covid support
Hi all! I hope everyone is getting the basic income, food, shelter, and health care they need during these big shifts in our communities. It’s been especially apparent to me how important mental, emotional, and physical health is at this time. Many health care providers (including myself) are not working directly with clients because of contact risk, but this doesn’t mean that the kind of healing we facilitate is any less essential. Even though there is so much that feels out of our control, there’s also a lot that is in our power to take care of ourselves. In that spirit, I wanted to share some healthy tips for getting through this in body and mind. If you’re already a client of mine, please feel free to reach out any time during quarantine with questions. I’m happy to provide guidance for therapeutic solutions until we can work directly together again.
Hang in there!
Zoey
#1 Erin Holt Health is my go-to resource for functional nutrition. She does her research and
is a professional I’ve come to trust. Erin Holt has put out a lot of comprehensive, supportive
material to help boost the immune system. You can check it out in the link below.
Immune Support for Coronavirus
#2 Fresh Air & Plenty of Water
Yes, and don’t forget it!
#3 Movement
Dance to some music, go on a long walk or bike ride, do some jumping jacks or pilates. However
you like to move, don’t forget to keep doing it! Our muscle tissues, brain, our whole body needs
movement in order to thrive and fight off viruses.
If you need a starting point, here is my favorite Kundalini Yoga video for a quick workout.
#4 Breathing Exercises & Meditation
Deep breathing calms the sympathetic nervous system, which is the body’s fight-flight-or-
freeze (FFF) response. This response kicks in anytime we are under stress or anxiety, and it
is there to protect you from (or help you push through) threat and danger. It’s important in
those times to recognize how you’re feeling and to complete the autonomic nervous
system’s cycle to get back to baseline. Without completing the cycle, your brain and body
stay in an FFF state, which runs your system dry and suppresses your rest-and-
digest responses (sleep, rest, reproduction, digestion, immune response, etc.).
Here’s a snapshot of the full Stress Response Cycle:
Stressor causes stress/anxiety >
Fight-flight-or-freeze response >
Recognize or name your stressor >
Bring awareness to how the feeling of stress/anxiety feels in your body (hard part) >
Breathe deeply as you feel the feeling (a slow, steady breath tells your brain and body that
you’re safe now) >
Let your parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest response) ride you back to
baseline.
There are endless videos on YouTube for guided Mindful Breathing as a quick and free
resource. I also really appreciate the Calm App, which has a number of guided
meditations and breathing exercises, calming sounds and sleep aids.
#5 Self-Massage
It’s been rough not getting any bodywork these last few weeks! I’ve been experiencing new back
and neck pains with the sudden excessive screen usage I’ve taken on, plus way more sitting than
I’m used to. I’ve been looking for new ways to work with my body tissues to get relief and
maintain health. Lymph drainage is also very important right now because the Lymphatic System
is central to healthy immune and circulatory function. Rollers and self-massage have been my
saving grace.
A quick disclaimer: It is crucial when employing massage tools that you’ve had guidance on
proper usage and that you are really present with your body when using them. Pay attention to
the pressure and how you feel; let that guide you with the tool.
Some applications and tools I’ve been digging lately include:
Gua Sha Stone for the face and neck. This is a smooth, contoured stone you can easily and
lightly glide over your forehead, cheeks, chin, and neck for increased blood and lymph flow, as
well as releasing all of that facial tension. To get the most benefit and to avoid causing harm with
Gua Sha, I recommend watching this 11-min tutorial. If you’d like to save the tool investment, you
can absolutely use anything with a rounded edge (i.e. a wooden spoon, one of those plastic
mason jar lids, fingers & knuckles).
Foam Rollers for the back and legs. No oil is needed here, just light or form fitting clothing. To
begin, use a roller with light-moderate pressure on the legs to help break up fascia and get the
blood and muscle tissue moving. For lymph flow, end with a lighter pressure, moving slowly from
above the knee to below the hip. Then work the same way from ankle to below the knee and
again from above the knee to below the hip for full drainage. It’s important to start with deeper
rolling and always end with lymph drainage; never start with drainage first, unless you are only
doing lymph drainage.
I like a LO ROX peanut roller or a smooth, handled roller stick for the legs.
For back work, I like to lay on a big PT style roller from the head to the base of the spine (the
tailbone/coccyx) and do 3 gentle arm movements for reps of 10 each, and then repeat. With
sustained, passive pressure on the back, this technique releases fascia and helps relax the
muscles along the spine. Another option is to gently lay on top of a LO ROX peanut so that each
end is applying pressure as you roll along the paraspinals. This can also feel so good on the
sacrum with light, sustained pressure, but do not use on the low back (right above the pelvis
and below the ribs) or directly on the spine. See the image below for a visual of your target
muscles and where you want to be.
