Part 1: Love for your lungs
Suddenly Corona was there. Suddenly, everyone was holding their breath. Risk of infection, a disease that makes you very stuffy, increasingly strict measures, adjusting everything you were used to. Work, income, a huge shock.
Now that first scare is fading away, I have time to write a blog. Especially now That I too cannot give treatments in practice, I feel the need to do something that helps. Especially in this day and age. This blog is the first part of a series about this historic event and what you can do to get through it. This first blog is about the lungs.
Mild movement
As is known, the Corona virus (SARS-COV-2) can cause pneumonia, or at least infect the airways. Therefore, in this time it is extra important to ensure good lung health. Chinese medicine emphasizes that the lungs need mild movement. This is also called 'the qi (energy) move'. When you sit still too much, the energy of the lungs decreases. And this is despite the fact that, according to the Chinese, this lung energy has the task of fighting off attacks from the outside, such as from a virus. Lungs that 'are good at their energy' will also be more resistant to infection. So it is very important to find a way to move, preferably every day. This is difficult for many people in the lockdown situation. And when you want to walk or cycle, you quickly end up in big crowds. It can be useful to take a bike route that you also drove often before, such as the route to work and back. Or the trip to the gym, even if it's closed. In those places you won't find hordes of people and this is a routine you know. That can give some peace in these times when everything is different.
Work on your upper back
The lungs physically need space in your chest. One of the reasons why old people are prone to pneumonia is that they are often a bit crooked. Now that everyone suddenly works at home in a not so ergonomic workplace, it may be that you too start to curl a little 'forward', partly because the gyms are now closed. If you find that this applies to you, go against it by regularly stretching the other way (backwards) and doing some exercises to keep your upper back moving and straight. Yoga exercises on Youtube for example for the upper back.
What is also common at the moment is that people breathe more superficially in response to the stresses they feel, which makes them doubt that they might have Corona, because they are somewhat short of breath. That can create quite a bit of tension. It's then important to get your breath down again.
The video below includes exercises from Chinese medicine, called qigongs, that help to give the lungs back space. The longmeridian, which is connected to the lung, is also stretched with the exercises. The exercise gives more physical space to breathe, but also ensures improved flow of lung energy into the body.
Lungs and sorrow
Chinese, every organ is linked to an emotion. The lungs are connected to grief; grief resides in the lungs. This is also palpable when you (almost) cry. When you're grieving, but you can't allow it, you hold tension in the lungs. This makes the lungs less resilient and less vital and breathing less deeply. The current times, when we have a lot to do with shock and fear, we don't give that much space to our feelings at first. Survival energy is paramount. But grief is very present at the moment; people are getting seriously ill, many people are dying now, entrepreneurs are grieving for their ailing businesses and employees they can't afford, people are missing their loved ones they can't see now. Whereas the fear that prevails at the moment cannot be felt so well, because people now have to stay strong in order to respond well to what is happening, there is room to let the grief run free from time to time. After reading a heartbreaking story about what is going on in hospitals, for example. When you find yourself actually feeling some sadness pricking, but can't make it come so well now, this can also be a nice time to watch a tear-jerking movie. I'm just mentioning The Bridges of Madison County. Or, for example, some episodes of "Hello Goodbye." Let the tears flow, that air! After that, it is often easier to fight it again with good courage.
Acupressure for the lung
On the upper back is a series of acupuncture points (Bladder 12 and Bladder 13 in particular) that are nourishing for the lung and increase the resistance of the lung. These points are located on the long back muscle on either side of the spine (at the lower limit of T2 and T3 to be precise). You can have these points (or actually this area) massaged by a roommate, if you have them. And otherwise you can use a (tennis) ball to massage this area.
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Set boundaries
Above I wrote it all: lungs have to do with your boundary and with keeping out unwanted elements. This does not only apply to disease workers. Your lung energy also affects how well you feel your limits, and it indicates. Conversely, it also applies: the more you go over your limits or let go, the later your lung energy becomes. So this is an excellent time to pay close attention to what you can and cannot give, and when something might be too much for you. I am thinking of combining home schooling and working from home. Or the distribution of your energy between taking good care of your health and keeping your business afloat. And also the situations within families where one is now very much on each other's lips; Maybe you just need a day in the attic? Should we look more closely at the division of roles?
I also see people arguing about the current situation. For example, the policy to be implemented. Whether lockdown is the best solution. What behaviour is socially acceptable and what behaviour is not. In that respect, I think it would be wise not to let it go so far that it costs friendships. Because that gives even more grief and there is already so much of it.
Sun
If you're in the sun during the warmer seasons, you create vitamin D3. The more skin comes into contact with the sun, the more vitamin D you create. Studies have shown time and time again that vitamin D3 reduces the risk of respiratory infections. How this is with Corona, we don't know yet. That hasn't been shown yet. But there is a good chance that D3 will also have a beneficial effect on the course of Corona. Therefore, it is never gone to take extra time to enjoy the sun. Of course, you don't have to burn. Sunscreen blocks the production of vitamin D3, so you'd better sunbathe a little shorter, but without sunscreen. During sunbathing, you will come into contact with the outside air immediately.
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