Day at a Time, Self-care to take your power back, 14/4/20

A Day at a Time – A Daily Blog of Life in Lockdown

I wrote a while back about taking control of what we can do to help ourselves and others during this pandemic and letting go of what we can’t. Faced with the risk of severe illness if I catch Covid-19, I not surprisingly feel more motivated to do what I can to heal my body which at the same time involves healing on all levels of my being. There is a driving force in me to get off the medications that put me at increased risk. I have yet to hear back from the rheumatology professor about the immune suppressants. The GP advised continuing with ARB medication for high blood pressure. However, I remained concerned due to the circulating articles about increased risk with Covid-19 so have been halving the amount I take and monitoring my BP closely. Today I wrote to the original consultant I saw when I was in hospital 10 years ago. She responded immediately with really helpful information and a link to an interview she did with one of the top pharmacologists. They discuss non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, Ace inhibitors and ARB hypertension drugs and chloroquine. If you are interested here is the link: – https://www.youtube.com/embed/YY7Kruc-124?rel=0&autoplay=1. I feel reassured about continuing on the BP drugs until I no longer need them. So far, lockdown and testing & tracing have been the only successful strategies against COVID-19.

Qi Gong is feeling like such a healing practice, my breathing is 20% better as measured on a peak flow monitor and my energy level is consistent which it hasn’t been for years. So, today I decided to take it a step further and downloaded a series of lectures, practices and healing sounds from Lee Holden website. Meditation and healthy eating have been part of my self-care since the wakeup call of cancer 14 years ago. However, Qi Gong feels like it is the missing link. I literally feel like my body is being cleansed of toxins and any blocks in the flow of energy cleared. Chinese medicine is about generating energy from within and the effect of practicing Qi Gong is experienced in the body – I can literally feel the tingling of energy flowing through my body.

Hint: Keep energy strong and stress low

Practice:

Increase activities to: –

1. help you relax e.g. exercise, breathing exercises, listening to relaxing music, taking a bath
2. help raise your energy and make you feel good e.g. exercise, good nutrition and not eating too much, playing your favourite dance music, watching good comedy, talking with friends, gardening

Reduce activities within your control that: –

1. cause stress or make you feel anxious e.g. listening to the news, dwelling on fears

Here is the link again to the online Qi Gong which includes 4 separate classes: –

https://secure.holdenqigong.com/immunity-emergency-kit/