I Had the Covid! My Experience and Takeaways...

*Note that NONE of this is medical advice.  It is simply my own personal experience with having the Covid-19 Coronavirus.  Always consult your physician for any medical advice. 

My intention in sharing my experience with you is to uplift, to give hope, and to inform.  I know that for me, it was helpful and soothing to communicate with other people who had it previously and to read about people’s experiences with having it online (keep in mind that I was very choosy about what I read…nothing super depressing or scary and that I didn’t read a whole whole lot!) .  I will share a breathing technique I did for the first time on Wed, May 13 when I was experiencing my strongest symptoms and I experienced a surge of energy within two hours and felt a big shift in my body (**I’m not saying that it is the thing that shifted the illness for me…simply sharing my experience).  

Here we go!  

The first week of May I was movin and groovin and having fun with teaching yoga, playing in the beautiful spring grass and admiring our beauuuutiful peonies, chasing a mole that lives in our fairy circle up front, and creating more online offerings.  But I started to notice that something with my body wasn’t operating the way it usually does.  I didn’t think a whole lot of it because, well…we’re human.  We inhabit these lovely bodies and experience peaks and valleys within them all the time.  

By the following week, however, I knew this was different.  Deep in my gut I knew I had the Covid (yes, I call it “The Covid” because it makes me giggle to call it that and it’s good to giggle about something that’s so charged).  I was having trouble getting out of the bed in the morning (I usually love getting up at 4am!), sleeping 14 hours and still exhausted, experiencing some shortness of breath (though not too bad), dizzy and really foggy and felt like a zombie.  It was all I could do to walk downstairs and collapse on the sofa each morning…late morning.  Other symptoms as well that you can read more about in addition to the onset and recovery in more detail in the next blog entry of The Little Golden Thread if you’d like to know more (I go through them day by day).  

Let’s take it back a bit…I promise we’ll get back to the Covid experience in a sec.  

Some of you know that in my 20s I was housebound and bedbound for upwards of 8 years with “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” (also known as ME) and “Fibromyalgia,” both of which are diagnosed simply by ruling out anything else.  Medicine has not been able to identify what causes these conditions and there is no known “cure.”  Those 8 years held a lot of not knowing.  Not knowing from day to day how I was going to feel, whether I was going to be able to feed myself, make it up the stairs, or maybe have a good day and be able to take a 5 minute walk.  Not knowing if I would ever get better.  Not knowing what was causing all of the symptoms I was experiencing.  Not knowing if I would ever be able to pursue my acting career again, my singing career again, to run my 3-5 miles several days a week ever again…

During that time of my life I HAD to cultivate an acceptance of not knowing.  The alternative was to stay miserable and scared and constantly trying to figure it out, which is exhausting!  I ain’t gonna lie…it was hard to let go of trying to figure it out!  I did it though.  I got better and better at letting it be okay that I didn’t know and was able to develop a loving relationship with my body that had been lacking in a big way before.  The illness was also the advent of a deep spiritual connection and loving relationship with myself I’d been looking for my whole life.  

Now…back to a few weeks ago.  Because of the experience I had early on in my adult life with CFS, I didn't hold a lot of fear around having Covid.  I’m no stranger to mysterious illnesses.  In fact, I was *excited* that there was actually a test I could take that would verify my inner knowing (as excited as a zombie can be…)!  So Tuesday my honey drove me to the testing site (I was not capable of driving because of the dizziness) and I got the swab test and two days later got the results and they were…NEGATIVE.  Bah, so that was a little frustrating.  Yes, we’ve been talking about all this wonderful acceptance of not knowing, but I wanted validation!  Ha!  

Upon further research I found out that over 30% of the negatives are FALSE negatives, so decided to wait and get the antibody test.  Which ALSO has a high number of false negatives as I found out later (though I did test positive)…more on that in a bit.  

In the meantime, I’m talking and writing with a few people I know who contracted Covid 19 early on in the pandemic.  One person in March, another in April along with his whole family.  Every person experienced different symptoms, though there seem to be similarities within families (clusters).  The friend who got it with his whole family tested negative for the swab test while his whole family tested positive and he was obviously ill.  

So now let’s go to Wed, May 13, about four days into the thick of it.  I’ve had to give my yoga classes to one of our other sweet sweet teachers, though I do manage to still meet with my coaching clients online.  I have a friend on the west coast that I talk to every day and I told her what was going on and she suggested a breathing technique to me…the Wim Hof Method.  I was a little resistant at first…bah, another technique, another modality, etc.  I’ve been doing Pranayama (yogic breathing) for years!  But something kinda pulled me along, so I did a small amount of research and decided to give it a shot.  The method is basically 3-4 rounds of very vigorous breathing followed by a long suspension of the breath after an exhale and then a short suspension of the breath after an inhale.  I did the breathing for about 10 minutes.  

I mentioned I was like a zombie, right?  Within two hours of doing that breathing technique, I was talking my honey’s head off, whereas before I hadn’t wanted to utter a word, and even went into the kitchen to help him fix dinner, albeit a good bit of that time was spent sitting on the floor instructing him.  There was a very specific moment when it felt like my body and energetic system did an about-face.  The shift was almost palpable.    What just happened???  

The next morning I woke up after 8 hours of sleep (as opposed to 12) and though I still felt that hung over feeling and pretty awful, it was about 60% better than previous mornings.  I did the breathing again that morning.  By the afternoon/evening, most of my major symptoms (nausea, dizziness, fogginess, sore throat, headache, chills) were either gone or had decreased significantly.  I was (and am) sold.  Incidentally, the friend who told me about the breathing technique had only just run across it herself AND is the person who got me and the love of my life/honey together (in spite of much protestation from us both before we met in person).

By the following week I was feeling much better, though still very low energy and pretty shaky.  My measure of my shakiness was how much of the dropper full of Wellness Formula tincture I could get in my mouth versus dribbling it down my chin.  By the next Wed (May 20), my hands were again steady and sure.  

This whole thing has gotten me very curious about this illness.  In some ways the after effects feel very much like CFS symptoms.  Makes me wonder if perhaps they’re related.  I’ve spoken to another friend who had it early on and only she and one of their two children got it.  Her husband and other child were asymptomatic.  It presented for her with a lot of gastrointestinal symptoms and wheezing. And she’s had some residual fatigue and other symptoms that lasted for several months, as did one of my other friends I mentioned and the wife of the other friend I mentioned.  My female friend got two swab tests and both came back negative, as did her antibody test.  

I had a low grade fever for about an hour one day.  Otherwise my temperature was below normal.  I didn’t have lots of the symptoms you see listed as Coronavirus symptoms.  My honey had a few days of low energy but was asymptomatic (yay!).  And we still have no idea where I could have picked it up.  We have been very careful with masks and gloves, etc.  

It’s now been three weeks and my energy levels continue to get better, though I still don’t feel 100%.  I know that this may take some time and that’s okay (most of the time…I do have my little fits and allow myself to have a tantrum because I want to be at 100% again NOW;).  I am blessed that it was a mild case and that I was already in such good health.  I’m slowly adding more physical activities back in (I get to teach one of my yoga classes tomorrow, yay!).  I’m still doing the breathing technique and am excited to continue to learn more about it and to deepen that practice.  

All this to say…

-       If you think you may have Covid, treat yourself as if you do, even if you get a test and it comes back negative.  Take good care of yourself (which you’re already doing, hopefully!), consult with your physician, and rest.  Do all the things you know to do to take care of yourself like drinking lots of water and watching things that make you happy.  Isolate yourself as much as possible and know that it will pass.  If you do have significant trouble breathing or other heightened symptoms, get yourself to the hospital.  

-       Talk to a few other people you know who have experienced it and come out the other side. 

-       See if you can allow this time to be a sacred space.  Whether you have had Covid or not, what have you gained from this shared world-wide experience?  If you have had it or currently have it or are dealing with any kind of physical ailment…illness and recovery are ripe for big internal shifts.  Allow yourself the space to let them happen.  

I was inspired by the experience I had with Covid to share some of the things I do every day to keep myself connected and healthy in a 5 DAY WELLNESS CHALLENGE.  We’d love for you to join us, you can sign up at www.livingfrominspiration.com (the sign up window will come up once you’ve been on the site for a few seconds or you can go to the FREEBIES section).  It’s free and starts on June 22, but you can sign up anytime and start anytime after the start date.  Hope to see you there or at an upcoming event!  

Be happy.  Be healthy.  Be in love with yourself and your life.  

Big love,

Lorrie 

Six Simple Steps To Find Calm In The Midst of Chaos (with audio meditation!)

Sooooo…things are pretty funky out there right now, right?  Not the yummy, groovy kind of funky.  More the “what the heck is happening??”, incredulous, dramatic, sometimes polarizing, anxiety-inducing kind of funky.  You can feel it in the air, see it in people’s faces, it’s almost palpable.  

I’m a fairly centered, drama-free gal, and I too, am finding that the current events and Covid (I call it “the C-word”) can take me from my typical warm and fluffy center into some anxiety.  Now, to a certain degree, this is a good thing!  We are all human.  We are connected.  We have emotions.  And we want to honor our humanity and our feelings.  Of COURSE we’re feeling wonky with everything that’s happening, especially so if we have loved ones who are in higher risk groups regarding the C-word.  

Where does that anxiety come from?  There’s a TON of uncertainty around just about every aspect of this thing.  How long will it last?  How much will it continue to spread in the US and beyond?  How can I help my loved ones who may be at risk?  How do I cancel my flights in a way so that I might get reimbursed?  Will the economy recover?  How do I get out of this public bathroom without touching the doorknob?  And so on and so forth.  

Now I have a question for you…how did reading that last paragraph make you feel?  It made me feel horrible!  Anxious and confused and scrambly.  I have another question for you…how many aspects of those questions do you have immediate control over, this second, right now?  None of them (alright, maybe the bathroom doorknob one…)!  Sure, you can reach out to airlines and you can take action to help loved ones (and I certainly recommend it!), but I’m talking right now, in this moment, what do you have control over?  The only answer is yourself.  You have control over your own actions, responses, and how you respond to any feelings that come up for you.  You have control over your perspective and how you focus your thoughts.  

ACTION:  Right now, *close your eyes and take that in.   Breathe with it.  You only have control over yourself.  

It’s a relief, right?  We can often feel like we need to be the General Manager of the Universe.  See if you can let go of that right now.  

On a more practical level, there are some actions you can take to find calm within all of this.  I’d like to share them with you in the hopes that they may assist you in coming back to that warm and fluffy place within yourself.  You’ll most likely find that you slip in and out of center, that’s always going to happen.  But when you continually practice these habits, your “hang time” in peace and center is longer and longer and longer.  AND you get to the place where being out of center isn’t as painful.  You can observe it, as opposed to getting caught up in it.  

SIX THINGS YOU CAN DO

1.  Practice an uplifting morning ritual.  And do it.  Every morning.  Before you do anything else!

You’ve probably heard of inertia, right?  An object at rest stays at rest, an object in motion stays in motion.  Well, our thoughts and emotions are the same way.  Once we start our thoughts on one trajectory, they tend to continue in that same direction.  First thing in the morning is a powerful time to set the tone for the rest of your day.  My morning ritual looks something like this:

-  put on some soothing, uplifting music

-  write down my intentions for the day:  ex: to have fun, to love and adore myself unconditionally, to love and adore every single person I encounter unconditionally…etc.  

-  write down 10-20 things I adore and appreciate:  ex: hearing the little bird singing outside (so active!!!), the unusual tint of the morning light I see right now, flowers!!!…etc.

-  sometimes read or listen to uplifting messages

-  take a hot bath with candles 

-  High Intensity Training and Yoga

-  meditate (5-15 minutes)

I don’t do all of them every single day, but most days I do.  This is BEFORE looking at any news, BEFORE reading any emails, and the first few things usually BEFORE interacting with anyone else.  Find a few things you enjoy and that feel good to you to start your day with.  I DO highly recommend writing your intentions, things you appreciate, and meditating first thing.  You can do all those in 10-20 minutes.  The others are bonuses first thing in the morning.  

2.  Practice yoga or dance.  Move your body in a mindful way.  Connect with it.  Allow yourself to be present with your body.  This is beneficial for your immune system AND beneficial in allowing you to more easily handle any stress that presents.  If you don’t have time to do a full class some days, just get on your mat for 5 minutes.  Do a down dog, a Sun Salutation.  Shake your booty to some tunes for 3 minutes.  

3.  Practice Nadi Shodhana - Alternate Nostril Breathing.  This is a simple, yet powerful technique that calms the nervous system, balances the two hemispheres of the brain, and settles the mind.  You can follow along with this video.  When I’m super busy and find myself feeling anxious, I set a reminder to go off every two hours and I sit my butt down and do Nadi Shodhana for 3 minutes.  It. Makes. A HUGE. Difference.  

4.  Limit your news time.  Try to keep your news time to 30 minutes or less a day.  That should be plenty to keep you up to date with the important happenings and at the same time, allow you to have plenty of breathing space and unplug from any mounting anxieties in the general public.  I would generally say keep it to 5 minutes or less a day, but given where we are right now with the C-word, you may find it needs to be more than usual.  

5.  Be the Witness.  This is something you can cultivate over time with things like meditation and mindful moment to moment presence, but even if you are new to the concept, you can start to employ it.  Allow yourself to approach everything as if you are a scientist observing.  Observe yourself.  Observe others.  Observe the media.  Observe the situations around you.  Even observe your emotions and thoughts.  Let go of opinions or conclusions for periods of time.  A good scientist doesn’t come to any conclusions until he’s observed objectively.  Being able to watch, rather than getting drawn into all the drama, is invaluable and gives you the ability to be objective and to take Skillful Action rather than being reactionary and acting from a place of fear and doubt.  See if you can come back to just watching again and again and again.  

6.  Allow your emotions.  Get to be friends with them.  Don’t try to push any anxiety away or reject it.  Welcome it with open arms…”hello old friend…I am here…I hear you.”  You don’t need to DO anything about the emotion or try to make it go away.  See, emotions are just energy, and energy wants to move.  Energy is always moving towards higher vibrations (like love, joy, peace, calm, etc).  It’s when we resist feelings that they get stuck in lower registers.  And, btw, having lower register feelings is not bad!!!  So feeeeel your feelings!  When you can combine #5, Be The Witness, with #6, Allowing Your Emotions, you're golden!  Because you don’t get bogged down in those feelings, you experience them for what they are…energy!  

and I’ll give you a bonus one…

7.  Laugh.  Find a way to lighten the mood.  Watch puppies doing cute things.  Remember something silly you did recently.  Make a funny face in the mirror.  

**

It is more important than EVER for each of us to take responsibility for our own well-being, physically and emotionally/energetically.  Start with these simple steps above and experience how much better YOU feel and in turn, what a calming and positive effect you have on those around you.  Be a leader of love, of calm within the chaos and I promise you, in this way you will contribute the most to your loved ones and in fact, to the world.  

Here is the Calming 5 minute Meditation for you to use. Let me know how it all goes for you!

Biiiiiig love,

Lorrie