The Expense of Fighting off A Cold Naturally - Looking at the Big Picture

honey, ginger, lemon, neti pot and the book that inspired this blog

I was not dressed warm enough for an extensive morning walk in November.  Mowgli woke me up one morning and I was outside at 7am which was earlier than usual.  I should have gone back inside to get a scarf at least, but decided against it, which was an unwise decision.  



It was a gorgeous day regardless and I explored some areas in the park I had not been to in a while; I discovered new benches around the pond at Central Park South that I used to do some seated and standing yoga asanas after I had stopped many times to enjoy the fall foliage and to take photos.  
  
Two days later, I woke up feeling off (throat, sinuses, ears), however I made it through a corporate event with freshly brewed ginger tea and a ginger-syrup drink a friend of ours made as well as a brief meditation prior to the event.

After work I decided to slow down to turn the symptoms around and strengthen my immune system knowing that we would be leaving for Mexico a few days later and I had a lot of things to do.  
Corresponding with two friends resulted in the realization that, indeed,  I needed to buy lemons and honey.   
For some reason, despite the fact that I find lemons really important, I stopped buying them on a regular basis.  Why?  Because drinking just water in the morning on an empty stomach was easier than cutting fresh lemon and adding it which is what I mostly used them for. 

One of my friend's advise was black tea with lemon and honey.
At the health food store (Westerley's), I realized how much money I spent buying three items; the lemons had to be organic, the honey was local and I also added organic ginger; I did not use black tea that would have kept me up all night. I think it was at least $25 if not $30 for these three items.  

Looking at the big picture I decided once again that I rather spend more money on organic medicinal food to deal with the challenge on root level (immune system) than buy over-the counter drugs or possibly add a doctor's visit in case it would get worse, lose days of work down the road and only mask the challenge.        
The entire episode lasted about two days, I had strengthened my immune system naturally; ginger warms the body which does wonders for a cold, and the ginger-honey-lemon concoction is delicious.
The ginger was freshly grated as per my friend Takako's advise, and I added lots of lemon and honey.  Sweet, sour and spicy, delicious, AND I was taking care of myself.  In between I drank herb teas (oregano, mint, sage) or just room temperature water.
I should add that I also ate the ginger and sometimes even the lemon (zero composting).  Additional home remedies used along the way:

• neti pot (to clear the sinuses)
• Dien Cham sniffle protocol done a couple of times; it takes less than a minute
• Diem Cham Standard session done once it takes less than 2 minutes but I like resting a few minutes afterward and following along the breath, or focus on the body's internal sensations
• Hand Reflexology focusing on the following reflexes 2-3 times: thymus, lungs, sinuses, lymphatic drainage; 
• Tom Yum Gong (Thai soup at Wondee's; I ordered it as spicy as possible; I had to add some water as it turned out too spicy and I was still crying my eyes out.  What did the waitresses think?  Anyway, spiciness creates heat which is what you want to get the cold out that invaded your body; Marie-France Muller is very clear about that.  
• I am sure I did breath work as well, because I do some most nights and mornings.  
• Using my herbs pack would have been another option.  However, I lent both of them to a friend who needed them more; he was scheduled to have surgery for hernia and had a tense rotator cuff.  He told me he was using one cold the other hot after surgery and is loving them (so happy to hear that), and in addition he got some as Christmas presents for his dad and brother.    

Now if my approach sounds like a lot of effort to you, I am assuring you, it is just a matter of priorities.  I do whatever I can as I go along; if I can't do neti, because I am too tired to get up, I do the sniffle protocol.  If I can't have Thai Soup, I have hot ginger tea, etc. 

Naturally it helps that I am very curious about healing and self care and that I am a wellness professional.  It also helps that I immediately notice when I develop symptoms (the benefits of practicing yoga and breath work).  In addition, since I did not grow up taking over the counter drugs, the option to visit the drug store is just not ingrained in my system.
   
What I have noticed is that if I get sick while asleep, it can be a bit more difficult to turn a cold around than when it happens during the day, in which case I may be able to do something immediately.

By the way, I left for Mexico (post will follow) completely healthy and did not miss work.  The effort paid off and I had a great topic for a blog post.  
The good news is, it is never to late to truly start taking care of yourself.  I advise to take care of a cold immediately, pay attention to the sniffles, get ginger and/or lemon, get a good night's sleep, take a hot bath, take a nap, in other words do something, it will pay off.  Work with your body not against it. 

BIRGIT 
Reflexology/LVCYT (Chair Yoga)
(917) 664-5792
www.ban-chi.net