Covid 19 guidelines and best practices

A comprehensive and concise summary from Dr. Maura Henninger, naturopath in NYC (https://drmaura.com/):

Comprehensive Naturopathic Medicine

The Intelligent Approach to Good Health 

Dear Friends and Patients,

With all the information swirling around I wanted to offer a round-up of the data I've been gathering, as well as some guidance on a naturopathic approach to staying healthy (and sane) at this unprecedented moment.Please remember that stress and fear are one of the primary immune disruptors so as much as you can, remember that this will pass and that most of us will be exposed to the virus and be okay. Our immune systems are designed for exposure and evolution so, as always, have faith in your body's strength and innate ability to heal. But do be proactive about your health and habits right now (see tips at the end of this email).

(The following information has been gathered from WHO, CDC, NYSDOH)

Facts about COVID-19:

Most common symptoms: fever, cough, shortness of breath.

Incubation period 2-14days.

Contracted via respiratory droplet < 6ft from contaminated persons.

Lives on surfaces up to 72hr; no documentation of viral contraction via surface.

Contagious when showing symptoms.

Risk population: >65yr with chronic bronchitis, diabetes, heart disease, emphysema, COPD; immunocompromised population. 

Less risk of serious complications or symptom expression: children, pregnant women, healthy adults.

Likelihood of death is low and still lower than the flu in the US and globally.

Humans are a vector: for the high-risk population, be aware of who you are exposed to and who you may be exposing.

Mandatory quarantines: these measures are in place to contain the virus and limit the number of cases to ensure our healthcare providers can handle the influx.

Precautions:

Avoid fingers in mouth and on face near eyes and nose.

Wash your hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds.

Cover your mouth when you cough by ideally coughing in a disposable tissue. Then wash your hands!

Nasal irrigation to keep your mucus membranes moist (finger dip in water, then stick your fingers in your nose or/ a netty pot nasal lavage will do too).

Clean your home and office space with natural blend (1 tbsp of 60%+ alcohol, 1 tsp white vinegar, 510 drops of thieves essential oil, 1 tsp of colloidal silver, add water to fill your spray bottle).

Humidifier in your home with essential oils (Thieves oil is my choice)

Wearing gloves if you are handling money, mail or other goods in a public work environment or taking care of an at-risk patient.

Masks: CDC guidelines state that you do not need to wear a mask if you're asymptomatic.

The CDC recommends hand sanitizer.  This one's tricky because we do know from studies that overuse of hand sanitizer can result in resistance of other pathogens to their use, much like the overuse of antibiotics. Wash your hands and use sanitizer judiciously; soap and water is always preferred if available; it's also more effective.

Avoid the use of ibuprofen if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 as it may worsen the virus.

Testing and Treatment:

Because New York City and its surrounding areas have very limited availability to testing, your best bet if you have symptoms is to stay home and self-quarantine and take measures to support your immune system.

Seek medical attention if your symptoms worsen (i.e. difficulty breathing).

If you fall into the immune-compromised category, notify your primary care physician.

Immune Support Supplements:

I highly encourage you to schedule a phone or video visit for a more personalized approach to immune support especially if you're someone in the at-risk category or prone to low immunity. These dosings are for asymptomatic patients only. If you are symptomatic, please contact the office to discuss.

Vitamin C: 100mg for kids <2yr; 500mg for kids <12yr; 2000mg for 12+.

Vitamin D: 400iu for kids <2yr; 1000iu for kids <12yr; 2000iu for 12+Zinc: 7mg for kids <7yr; 30 mg for 8+

Probiotics: dailyImmune supporting herbs – elderberry, echinacea, astragalus

Immune modulators – curcumin, humic acid, beta glucans, medicinal mushrooms, NACPatients taking steroids, immunosuppressants, recent or chronic antibiotic use: I encourage you to schedule a visit to support your immunity because you have been on pharmaceuticals that suppress your immune system function and natural defense. 

Symptomatic COVID-19 patients: I have patient specific herbs and homeopathy to support your immune system function and lessening symptoms during this time. Be in touch.

Daily Habits:

Nourish yourself. Sugar, caffeine and alcohol will wreak havoc on your immune system and your all-important, immunomodulating gut microbiome. Try to feed yourself with clean, organic, plant-heavy meals right now along with lots of water.

Limit social media and TV to zero to one hour per day to avoid overstimulating the nervous system.

Get outside every day; this is a great time to take advantage of working from home to be outside and in the sunshine=natural vitamin D

Daily movement: 20+min of daily movement and play.

Sleep routine: 9-12hr for 0-7yr old; 8-10hr for 8-18yr old; 7-9hr for 18+

Deep breathing: 3-15min of eyes closed, deep breathingMeditation: 10+ min of daily mediation and positive visualization

Stay connected: pick up the phone, FaceTime and check in regularly with your loved ones.

Turn wifi off at night: wifi is an electrical signal that can disrupt how your electrical body heals and self-communicates.

This is a time where we're being mandated to slow down so take advantage of the time to step out of our usual sped-up routine to check in with yourself, your health, and how you're spending your energy.

Take the opportunity to evaluate what works and what doesn't so that when we emerge from this (and we will emerge from this), you will be stronger and more aligned than ever.

Remember this...

So now might be a good time to circle back around to that new year’s resolution, as long as it can be done in isolation! My son and I finally have a few minutes to sit down and figure out this mailing list thing. Technology has become indispensable…hope we have the bandwidth.

These are unsettling times. How can we know what’s coming? We can’t. So now might also be a good time to remember the people of the world who have been living with existential fear in the not so distant history, because of other illnesses, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, wars and gang violence, police brutality, and poverty. The healing we seek needs to look back to the past as well, and forward to the future. Here’s a Hawaiian meditation to address all three, as explained by one of my favorite sites, Uplift:

The Ancient Hawaiian Practice of Forgiveness

Be well,

Biba

turning over the leaf

New year’s resolutions have always been a bit iffy as a vehicle for change, right? Nonetheless, intentions give juice to the lives we envision. Especially during these times of environmental, social and political instability, don’t we all want to live more fully, but also more mindfully, less wastefully?

For me this year, it begins with the intention to use my website as a platform for healthy living in a more global sense - healthy for the planet, and for the community of human beings that share it. In my years in this body, I’ve met some amazing people who’ve guided me and taught me a great deal. I’m going to share as much as I can, curating what I’ve found and posting on the first Friday of each month. Information will range from yoga and nutrition to poetry and book recommendations. I hope to include guest bloggers in my integrative health community, and to keep the content engaging.

Here are two tips to start with:

A documentary I watched over the holidays, about pioneers in the sustainable food and energy world:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/theneedtogrow

And a free online Yoga and mental health seminar with a host of renowned teachers, including Sally Kempton, who introduced me to meditation:

https://ashleyturner.lpages.co/yoga-mental-health-summit/?cookieUUID=8bf813c4-c93f-4ea4-b1df-3d3ed61b5e7d

In love and health,

Biba

summer recommendations to boost your meditation practice

Today is the last day to register for this 21 day free online meditation series, led by Deepak Chopra and Opra Winfrey.  These are guided mantra meditations in the vedic tradition, with a unifying theme, this one 'The Energy of Attraction'.  Very enjoyable.  There's no purchase required but you do need to give your email, and they are hoping you will buy the mp download once the trial is finished.  Here's the site:  

https://chopracentermeditation.com/

Anything by Ram Dass.  If you get on their mailing list, you will also be invited to receive free streamings of his workshops in Hawaii.  They ask you to make a contribution to the Love Serve Remember foundation, but it's not required.  His guests include some formidable meditation teachers - Roshi Joan Halifax, Jack Kornfield, etc.  Here is the site:

https://www.ramdass.org/love-serve-remember-foundation/

Anything by Jack Kornfield, Buddhist meditation teacher.  I love his book, "After the Ecstasy, the Laundry", about spiritual practice and 'real life'.  He also has guided meditation recordings, and gives workshops.  Here's the site:

https://jackkornfield.com/

And my first teacher, Sally Kempton, in the yoga tradition, I highly recommend her book, "Awakening Shakti", particularly for women.  She outlines the stories and archetypal attributes of the goddesses in the Hindu tradition and gives mantras, journaling exercises and meditations to connect with those attributes in yourself.  Her website:  

https://www.sallykempton.com/

And that's all, folks!  Enjoy the summer!

 

 

Dharma continued

In our meditation class, we moved on from ahimsa, non-violence, to satya or truthfulness.  We examined the ways in which we are truthful to ourselves and to others, noticing how truth resonates in our bodies and also questioning whether the assumptions we make about others are true or not, and how our assumptions may affect the outcome of an exchange with another person.  We then looked at the interesting question of truth in the spirit of non-violence, or how the truth can harm another depending on the circumstances.  We talked about intention and what makes a 'white lie' acceptable.  

After satya, asteya, or non-stealing.  The question of what belongs to me, and what is the right of another?  Giving credit where credit is due, naming creative inspiration, standing on the shoulders of giants, all of these fall into this category.  And then what about the person who steals for the sake of feeding a child or caring for a sick relative?  Again the question of intention and context.  Food for thought.  

Bramacharya, or restraint, moderation is next.  In a free market, capitalist society, this concept is foreign at best.  Why curb appetites if it's possible to indulge them?  And then, how does the lack of moderation affect our thoughts, our words, our actions?  Can bramacharya also be thought of as a form of ahimsa?  In the yoga sutras, there is some indication that restraint refers to celibacy, the ultimate reason being that sexual energy can feed the spiritual development of the individual when it is not spent.  But perhaps the larger meaning is that, when we are not feeding and consuming the energy of our desires, whatever they may be, we have more space in which to be present, to seek connection and to nourish spirit.  

Lastly, aparigraha, non-greed.  What do I need and what am I hoarding?  Can I recognize that my attachment to material things, my attachment to relationships, even my attachment to spiritual growth might be the very ball and chain that keeps me stuck in one place?  Why do we compare ourselves with others and why do we covet what our neighbors, friends, colleagues seem to have that we are lacking? Again, we tuned into a felt sense of greediness, and imagined how that might color our thoughts, our words, our actions.  

As we summarized, we talked about the relationship between the last 3, asteya, bramacharya and aparigraha, saw resonance, similarities.  In a way, they all relate to a view of the glass as half-empty.  Perhaps, with practice, we can turn our vision around...

As to the how and why of yoga and meditation

As chair of the Holistic Nursing Council at my hospital, I was asked to present an in house workshop on Yoga, Meditation and Stress Relief.  In my research, I came across this video, which I thought I'd share with you.  It beautifully illustrates the reasons we practice as well as outlining the scientific research in layman's terms.  Enjoy!

http://upliftconnect.com/watch-science-behind-yoga/

for all of you bibliophiles out there...

it turns out reading has therapeutic value (which those of us who love to curl up with a good book or won't leave the house without one knew, of course), and you can actually get a prescription!!!

Read on:  

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/can-reading-make-you-happier?mbid=social_facebook
 

And one of my favorite sites for a good read and a little bit of intellectual history:  

https://www.brainpickings.org/

 

hazardous to your health

We think a lot about what and what not to eat and drink.  Lately, however, we've been getting more educated about what might be doing us damage in the commercial household cleaning and beauty products we use, which are not as tightly regulated because we don't eat them, but which often contain harsh chemicals that we breathe in, or soak up through the skin.  Less is more, and I have come to appreciate the simple products:  baking soda and diluted white vinegar (with or without a few drops of peppermint, lemon or lavender essential oils for a pleasant scent) for cleaning almost anything; coconut oil for a moisturizer; olive oil soap or castille soap (Dr. Bronner's at most health food stores) for shampoo and body wash.  Most of these alternative cleaners are much less expensive than commercial products, and readily available.  The only products I spend a little more on, for convenience sake, are laundry detergent (7th generation), and toothpaste (kiss my face), because the baking soda can wear away enamel over time.  

Here are a couple of lists of things to avoid:

household chemicals:

http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/six-household-chemicals-avoid

beauty products:

http://www.womensvoices.org/avoid-toxic-chemicals/15-toxic-trespassers/

 

Non-toxic Alternatives:

household cleaners:

http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

beauty products:

https://wellnessmama.com/5801/diy-beauty-recipes/

And for you germophobes, keep in mind the latest research on the importance of a complex skin and gut flora and the role they play in the immune system and the nervous system.  20 years ago my pediatrician said she noticed that families who were super-cleaners tended to have sicker kids.  She would hold off prescribing antibiotics for ear infections unless absolutely necessary.  Here's recent research, confirming her good instincts;

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3667473/

 

Happy Women's Day!

More often than not, the women in the family are the healers as well as the nurturers, the providers, the keepers of the hearth.  Celebrate yourself and/or the women in your life today by doing something good for your heart!  Particularly close to mine is the Ornish Program, founded by Dr. Ornish and widely prescribed for heart patients across the US.  His is one of the first nationally recognized, effective and truly holistic medical approaches around.  Here's a sample:

https://www.ornish.com/zine/women-and-heart-disease-three-days-can-change-your-life/#

Meditation class

March 6, 2017

At the start of the new year, the regulars of my YMCA meditation class and I discussed how, after 2 years of practicing together, we might up the ante on our search for connection.  In this divisive political environment, we wanted to see how meditation might help us cope with the stress of living in an uncertain world, and also how it might help us be better, more benevolent citizens of a world in distress.  Here's what we came up with:

We agreed to renew our commitment to meditation practice.  For many of us, life takes over once we leave class and makes it a challenge to get to our daily seat.  We recognize that we have to keep trying anyway. Forgiving ourselves generously for the times we skip or fall asleep, we keep getting to the cushion or to the chair to practice meditation;  5 minutes, 15 minutes, a half-hour, on the bus, or in our bedroom or garden, whatever we can muster.  It all adds up exponentially, coloring our experience of the everyday, the large and small events of our stories.  

We also decided to add in a dharma talk every week.  This had been a casual thing, brought in spontaneously, but now we are doing it 'for real', guided by the yamas and niyamas of the yoga tradition.  We talk about one of the principles and agree to write down whatever thoughts, words or actions come into our awareness during the week.   This journaling is purely private, meant to enhance our understanding of the mind and its effect on words, actions and feelings. The first yama is ahimsa, non-violence.  We looked at ways in which we can be judgmental, towards ourselves, towards others, imagined how that might lead to divisive or harmful words or actions, and did the following meditation:  

Identify a judgmental or hurtful thought;

Feel where and how it resonates in the body;

Soften and expand our mental state, bringing awareness to the heart space and noticing the shift in resonance/feeling.  

 

Anyone interested in knowing more, can get a nice summary of the yamas and niyamas from the following blog:

https://www.ekhartyoga.com/blog/the-8-limbs-of-yoga-explained

The source, of course, is Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras, required text for all serious yoga practitioners.  

Sources of inspiration

Thinking about ideas as nourishment....what is fueling our sense of hope in turbulent times?  I take a lot of my inspiration from things I hear about on public radio - wnyc here in NYC and Newark.  On Being is a favorite, and also Radio Lab, This American Life, and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me for a riotous take on current events.  Here's what blew me away this morning:

http://onbeing.org/programs/margaret-wertheim-the-grandeur-and-limits-of-science-2/

Particularly relevant, she offers a striking example of the impetus to create and illuminate beauty as the best, most effective way to be an activist.  Offering an alternative, making connections.  Small, individual action may be limited in power, but when combined with those of others, amazing things can happen. Have a listen