Hi beautifuls

Over the last 2 days, since the Pandemic announcement, I’ve been getting nudged to get a message out to you all, to share some things you can do, in addition to the physical ones, to keep your stress levels low and your physical and energetic immune system high.

Doesn’t it seem like the Corona Virus and Covid-19 has just exploded over the past few days?

How are you feeling about it?

I know I’ve been through a range of emotions: overwhelmed, concern for my family’s safety, stressed, swept up in the panic for food and household essentials.

Then trying not to panic when even the essentials aren’t in stock (toilet paper people?!)

If a lock down occurs and people are forced to work from home (if they’re able to) and if/when schools close down, how that will impact families that may not have extra support to care for them?…it’s a lot.

It’s hard not to get swept up in it all.

Fear is contagious, it moves like wildfire through communities, as we have seen.

So, how do we bring ourselves back to a state of calm and stability?

Get Back in Control

Amidst all the uncertainty, find ways you can gain certainty in your life…in whatever way you can. You are in control of the food you eat, your reactions to the news, how much of it you watch, how much water you drink, how much you entertain other people’s fear.

Through doing this we gain a greater sense of certainty, calm, confidence and trust that things will work out.

There is a strong connection with stress impacting and affecting our immune system. The more stressed we are the more cortisol is present in our system. This can suppress our immune system so it can’t fight off external toxins. The weaker your immune system, the stronger the hold a virus or bacteria will take.

The biggest things we can do to boost our immune system is to find ways to create more calm. Sometime this cannot be done with the mind alone, because let’s face it, monkey mind can start chattering and can be impossible to stop. That’s why I like a range of things, not all involving my will power or mental strength because honestly, it’s not always there!

In addition to the governmental directives to wash your hands regularly and limiting contact and exposure to people, these are the things I’m putting in place for myself and my family:

Physical

Nutrients

• Keep your immune system high. Eat foods high in vitamin C and Zinc.
• Eat fresh whole foods rather than processed.
• Bone or vegetable broth is very healing to the gut. Gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) represents almost 70% of the entire immune system.
• I’m going to be making lots of chicken and vegetable soups with spinach, cabbage, legumes and whole grains for Zinc and Vitamin C goodness
• Eat more Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric and organic raw Honey. They have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. Great as teas too.
• Chamomile helps calm the nervous system and reduce stress as does Lavender. You can find these both as teas or if you have the real thing in your garden, even better! Dry out the flowers and steep in hot water for a few minutes.
• Try and buy organic food as much as possible. This limits the toxic load on your system. If you can’t buy everything organic (which can be sometimes a strain financially) at least make sure you buy these foods organic on the Dirty Dozen list (Strawberries, Spinach, Nectarines, Apples, Grapes, Peaches, Cherries, Pears, Tomatoes, Celery, Potatoes, Capsicum) If you can’t buy these organic, soak them in a mix of bicarb soda and water or apple cider vinegar and water for 15 minutes. Rinse and store.
• Sip regular amounts of water. I’ve read that if the virus enters your mouth and you’re regularly sipping water, it will be carried down to your stomach where it will be neutralised in your stomach acid rather than being carried down into your lungs.

AVOID inflammatory foods such as: coffee, alcohol, processed sugar, bread…yes, sometimes the things we turn to when stressed but be aware of their impact to your body.

Breathing: when we breathe deeply, and activate our diaphragm, there’s a physiological response from our body. The Vagus nerve found in the diaphragm is activated and this sends a message to the brain that everything’s ok, nothing to panic about and the body can move from the fight flight state back to its rest & digest function. You can read more about this here. Best and only thing we can use to quickly and easily affect our Autonomic System.

If you are housebound at any stage, try to keep it positive and: use the time to bond with your family, play board or card games, get rest, call your friends on the phone for an old school chat, catch up on good books or Netflix!

Emotional

Flower remedies are brilliant at helping gently release the feelings or emotions holding a pattern in your life. If you have never used them before I recommend finding a health food store and buying either the Emergency Essence (Australian Bush Flowers), which comes in a dropper or a spray or Rescue Remedy (Bach Flower Essences) which comes in lots of ways, drops, spray and pastilles.

I always have the Emergency Essence spray in my bag for any accidents or tumbles the boys have or if I start to feel stressed over something.

Essential Oils also have been proven scientifically to relax and calm our nervous system. The most common one for stress and calming would be Lavender followed by Chamomile in my opinion.

I have been using a combination of oils based on the Young Living blend called Thieves. You can look up the specific variety of oils on their website but it includes: Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus and Rosemary. I’ve also been adding Tea Tree for the added antiseptic quality. These oils are a combination of antiviral, antimicrobial, antiseptic, anti fungal and antibacterial amongst other wonderful things!

The name came from the legend of some ‘gentlemen’ who rubbed these oils on themselves whilst robbing victims of the plague in the 15th century without contracting it themselves. If it worked for them… DoTerra also do a similar blend called OnGuard. (NB I am not linked to either of these 2 companies. I just strongly believe in the effects of oils on our system.)

I’ve made a blend to diffuse at home, a hand sanitiser, a roll on bottle to rub on the bottom of our feet (our whole physical body is represented on the soles of our feet and the palms of our hand - basis for reflexology), a room clearing spray and a cleaning product.

Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping Another wonderful resource to use to deal with any out of balance emotions you’re feeling. I wrote about the technique on this blog post and included a video to help you get started. I do it when I’m driving or waiting for the kettle to boil and it’s great for kids too to help with any stresses they’re experiencing.

Meditation/Mindfulness: When we close our eyes and imagine we’re in a calming peaceful location, our brain can’t tell the difference if we’re actually there or if we’re imagining being there. Being able to move through my day in a calm state is my goal, for every single day. Some days there’s no calm at all, other’s I’m much better. Recognising it’s an intention and trying to get myself back to ‘calm’ as soon as I can is the key.

Sleep: Lack of sleep impacts your ability to function properly in the world. Go to bed at least 30 minutes earlier and your mind, body and emotional state will thank you for it.

Kinesiology: Of course how could I not discuss Kinesiology? A Kinesiologist works to find all the locations in your system you’re holding stress around a particular subject and clears them so your body can return to its natural state of balance. I know without a doubt that this modality changes lives and helps decrease stress instantly.

If you’re interested in a few more ways to reduce your stress, head over to this post for more ways to reduce your stress and discover stillness.