Love In The Time Of Corona
It is so important that we are reminded that we are all here for each other and connected. Love and energy know no physical boundaries. It is within every one of us and is limitless. While we fear the finite in supplies, food, entertainment, and the physical, we need never fear the exhaustion of our resources to love.
CONNECTIONS
Personally, I am staying connected to my loves through some cool things they’re offering… classes, donations, and inspiration. Here are a few favorites:
If you can’t go outside, go “inside.” Lacy Phillips is offering a free workshop, which includes the Health & Body DRE, guides to host a digital Magnetic Meetup & Roadmap with 3 Deep Imaginings to help you navigate fear, lack, and isolation!
What if we came out of this quarantine as French ballerinas? Cati Jean, my favorite ballet teacher, is offering her classes via Zoom. She is delightfully French, fun and has vibrant healing energy. A lovely escape from our woes right now. She has a beginner's class and it’s only an hour. Perfect if you are just getting back to exercising or have never danced before. All you need is a chair or kitchen counter to hold on to.
Lauren from Wooden Spoon Herbs is offering a $10.00 digital class on nourishing the nerves (we all need this). She's waiving the fee for the class, no questions asked, and offering free shipping on all her products. Check her IG because she’s putting lots of free content up. I am getting back into my passion for plant medicine through her easygoing and accessible take on herbs.
Patrick is offering lovely hand sanitizers with botanical scent magic at cost and has an option to add a donation to the LA LGBTQ Center’s food pantry.
He did an IG live poetry reading last week, a teatime visit with herbalist Masha, and is creating a really fun and inclusive community on his IG.
Dara is an amazing astrologer and has gotten me all into the “North Nodes.” She’s got great educational videos on astrology, but she is also an incredible wealth of information and inspo for food and living beautifully. She’s written books on raw foods, and her daily IG is keeping me inspired to try new vegetarian recipes.
Use code: FREESHIPPING during checkout
Just as the situation with the virus is changing rapidly, our emotional states are also changing as we try to adapt to these conditions. To ensure we don’t develop secondary problems down the road, as a result of the stress we are under now, we must take care of our nervous systems, immune systems, and adrenals.
First Aid Kit: If you are feeling freaked out. This is always our go-to for neutralizing trauma. For immediate anxiety relief, protection from the unwanted influence of media, other peoples’ energy, and disruptive change. Good for empaths who absorb everything. This is the best one if you want to get one remedy for the whole family. Broad-spectrum and deep acting. (You can also add some drops to the nighttime bath to calm. Add a dropperful to your bath and swirl around).
Peaceful Worrier: This is the one I am prescribing the most right now. Worry, worry, worry. “What if?” Obsessive thinking, insomnia. Fear of being alone, restlessness, desire for escape, worry for your family and loved ones, or even the state of the world. Fearing the worst.
This is also very helpful for instilling physical calm, releasing tension, and helping us to be, rather than DO, so that we don’t feel like caged animals!
Safe and Sound: If your fear escalates to panic at times, or you are starting to have irrational fears, or feel a little disassociated, this will keep you very grounded, stable, calm and strong.
Unburden: For heads of households who have to keep it together, wear a brave face, but internally are struggling with stress, overwhelm and exhaustion. This is your life saver.
Kids First Aid Kit: First Aid Kit will keep them protected from our frenzied energy and make sure they don’t feel traumatized. You can add some drops to their nighttime bath as well. (Add a dropperful to the bath and swirl around).
Kids Dream Boat Not just a bedtime remedy, this is relaxing for kids who are going nuts from being cooped up. This will bring them peace and help them sleep. Good too if they have developed separation anxiety or have started getting in bed with you at night.
*See below about microgreens for another fun thing kids could do
FOOD
Food is our best medicine. It is a very good practice during these times to eat and sleep at regular times. It will keep your energy strong and stable.
I am finding the most calming/grounding food to be: beans, nuts and seeds, squash and potatoes cooked with warming spices, and lots of healthy fats (coconut oil, avocados, olive oil, and flaxseed oil. Don’t heat flaxseed oil). These foods are really helpful for anxiety and for keeping me in my body while offering emotional comfort.
I soak my beans for 24 hours, changing the water at hour 12. Soaking nuts and seeds overnight increases their health benefits and gives us some live enzymes and life force.
If I have forgotten to soak my beans, I make lentil soup, as lentils don’t require soaking.
I follow the ayurvedic principle of eating my largest meal or salads at midday when the digestive fire is strongest.
I eat cleansing food in the morning (I make a big bowl of fruit with pumpkin and flax seeds, flax oil, basil and ginger (which is immune enhancing) or a smoothie with nut milk and fruit).
Lunch is usually a huge salad with whatever raw vegetables I have and leftover steamed vegetables with Italian tuna from a glass jar.
I am avoiding canned foods, which are high in histamines. (Migraine sufferers!! If you can’t figure out what causes your headaches, try a histamine free diet and see if they improve. This has changed my life).
Dinner is usually beans or lentil soup and a cooked leafy green side.
LENTIL SOUP
Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 1/2 cups lentils (I use the red)
1 bay leaf
5 whole peppercorns
3 tablespoons cumin seeds or dried cumin (or both. I am crazy for cumin)
8 baby potatoes cut up or equivalent of large potato
Salt to taste
Instructions:
Heat the oil or butter and cook onions, carrots and celery until onion is transparent.
Add 7 cups of water and rest of the ingredients, except for the potato.
Cook for 20 min, add salt and potatoes and cook until potatoes are soft.
FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
My inventive dad suggested we make kale pesto and freeze it in ice cube trays to keep up our intake of greens. These are easy to thaw and add to any dish.
*Another thing I am planning to do is to start growing microgreens in coconut coir - I think this could be a really fun project for kids too!
WHAT I'M DOING FOR IMMUNE SUPPORT:
SUNSHINE! If you can, get an hour in direct sunlight (not behind glass) every day. If you can’t, then get a good vitamin D3 supplement.
I take all of these daily except for colloidal silver, which I only take if I feel like I'm coming down with something.
Marshmallow herb - I had this in my cabinet because Rebecca of Wonder Botanica recommended it months ago to help me combat desert dryness… turns out it is perfect for protecting my lungs. Apparently lungs hate to be dry and are more susceptible to infection when they are dry.
HOT DRINKS: Viruses don't like heat. Avoid ice and cold drinks. I am doing a lot of hot lemon with maple syrup and lots of ginger. Just slice up an inch of ginger, simmer in water for about 10 min and strain off. Add lemon and honey or maple syrup and a pinch of cayenne if you want to get your circulation going.
ENTERTAINMENT
Before I go, I want to introduce Hannah. She’s our longtime friend, the newest addition to the team. She always tells me about good TV so I asked her favorites right now:
HIGH FIDELITY (Hulu) - A great female-led remake of the classic Nick Hornby story with an incredible soundtrack.
THE MORNING SHOW (Apple TV Plus - free week trial) - I’m only a few episodes in, but so far it’s a fun, easy to watch drama that isn't overly intense.
CRITERION COLLECTION (14-day free trial) - so many incredible films, I’m doing domestic film school and watching all the films of one director back to back!
I hope you enjoy these little tips and tricks! I’m really inspired by how this new paradigm is helping us to use social media to express our love and remind us that we are all connected. I have really felt an outpouring of love from my friends during this time. We are all expressing our deep gratitude for one another and realizing what is important in our lives. On that note, I want to express my gratitude to you for your continual support in allowing me to practice the work that I love. Hearing all of your positive feedback on how I have helped you is a testament to the good we can do for each other. When you heal, everyone in your life is positively affected, proving that healing, too, is exponential.
Take care and please stay safe out there.
Love,
Alexis