It seems to me that there are two pandemics, one of fear and anxiety and the other of the Corona Virus. In order to stay physically and mentally well, it is very important to remember that fear and anxiety will rapidly undermine the immune response, so we need to take care of both pandemics. Many people around the world are responding with immense generosity and kindness and a great deal of knowledge and this too is spreading more and more rapidly throughout the world. It is important to pay attention to this positive wave and to support it, align with it and make good use of it as well.
Dealing with Fear and Anxiety:
Make sure the people you ask for help are themselves calm, stable and capable of supporting you in this situation. It is not helpful to end up with a practitioner or friend who is themselves in a state of anxiety. Should this occur, make sure you keep tapping throughout the conversation and even afterwards, so that you do not end up carrying someone else’s fear as well.
- There are excellent corona virus specific EFT tapping meditations made available for free by Nick Ortner at The Tapping Solution, and through the Tapping Solution App (Google Play/App Store) for smartphone or tablet. Nick is always quick to respond to global concerns and creates great tapping meditations. Instructions on how to tap/use EFT is also available on his site.
- Another rich and informative site for EFT resources, including practitioner lists and course information, is EFT Universe.
- YouTube will offer tapping scripts as well, but I recommend you watch things posted by professionals who will calmly and steadily guide you to calm and steady yourself, and avoid well meaning videos that do not focus on your direct wellbeing.
Immune System Support
As mentioned earlier, it is well known that fear and anxiety and worry undermine the immune functions. We are currently all inundated with news, advice, speculation and opinions. Our minds are busy and full of worry about the future. This burdens our Spleen Energy function and it would be really useful to do daily self care to keep our Spleen Energy functioning as well as possible in the circumstances.
Below are a number of suggestions and possibilities, and your body and soul will both thank you for doing regular Jin Shin Jyutsu for 1/2 hr to 1 hr every day or as often as you are able. Even holding your fingers one by one until a pulse is felt is beneficial, especially as holding fingers help clear energy congestion in the chest, and so supports your respiratory system.
- The sequence of Jin Shin Jyutsu holds that supports the Spleen function can be found on this download page. If you cannot reach down to your ankle for this flow, simply leave out the first step, hold the pubic bone instead. This page also contains THE immune system quickie, the ‘Coathanger Flow’. This will support the activation (over the shoulder point), the elimination (groin point) and regeneration (centre of seat bone point) of your immune system. It is easy to do while sitting up, watching TV or chatting, or lying down and resting. If you do come down with symptoms, these points can be held through out the day to help your body fight the virus and build anti=bodies.
- For tiredness, fatigue, overwhelm and needing to get centered, the best sequence is the Main Central, which is available here. When you do this flow, make sure your arms and elbows are supported by pillows so there is no strain through your shoulders. This is also a flow you can give to others at home, on a bed or massage table. Make sure your upper body is supported and upright so that you do not strain your back in any way.
- For helping others in your household during your isolation, the opposite fingers and toes flow is easy and comfortable to do. You just need two chairs at right angles to each other, so one person can place their leg over the other person’s lap to allow comfortable access to both hands and feet. This gets all the energies of the body flowing and communicating with one another. If you are on your own, you can do it by doing each hand and foot one after the other. Again, make sure you are comfortable, and if you cannot reach your feet, simply concentrate on the hands.
- For the anxiety about scarcity, for loneliness, and for panic-buying urges it is very helpful to support the Stomach Function energy, also known in Jin Shin Jyutsu as the Descending Anterior Flow. This flow can be found on this download page, on the rear/back, as the 2nd sequence. The first is the spleen sequence also on the ‘Coathanger’ page, and the third is the Bladder Function sequence which is excellent at reducing fear. Stomach Function energy helps us digest the many changes, ramifications, projections, etc. It will help us to sort through all the thinking we have to do and come up with creative solutions and see new possibilities. If you are up for the challenge the Bladder Function sequence (descending posterior flow) on this page will be an additional immune system boost and will help metabolise all the stress hormones running wild at the moment.
Mindfulness and Cultivating Calm
It is important for your physical and mental health to not get caught up more than is necessary in stress inducing panic and give your mind and soul a break. Here are just a few suggestions for cultivating calm, but there are as many possibilities as there are creative people.
- Breathing: breathe as smoothly and calmly and steadily as you can at regular intervals throughout the day. Let go all the worries and focus on the in and out streaming of the breath. Imagine that a loving universe is exhaling its loving energy into you as you inhale, and that you in return exhale love and gratitude back into the bountiful universe. This virus seems to most strongly affect the lungs, so we need to strengthen our lungs, and the immune system in our lungs. If we breathe in fear we weaken our lung immunity. Our immune system is strengthened when we feel loved, safe and capable. Choosing to do this simple meditation strengthens your sense of being in charge and capable, it creates a sense of safety within the universe, and oxygenates our body. Breathing steadily and smoothly regulates the heart which in turns regulates the brain. Paying more attention to the breath in your chest enhances this (rather than the breath in your nose, for example).
- Nature. Being in nature and paying attention to the trees, the wind, the clouds, etc., has a great calming effect on the nervous system. Use your windows, your garden, your houseplants, or if you can, exercise outside and take time to notice the natural world, letting your worries relax for a moment at least. This is easier to do when you are able to walk or move. If you really are stuck inside, use your creative mind and go for a wonderful walk in your imagination.
- Presence. Deliberately take time out to live in the present, focus on what you are physically doing right now. This is good when you are doing routine actions, from getting dressed to doing dishes. By paying attention to the present moment we create more of a sense of our being. We are beings having an unprecedented experience, but we are still the same BEINGS we always were. When our sense of BEING takes precedence over our sense of HAVING we create distance, and incidentally also strengthen our Lung Function energy. Through mindful attention and awareness of the present we also stay grounded more easily.
- Media Dosing. Choose wisely when you access the media and why. It is vital to stay informed and up to date in a situation that is changing daily. However, because both mainstream and social media are saturated with only one topic, it seems like, it is also important to take media breaks, deliberately taking and making time to assimilate the information you’ve received and come to yourself. This is very important in the effort to stay healthy. It is also vital to stay connected when social isolation is mandatory. But choose to connect to people, groups and initiatives that are kind, calm, and helpful. For example, Avaaz has an initiative to create Viral Kindness and connect people who want to offer help or need help.
Stay well and practise love and calmness in difficult times. Tineke