Health Creation in the Light of Corona Virus
Dear Friends,
As many of us shelter-in-place and do our best to minimize the current crisis through drastic modifications in our daily habits, we are learning to find balance within our new world. Many of us are realizing we need to take breaks from the constant influx of information and updates regarding COVID-19. We are working to create more rhythm and regularity in our days and weeks in order to keep our center and our sanity. While we continue to encounter great challenges, including illness, death, grief and loss, we are also experiencing unexpected blessings during this time. Whether we are caring for a loved one who is sick, juggling childcare or homeschooling with working from home, struggling with economic hardship and social isolation, or feeling overly tied to technology and screens, many of us are also discovering that we have enjoyed slowing down, simplifying, and lowering our expectations of productivity. People are cooking more at home, crafting and catching up on home projects. Families are spending more time together. We are less hurried and less distracted. We have an unexpected opportunity to slow down and be more present and intentional with our lives; to review our priorities and our values. What is really important to us? How are we caring for each other and our planet? And are we living our deepest wish?
Many of us wish to actively create health and wholeness in our lives and our world. To create health means more than just avoiding illness. It takes active participation in and cooperation with nature’s laws- the rhythms of the seasons, the balance of night and day, the expansion and contraction of the tide, and the breathing between activity and rest… We learn about ourselves and about healing by studying nature. In what way is spring making its way into your home and your life? How are you expanding and creating? How are you opening, releasing and detoxifying? We can all find ways to step outside each day and receive the sun and warmth that nourishes and strengthens us, physically, emotionally and spiritually. And even delight in the raindrops! Breathe in the fresh air, breathe out some of the fear and worry. Offer to help a friend or neighbor. Perhaps we can drop off some groceries, take an elderly neighbor’s dog for a walk, or cook a pot of soup for someone who is ill.
And let’s not forget that studies during the 1917-1918 flu pandemic demonstrated significant benefit to using integrative medicine modalities, such as osteopathy and homeopathy, in the treatment of viral infection and pneumonia! (see below)
In an effort to support all of us through this unprecedented time, we offer some insights and resources on finding balance, creating health and experiencing the power of our humanity. This is a time to develop our sense of truth and to nurture our intuition for what we and those around us need to heal.
Benefits of Integrative Medicine in 1917-1918 Flu Pandemic:
“The osteopathic medical community treated patients with influenza and its more potent sequela, pneumonia, with various forms of manipulative treatment, rest, and hydration. After the death sweep had abated, the leaders of the profession surveyed osteopathic practitioners nationwide regarding their experiences with treatment. The results showed that patients treated by osteopathic physicians had a death rate of 0.5%, whereas medically treated patients had an average 6% death rate (up to 27% in Boston). Patients with pneumonia under osteopathic care had a death rate of less than 10%, as opposed to 33% of medically treated cases.”
Patterson, PhD, Osteopathic Methods and the Great Flu Pandemic of 1917-1918: JAOA – Vol. 100 – No 5 – May 2000 – 309-328
“Mortality rates for flu patients working with a homeopath averaged 0.70%. For those patients suffering with flu complicated by pneumonia – the death rate averaged 3.4% or less. The mortality rate for patients with the flu in the care of ordinary medical doctors averaged 6%, and for those with flu complicated by pneumonia – between 25% and 30%.”
Eldridge C. Price. Therapeutic efficiency in the treatment of epidemic influenza. Hahnemannian Monthly 1919; 54: 721-739.
an article by Dr. Alicia Landman-Reiner
A discussion of the implications of the Covid19 pandemic and a thoughtful perspective on the opportunities presented by social distancing.
Click here to read more
an article by Dr. Georg Soldner
What is a virus, how does it attack the human organism, and how can we respond?
Click here to read more
to Humans
a poem by Kristin Flyntz
Click here to read
an article by Dr. Philip Incao
An epidemic, like many things in life, seems at first easy to understand, but on deeper examination becomes surprisingly complex.
Click here to read more
Additional Resources and Events of Interest:
Breathing in the Time of a Pandemic: Newsletter from the Denver Center for Anthroposophic Therapies
Nursing Support and External Applications for Fever and Chest Congestion: Recording of the 90-minute webinar presented on Thursday, April 2, 2020 by NAANA and PAAM
The Sacred Gateway: Online Conference: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying and the Journey Beyond, April 17-19, 2020