Corona Virus: My Personal Plan

/1 Comment/in Gems /by Linda

The chatter in the media about Covid-19 is overwhelming. Is it hype, or should we take it seriously–or both? Will it be bad, or no worse than an average flu? Time will tell…

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to prepare and how to help my family prepare for the inevitable. It seems like the question is not if it’s coming, but when–and how bad will it be. My guess is that the fallout of all of this will be anti-climactic, but it would be irresponsible not to take a ready stance.

This is not too different than what I might do personally or suggest during a flu season (or pre-travel for a can’t-miss trip) since it never hurts to hedge one’s bets.

Luckily, I’m not in a high a risk category, so although being sick would still suck, I would most likely survive. People with underlying health conditions and those who are older need to be more diligent and overshoot the mark rather than not.Image result for good sleep

I have sketched out a plan that is proactive and easy enough for anyone to follow to the degree they feel fits their needs.

I’ll just dump out all of my thoughts. These might seem obvious (to some) and a combination of nutritional/supplement and lifestyle based.

1. Get enough sleep (and rest) – no excuses. Lack of sleep depletes immune function dramatically and even being around chronically sleep deprived people can expose you to extra risk.

2. Hydrate – which means drinking enough water in a way that it’s actually hydrating your cells—not just running through you.

3. Keep active/moving. (Stay out of gyms)

4. Wash hands properly. Don’t touch face without washing first. (This is a hard one for me)

5. Stay away from sugar and refined foods.

6. De-stress. Everything that is true for lack of sleep is true for stress. Things like meditation, turn off stressful media, tune into your “happy place” helps. It may sound woo woo, but has a measurable impact on immune function.

7. Don’t eat out or eat from salad bars, or anywhere else your food may have been made by someone who came to work contagious.

8. Emphasize fresh fruits and veggies, bone broth, and nutritionally dense foods. (Important all the time and certainly part of being proactive.) Avoid refined foods. Frozen vegetables are preferable to canned or dried. Dried fruit is high in sugar so fresh is preferable.

FYI my “pantry list” for having to “shelter in place” or in case I get sick is as follows:

  • 4 turkey wings to make bone broth. (They are in the freezer for when I need them)
  • Fresh “pantry vegetables” carrot, celery, onion, garlic & ginger – which keep for weeks
  • Gluten free noodles – rice ramen, rice noodles & bean threads
  • Spices to make vegetables interesting and tasty a zillion different ways
  • Dried mushrooms – for soups and stir-frys. (they are esp. good for your immune system)
  • Plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, cream for my coffee… (my normal weekly routine)
  • (I already have some frozen meat, berries, veggies and other foods in my freezer)
  • (I also have some tofu in my fridge plus my normal pantry stuff like beans, rice, tuna, and various things. No extra shopping needed there.)

I could easily last a month without having to replace more than my weekly fresh produce—and cream of course. Contrary to some fears, I doubt things will get so bad that stockpiling food is necessary. This is not vastly different than any other day for me. The only reason stores would run out of food is due to panic (which is very real in some places), not a break in supply. I am a bit more stocked up just in case I’m the one that gets sick, not because I’m worried about the sky falling.

9. Supplements: Zinc, Selenium, Vit D, Vit C, Omega 3s, N-Acetylcysteine

10. Immune boosters: 10 Mushroom Formula & Astragalus. These are the ones I’ll be taking. I’ve been using the 10-mushroom formula for years and LOVE it! Astragalus is easy to find anywhere. There are others, but between the two I feel comfortable my bases will be covered. Their effect is cumulative and I plan on taking them for the next 6- months or more. (Side note: I’ve used the 10MF for years, pre-travel, pre-flu season, been around sick people, and never got sick. This winter was the first in many that I did not follow my routine–I ran out and just didn’t think of it–and I got the flu while at a retreat.)

Here’s More info. Undoubtedly TMI, but at least it’s not trying to sell you something.
This one is simpler.

11. Probiotics – good, broad-spectrum is best. A good diet helps to maintain a healthy gut biome, but # and variety of microbes is important, and probiotics certainly help.

12. Stay warm. :-)

>> Of course, the very best tip I could give is to make sure you are as healthy as possible in the first place. If your health is not as could as it could be—and maybe not as good as it should be—consider making this the year of YOU. Lose some weight—get your blood sugar under control—do a cleanse—learn to meditate—rebuild your strength…or whatever it takes to make you feel fit and fine and confident that you’ll be OK no matter what.

Transforming your health alone can be challenging. If support is something you would find helpful, I invite you to find out about the Healing Summer Retreat.

Getting Sick Was A Gift That Changed My Life

/0 Comments/in Gems /by Linda

One of the most profound, transformational experiences I ever had came when I was 23 years old. It was as a result of being so sick I couldn’t work anymore.

It was the middle of winter and I was living just outside of Philadelphia working with horses when I got so sick I couldn’t work. I had struggled with health issues my whole life so this was nothing too shocking and toughing it out was my standard approach.

My dad, who is European, suggested I go to health spa to “get my health back.” Whoever heard of such a thing? I discounted his suggestion immediately because I had a job–I had a horse–I had responsibilities—and people and animals depending on me. I couldn’t just up and leave because if I did my whole life would fall apart. I would lose my housing. I would lose my job. Even my horse would be homeless.

But then my health got even worse and I didn’t have a choice anymore. I had to move home to live with my parents and figure out what to do with my horse. I couldn’t afford to board him because I had no money and giving him up was NOT an option. (I don’t remember the details of solution I came up with, but it was a creative mix of borrowing, lending, luck, and faith.)

I was incredibly fortunate to have supportive parents willing to help me. At the time I didn’t understand how sick I was. I thought I could just rest for a few weeks and I’d be back to normal again (which meant functional, not healthy). But since they offered me a boost—why not take advantage of it.

My mom, a meticulous researcher, had complied a stack of brochures (snail-mailed paper in those days) from just about every retreat center, spa, and weight loss camp in the country–and beyond. I spent the next three weeks sorting through the rather large pile trying to figure out where to go. I was really sick, exhausted, and wanted to feel better. I was overweight and wanted my body back. Weight loss camps seemed harsh; ritzy spas seemed nice and relaxing, but superficial… I just wanted to be healthy again so I could get back to my life.

The places that appealed to me the most were the ones that seemed like they could deliver dramatic results in a relatively short amount of time. The place I finally chose was in Southern California and the testimonials coming out of it were almost beyond belief. Cancer staying in remission, blood sugars becoming normal after a week or two, and chronic diseases being cured.

I spent three weeks following a very rigorous program that consisted of raw/live food, wheat grass juice, meditation, gentle exercise, and a variety of classes. It profoundly changed my health as well as my perspective on health and healing. I used to think that diseases were things that happen to you rather than temporary states of physiological distress. What I learned was that the body is designed to heal, and I saw proof of that all around me every day.

After 1 week there I had lost 10lbs and felt better than I had in a long time. After three weeks I had lost 21lbs and felt like I had walked out of a thick fog into a crystal-clear day. It was such a profound experience I will never forget it. And I learned so much—things I didn’t know I didn’t know—and I am forever changed by it.

In hindsight getting that sick so young was such a gift; it allowed me to learn early in life to value my health and it put me on a path of health and wellness that I wouldn’t have followed otherwise.

Now, after 30 years of experience and study, spending the last decade plus as a health coach helping people get their health back, I can’t help but appreciate how invaluable retreat experiences are. There’s nothing like just showing up relaxing, learning what you didn’t know you didn’t know, and spending all your time and energy healing your body mind and soul. Experience is the greatest teacher; there’s no way to communicate what it feels like, but it IS possible to create an experience to allow people to feel it for themselves….

The level of healing and change so many of us need to “get our health back” is more than what we can do by ourselves. We need to be fed, cared for, and supported as we surrender to the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual healing that needs to happen.

It has been a long-held dream of mine to share the kind of transformative healing experience I was fortunate enough to have found so long ago.  This year it is going to become a reality in the beautiful Sonoma County wine country.

Find out more…