feel so good in my body.
Egoscue exercise is not a quick fix, it took about 2 years for the butt pain to completely disappear. Also you have to keep doing them or the pain will come back. It's a lifestyle change. I used to be a couch potato, but Pete Egoscue convinced me that we need a lot of varied motion to keep pain away. Some people achieve this through yoga or going to the gym.
The other thing that helped was changing my diet. (See Migraines). The hip pain disappeared without me realizing it when I changed my food plan, but some time later I was birdsitting for a customer who'd left healthy meals for me but not quite as healthy as I was used to eating, and at the end of the week, the hip pain was back. When I went back to my food plan, the hip pain disappeared again. I believe the way I eat also eliminated a bunch of the knee pain I used to have. My guess is that the way I eat reduces inflammation.
Hot Flashes
When I became peri-menopausal, the hot flashes became intense and frequent, sometimes every half hour. I thought that since I ate and exercised similar to the Okinawans elders who don't have problems with menopause that I wouldn't have a problem. I was very wrong. Okinawan elders are also very relaxed about life. I had some energy work done which I think was what eliminated them for a while. I also go outside to get vitamin D from the sunshine, go barefoot outside when possible, and have done various things such as yoga and singing to relax more. On a rare occasion I get brief, gentle, warm 'moments' these days.
Sleep
Seems like a lot of people aren't sleeping well these days. I struggle with it myself since menopause. I use many things, but what works the best is relaxed time doing nothing in nature, especially if I can take off my shoes and go barefoot.
Helpful Books
I have read many helpful books through the years. Here are a few:
1. The China Study by T. Colin Campbell (PhD) and his son. Written by a scientist who grew up on a dairy farm eating meat and dairy and did his PhD on growing better meat, who switched to eating plant foods which are as whole and natural as possible after decades of research. Helpful for avoiding heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and more. (His followup book Whole explains why even though there's so much scientific evidence to support eating whole, plant based foods, the message isn't getting out there.)
2. Forks over Knives. Okay, it's a video, not a book. My favourite part is the fireman climbing the pole with only his hands, no legs, chanting, "Real! Men! Eat! Plants!"
3. Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain by Pete Egoscue. These exercises help to engage muscles which have stopped participating. You will over time see your posture improve. I asked my chiropractor, "Didn't my head used to be more forward?" She replied, "Yes, it was scary."
4. The Starch Solution by Dr. John A. McDougall. I loved reading about people eliminating their type two diabetes. I found the information on amino acids extremely clear and reassuring for eating more plant based.
5. The Okinawan Program by Willcox, Willcox, and Suzuki. Scientists have studied the Okinawan elders for decades since they have good records to prove when they were born. They are considered to be the longest living people.
1. The China Study by T. Colin Campbell (PhD) and his son. Written by a scientist who grew up on a dairy farm eating meat and dairy and did his PhD on growing better meat, who switched to eating plant foods which are as whole and natural as possible after decades of research. Helpful for avoiding heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and more. (His followup book Whole explains why even though there's so much scientific evidence to support eating whole, plant based foods, the message isn't getting out there.)
2. Forks over Knives. Okay, it's a video, not a book. My favourite part is the fireman climbing the pole with only his hands, no legs, chanting, "Real! Men! Eat! Plants!"
3. Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain by Pete Egoscue. These exercises help to engage muscles which have stopped participating. You will over time see your posture improve. I asked my chiropractor, "Didn't my head used to be more forward?" She replied, "Yes, it was scary."
4. The Starch Solution by Dr. John A. McDougall. I loved reading about people eliminating their type two diabetes. I found the information on amino acids extremely clear and reassuring for eating more plant based.
5. The Okinawan Program by Willcox, Willcox, and Suzuki. Scientists have studied the Okinawan elders for decades since they have good records to prove when they were born. They are considered to be the longest living people.