SUMMER 2020 - $4.95
SYSTEMIC RACISM
HOW IT CAN AFFECT OUR WELLBEING
WOMEN ON THE FRONT LINES:
How SEVEN People Dealt With the Realities of COVID-19 Crisis
HOTEL SPA TREATMENTS
YOU CAN MAKE AT HOME
Cover Photo: American Hotel Sharon Springs, New York page 3
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PAGE 5: TRAVEL & WELLNESS
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HOTEL SPA TREATMENTS YOU CAN MAKE AT HOME
PAGE 11: PERSONAL HEALTH
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BENDING THE KNEE
30 EDIBLE PLANTS
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SYSTEMIC RACISM HOW IT CAN AFFECT OUR WELLBEING
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WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINES
WHAT'S IN THE FRIDGE
PAGE 35: SELF CARE
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TRAINING MY BOSSY BLADDER
HOW TO AVOID BEING SICK WHEN YOU TRAVEL
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YOGA IN YOUR GOLDEN YEARS
46 BEING BI-POLAR
PAGE 45: SPIRITUALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH
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Charu Suri PUBLISHER Wellness Interactive Branding, LLC® FOUNDER & PRESIDENT Desiree Watson EDITOR Charu Suri COPY EDITOR Laurel Dowswell ART DIRECTOR Deborrah McDowell-Davis
Dear readers: In these most challenging of times, I often have to remind myself to look at the glass halffull. Over the past few weeks, while the world has watched America scramble with sharp rises in the cases of the novel coronavirus, and the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement in numerous cities, I have realized how hard it is not to dwell on the negative past. But dwelling on the past (and constantly criticizing it) can be detrimental if we want to move forward and conquer the seemingly impossible obstacles we face these days. I am particularly proud of this issue for many reasons. In our summer read, we look closely at some of the most important topics affecting our wellbeing today: systemic racism, and how to manage the constant toxicity of being overlooked and unheard. We also interviewed smart Black-owned wellness brands that will shape the future—these are some missions we can support. In our story, “Women on the Frontlines,” we’ve looked at realities facing women who have suddenly become the caregivers of their family, but how they are coping with hardships. Finding positivity is quite hard during such challenging times, but the silver lining is exactly what we need to strive for. We’ve looked at how creative you can be with items that you find in your fridge. And how to bring that hotel spa treatment into your routine even if you’re understandably nervous about traveling right now. We’ve covered how yoga is truly for everyone, even if you’re approaching your sixties. After a bi-polar diagnosis, one writer chronicled how she learned to love herself. In the end, I keep reminding myself that the best way to look ahead is by being resourceful; so this issue is all about resourcefulness and practical ways we can make magic out of even a weed, that humble dandelion. Oscar Wilde said, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Together, we can get through these tough times and stay well and healthy, and most importantly, happy. Send us your thoughts to: WellnessLoungeMag@gmail.com.
Charu Suri
VP, SALES & MARKETING Ngbita Wallace BRAND MANAGER Elizabeth Beyer-Partin SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Jade Gunver CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kelly Bevan Heide Brades Deborah Burst Laurel Dowswell Becca Hensley Lola Mendez Sheryl Nance Nash Robbie Norris Charu Suri www.wellnessinteractive.com
ATTENTION:
The editorial content in the Wellness Lounge® magazine is for educational purposes only and is not intended to, nor should be construed as, medical advice and/or efforts to diagnose, treat or prescribe for any human disease, pain, injury, deformation, or physical condition. The editorial content in the Wellness Lounge® is not intended to, nor should it be construed as , a substitute for the advice or treatment of a health care professional prior to engaging in any alternative treatment or diet for exercise regimen discussed in the Wellness Lounge®, and/or relying upon or using any educational/informational information provided by or obtained from, the Wellness Lounge ®. Under no circumstance shall the Wellness Lounge® or its employees, independent contractors and/or agents be liable to a reader for any damages or injury arising out of, or related to, the editorial content of Wellness Lounge®, including but not limited to, the reader’s use or reliance upon, or the reader’s inability to use or rely upon, information provided by, or obtained from, Wellness Lounge® All rights reserved. Wellness Interactive Branding, LLC® is not responsible for unsolicited manuscript images, or other materials. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of Wellness Interactive Branding, LLC®.
4 • Travel & Wellness
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Travel & Wellness Page
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Hotel Spa Treatments You Can Make at Home These easy ingredients can quickly transform your day and help you “travel.�
6 • Travel & Wellness
These easy ingredients can quickly transform your day and help you “travel.” By Becca Hensley
“When we pause, allow a gap and breathe deeply,
we can experience instant refreshment.
Suddenly, we slow down, and there’s the world,” wrote American Tibetan Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron. She might have been talking about the positive results of our current quarantine syndrome, as scores of people slow down, simplify, and re-evaluate the consequences of their former high-speed lifestyles. With most spas and beauty salons closed for business, a shift to effortless, unpretentious, all-natural beauty has been trending along with that pause—even in posts by celebrities as diverse as Kylie Jenner, Will Smith, Ariana Grande, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Follow their examples when you whip up these healing, DIY spa treatments with ordinary ingredients found in your kitchen cabinets. Recipes are courtesy of some of the world’s best spas. Here’s to—as Chodron said—“instant refreshment!”
7 • Travel & Wellness
REFRESHING TOMATO FACE MASK from Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavis Marbella Resort, Spain
Ingredients • 1/2 ripe tomato • 1 Tbsp honey Tomatoes have a mild acid, which brightens skin tone, and can reduce the appearance of blemishes. Honey is moisturizing, and holds antibacterial properties. This mask is fairly easy to make: blend the tomato with honey until it becomes a paste. Gently apply the paste to your face, avoiding the eye area. Leave it on for 15 minutes and wash off with cold water. Then, pat the skin dry with a clean towel. This simple ritual can leave you refreshed in minutes.
DIY BATH SALTS FOR RELAXATION from The Palms + The Shore Club, Turks & Caicos
Ingredients: • 1 cup sea salt • 1/2 cup baking soda • Handful of chamomile tea leaves Sea salt baths have long been touted for their all-over therapeutic and healing properties, as well as their ability to reduce stress and boost overall health. Chamomile tea contains a trove of antioxidants, which can fight free-radical damage and can help tighten pores. It’s also a way to relax the body. For this spa ritual, it helps to prepare your sanctuary: light a few candles and turn on some music; have your partner entertain the kids. Then, fill a tub with hot water, toss the ingredients into the brew—and soak your stresses away
8 • Travel & Wellness
VIVIANA’S GROUND COFFEE AND BROWN SUGAR BODY SCRUB from Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
Ingredients: • 1/2 cup ground coffee • 1/2 cup brown sugar • 1/2 cup coconut or olive oil • Optional: add one or two drops of aromatherapy oils, such as lavender (for relaxation) or orange (mood booster) “This scrub helps replenish moisture, eliminate dead skin, and stimulate the body’s natural process to produce new skin cells,” says Senior Spa Director Viviana Casada. Coffee stimulates circulation, reduces the appearance of cellulite, and boasts antioxidants aplenty. Combine the ingredients and let the mixture sit for ten minutes. Lather the scrub all over your body. Be gentle around sensitive areas, but don’t forget to scrub elbows and knees. It’s best to leave the scrub for a few minutes to allow the oil to soak into the skin. Rinse, for an immediate glow (this one is not recommended for the face).
ROSEMARY AND PARSLEY NECK TONIC from One & Only The Palm Guerlain Spa
Ingredients: • 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary • Half a liter of whole or skimmed milk • Cotton pads. Rich in antioxidants, parsley and rosemary from the garden eliminate impurities, accelerate wound healing, tone, and keep your skin looking younger and firmer. Milk moisturizes and lightens the skin. Place the parsley and rosemary in a bowl. Heat some milk (use skim milk for oily skin). Once it boils, remove from heat, and combine with herbs. Let the mixture cool, and strain it to remove large pieces of herbs. You can be as generous or stingy with it as you like: store it in the refrigerator, and apply every morning and evening for optimal results.
9 • Travel & Wellness
MOISTURIZING FACE MASK from The Silo Hotel, Cape Town
Ingredients: • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder • 1 tablespoon sour cream • 1 tablespoon honey • 1 egg white (no yolk) The sour cream in this concoction (derived from lactic acid) helps with hydration and gives a light exfoliation. Honey acts as a humectant, moisturizing without an oiliness, and the egg white’s protein firms and tightens the skin. Mix everything together until you have an even consistency (the more you mix, the better the consistency). Slather on face. Leave on for 15-20 minutes, then rinse with cool water.
OATMEAL SUGAR GLOW FACIAL SCRUB from Heckfield Place, Hampshire, England
Ingredients: • 1 tablespoon oatmeal • 1 tablespoon brown sugar • 1 tablespoon honey • 1 tablespoon any essential oil available Oatmeal is a natural exfoliator, which soothes and calms troubled skin. Brown sugar hydrates and exfoliates, and honey can cleanse without stripping or drying skin while protecting against future breakouts. Grind the oatmeal and brown sugar into a fine powder using a coffee grinder or blender. Add honey, essential oil, and enough water to make a paste-like consistency. Apply scrub to your skin, and gently massage using small, circular motions for several minutes. Leave on face to dry—five or ten minutes and pat dry.
10 • Travel & Wellness
SHINY HAIR MASK from Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Ingredients: • 1 avocado (or banana) • 1 raw egg • 1 tablespoon coconut oil • 1 tablespoon honey Avocado combats dry hair, while soothing and stimulating the scalp. Banana adds shine and inhibits dandruff. Egg provides a protein boost, while coconut oil enriches to defy split ends. Honey is both a humectant and emollient, which also provides shine. Mix these ingredients together and leave on dry hair for 15-20 minutes. Afterwards, thoroughly wash hair with a gentle shampoo.
INVIGORATING PEPPERMINT FOOT SCRUB from Sonesta Ocean Point Resort, Sint Maarten
Ingredients: • 1 ½ cups brown sugar • ½ cup coconut oil • Peppermint essential oil (or a dollop of minty toothpaste, if you don’t have any oil) • ½ cup Epsom salt/dead sea salts/ bath salts— any salt • Moisturizer of your choice • Vaseline (optional for dry, cracked heels)
Make the scrub. Pour sugar into a medium-sized bowl, add coconut oil slowly, while folding in sugar. The consistency should be smooth and not too oily. Add 10 drops of peppermint essential oil or a few dollops of minty toothpaste. Scoop the mixture into a jar and store in a cool, dark, dry area.
TOOLS • Foot basin, bucket, or your bathtub • 2 bath towels • 1 bathmat (To collect scrub which will fall during treatment; makes cleanup easier) • Socks • Pumice stone or foot file • Medium bowl • Large spoon for mixing • Jar to store scrub
To use the mix, fill a basin with warm water and add salt. Soak your feet for ten minutes. Then, remove your right foot from the water, pat it dry with a towel, and scrub with the sugar mixture. You can work vigorously from the top of the foot to the heel area. Repeat with the left foot. It’s
also fine to use a pumice stone for calluses if needed. Dry feet with a towel and apply moisturizer (and Vaseline for dry, cracked heels). Place socks on your feet and do your happy dance.
In a writing career that spans three decades, award winning journalist and poet Becca Hensley has reserved a special place in her heart for the healing powers of spa culture, and enjoyed the opportunity to report on its virtues. Her work has appeared in hundreds of publications including Conde Nast Traveler, Organic Spa, Chicago Tribune, Modern Luxury and the Houston Chronicle.
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Personal Health Page
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Women On the Frontlines: How Seven People Dealt With the Realities of COVID-19 Crisis
12 • Personal Health
13 • Personal Health
By Charu Suri
S
ome of us have gone through the hardest months of our lives.
civil unrest have been the ways for unheard voices to express themselves.
The protests in numerous U.S. cities for the “Black Lives Matter” movement and calls to end police brutality have left many shocked, saddened, but also hopeful for positive change.
But the deeply-rooted prejudices that have permeated society for centuries have also taken a sizable toll on human health and wellbeing. Reni EddoLodge, the author of the book, “Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race” has written, “White privilege is an absence of the consequences of racism. An absence of structural discrimination, an absence of your race being viewed as a problem first and foremost.”
Discrimination and racial justice are not new topics in America. From preCivil War times to the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, mass protests and
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Dr. Branson Boykins,
assistant professor and core faculty for the Couple and Family Therapy Program at Alliant International University, says that systemic racism is a disease in our society because often, it does not want to hear the voices of people of color. “Often, people talk about racism and it leads us to a conversation based on personal experience, but not understanding factual knowledge that has happened for decades,” he says.
“People often say, ‘If we go to church more’ or ‘If we just loved another’ it will be okay,” says Dr. Boykins . But understanding racism is a complex issue because it goes far beyond single incidents in a community. “People of color, when they talk about racism, are much more likely to talk about institutional racism as opposed to single acts here and there because they experience so much of it in their daily lives. We just live in a country where the system has shown favoritism to some, and discriminatory barriers to others.”
These types of barriers can deeply affect our wellbeing in various ways: a study that appeared in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2019 looked into the ways racism affects child and adolescent health. The Journal of Counseling Psychology reported in 2011 that perceived racism may impact Black Americans’ mental health.
Dr. Luz Claudio, a tenured professor at the Mount
Sinai School of Medicine, says that systemic racism affects the health of minorities in various ways. “Think about the stress that being discriminated against causes your neighbor, your friend, or your colleague,” she says. “These everyday experiences of racism cause stress that can affect health and wellbeing. The killing of people of color, especially black men, are some of the most horrendous events that we have witnessed as a society now displayed in phone videos. We are now witnessing other racist attitudes and actions by regular people with the examples of the "Karen" videos, videos showing harassment of people of color. People of color experience aggressions like these constantly and these chip away at individuals' health and wellness.”
Liz Beyer-Partin,
a Caucasian who is married to a black man, says that her mind is filled with images of black men who have been targeted and killed in the United States. “My husband is my best friend. He is loving, hysterical, and such a wonderful father. But that will not matter if he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she says. “You know what will not matter? The witnesses that say he did nothing wrong. The video showing that he did nothing wrong. His huge heart, infectious smile, and beautiful mind. He will not matter,” she laments.
For many, this particular fear is palpable and all too real. The stress associated with simply surviving can be astronomical. Those who live without the fear of being prejudiced don’t necessarily understand what minorities often go through.
Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and senator
serving the state of California, says that racism is the biggest public health issue that America is facing. “It is truly a disease,” he says. As a pediatrician, he has observed how it has significant adverse effects on health through implicit and explicit biases, institutional structures, and interpersonal relationships.
15 • Personal Health
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT? What we need to do is to listen to people who have been researching this topic and think beyond controlled events.
“
Barack Obama recently wrote an article on Medium.com, where he said that “the point of protest is to raise public awareness, to put a spotlight on injustice, and to make the powers that be uncomfortable; in fact, throughout American history, it’s often only been in response to protests and civil disobedience that the political system has even paid attention to marginalized communities. But eventually, aspirations have to be translated into specific laws and institutional practices.”
While instituting specific laws is often not in our hands, there are many things that people, in general, can do to create opportunities for those who may not be given those chances. Dr. Boykins advises that if you have anger, paranoia, or varying levels of depression, including sadness and lack of motivation, some of those feelings can be quite normal. “I don’t want to quickly jump in and say, seek therapy or health,” he advises. “There may be better resources, such as community centers, or getting support from certain agencies, or leaning towards spirituality.” With technology and social media, there are groups and spaces where you can talk about this and normalize what is presented. “The power of group counseling is that a lot of what you’re feeling internally can be normalized, and some of your feelings can be reduced just by hearing others,” he says.
Dr. Melissa Deuter, director of Sigma Mental Health in San Antonio Texas, advises that if you see systemic racism, call it out. “Name it,” she says. “Lay the blame where it belongs. Shine the light of awareness on the problem wherever it exists. Talk to others who experience inequity. Advocate for diversity. Recruit allies within the leadership or the institutions that need to change their policies. Join organizations that fight injustice and use your voice to support efforts to create change.” These steps are necessary because physical and mental health symptoms like immune dysfunction, fatigue, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and helplessness can occur. “Self-blame and even shame can result,” she says. We can also read literature and get better educated about the issues associated with systemic racism. Some
books include, “White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism,” by Robin DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson; “Black Families in Therapy” by Nancy Boyd-Franklin; “Overcoming our Racism” by Derald Wing Sue; and “Counseling Persons of African Descent” by Thomas Parham. Reading articles and donating to sites like the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI.org) are a good idea because they illuminate current issues and also work hard to mobilize efforts for change. A good idea is to take a step back and just listen. Often, being understanding, empathetic, and supportive are the constructive steps needed to ensure that underrepresented voices are finally heard.
16 • Personal Health
One of the best ways you can take control of your wellbeing but also discover new voices in wellness is by looking at these shape-shifting businesses owned by Black men and women. Here are six:
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1 MAWUSI ARNETT, BYTE WELLNESS (Bytewellness.com) TAWN WILLIAMS, BLOOM HEALING ARTS (BloomHealingArts.co) This Arizona, Wisconsin resident started Bloom Healing Arts because she felt that many people start their spiritual wellness journey and initially identify with popular trends like yoga. “But what often happens is, if we don’t like yoga, a lot of people stop there and say, this isn’t for me,” she says. Williams wanted to bring instructors of all modalities into one space, to offer solutions to people to explore what works best for them at their particular levels. “Each one has a gift. I truly believe that, and unfortunately, when people don’t discover that, we all miss out.” Bloom Healing Arts offers online wellness classes for individuals and corporations, consulting services, coaching, on-site masterclasses, retreats, and more. The online wellness classes, which start as little as $10 per individual for unlimited classes each month, are a great value and can help you pick and choose the sessions you want or need at this time, from yoga to meditation. The online platform, a new offering partly due to the pandemic, is virtual and live and so there are no prerecorded classes, but it still gives a sense of community and participants can interact with each other. Courses include breathwork, energy work, healing, reiki, and mindset, and the instructors are global.
Let’s face it: nutrition is tough! But Evanston, Indiana resident Mawusi Arnett, who recently completed her residency at Northwestern University, aims to provide nutrition tips, wellness training (essentially mini-courses), all delivered via text messages. “Byte Wellness is built with the experience of Black women in mind,” she explains, based on the patterns of nutrition she has found in this community, which are different from the needs of other ethnic minorities. Working at the Lake Forest Hospital, she noticed health patterns that started to emerge among the Latino and Black communities who lived in the surrounding area. “The pattern I started to see is that some of the behavioral interventions were far more effective than the medicines she prescribed, particularly for the women who came in with high blood pressure, diabetes, and lack of access to healthy food. People living in “food deserts” –a location where the average resident would have to travel to access fresh produce. “Food swamps” are also a problem,” she says (flooded with poor food quality options). BYTE Wellness was created to help people gain control over some of the structural factors and physical environments that can harm healthy outcomes. Some of the text message mini-courses include a 10-week introduction to plant-based eating, including plant-based fats and proteins. “Pairing foods like lentils with grains, bean burritos, or rice are the deep insights you get with the text messages, and how to do that when your time is limited,” she said. There’s a nominal $10 monthly subscription.
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CHAUNA BRYANT, BREATHWORK (ChaunaBryant.com) A full-time Pilates instructor who has been practicing for 11 years, Chauna Bryant started leading Breathwork sessions while doing research in Southern California, but now resides in Washington D.C. “I had clients who would show up for my wellness sessions while going 100 miles a minute, and I taught them to just slow down and take deep breaths,” she laughs, explaining how her interest and Breathwork practice was born. She did training for it in New Mexico in 2017, up a mountain near Albuquerque, and realized that the breathing techniques she learned from a man called David Elliott made her and her clients feel truly present. She typically leads these sessions during the summer, but now offers online sessions for those who need them. She is passionate about creating opportunities for people of color to go to breathwork training. “There’s something really powerful in representation,” she says. Prices for her classes range from $80-$130; participation in a group Breathing Circle costs $36, and she offers two $45 sessions monthly for BIPOC or members of the LGBTQ community. Weekly meditations are on her Instagram channel.
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LIFE SCHNEIDER, VEGAN MIA ORGANICS (Veganmia.com) “My parents were hippies, and I was born in a commune in Los Angeles,” explains Schneider, who has lived all over the world, including Maui and Kona on The Big Island. Her “tumultuous” childhood included her living with her grandmother in South Central Los Angeles, and after she secured her legal degree from Georgetown Law, she lived in Germany, where she discovered so many quality cosmetics and skincare products. “Europe is careful about its skincare and has banned so many ingredients in skincare products that are bad for you,” she explains why she created the PETA certified Vegan Mia Organics. After her son developed eczema, she started developing products that really helped him, free of preservatives and animal derivatives. Vegan Mia’s serums and elixirs not only smell great, they are also great for the skin. The Clarity elixir brightens, and the Harmony elixir is filled with adaptogenic herb extracts that help with stress. It also has licorice and marshmallow root extracts. The recently-launched company features all oilbased products ($59-$65 each), so there are no preservatives. Each product comes in a colorful, beautifully-designed package.
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BERNADETTE PLEASANT, LIVE FEMME (theemotionalinstitute.com) Maplewood, New Jersey, resident Bernadette Pleasant, found relief from her pain through therapy. Recently, she has started to hold online grief rituals for people and has seen a huge interest in these Zoom sessions. “Emotion is a muscle, and I see a lot of people trying to put grief into some nice, neat, palatable place that doesn’t allow for the messiness of what we’re feeling right now,” she says.
LENAYA AND BRANDEN CRAWFORD, SEVIIN YOGA (Seviinyoga.com)
The in-person sessions using tribal grief remedies including African drums have transitioned to extremely popular Zoom sessions focusing on grief. “I ask my participants: what does joy feel like?” Pleasant says.
The Atlanta-based couple, LeNaya and Branden Crawford, started Seviin Yoga as a need for a more diverse community. A different vibe of yoga is what people get when they sign up for a session. “Sunlit room and music that isn’t typically upbeat is not what we’re about,” says LeNaya. “We play hip hop, rock, and we give instructors the freedom to express their type of yoga. We are also in an LED-lit studio, so the color of the class aligns with the chakra that needs to open,” she says.
Creator of “The Emotional Institute”—a place where people can learn about emotions and understand you and yourself better (its offerings include Femme!, a lifestyle movement inspired by African, Tribal and free dance and rhythms), Pleasant is passionate about bringing people together to connect the dots between sensual movements, vocalization, and emotional healing.
The response to their brand of yoga has been extremely well-received, and the studio attracts a wide demographic of young practitioners as well as folks in their sixties, “as well as a good deal of men who come,” she says. But the studio does have a large following from people of color. It currently offers tiers of membership: five classes for $55, and unlimited lessons for $95 per month.
Pleasant is not immune to all the emotional challenges people are facing right now. “I have never felt so heartbroken that it has taken so much for eyes to open,” she says of the Black Lives Matter movement. “And on top of a pandemic.” She feels there will be a lot more focus on grief, and how people grieve is changing. “There’s a lot of guilt for people who are taking a look at racism right now, and having their eyes open.” Pleasant also does individual consultations and prices for her sessions vary, but she welcomes everyone regardless of what they are able to pay.
Charu Suri is a freelance writer and musician, and the editor of Wellness Lounge.® She is an amateur yogi.
19 • Personal Health
There are 200+ Black-owned restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and more in the Bay Area! Here are a few.
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Anthony's Cookies Red Bay Coffee Claire's Crunch Cakes Brown Estate Vineyard Cupcakin’ Bake Shop
• Brown Es-
tate Vineyards
• Red Bay Coffee
20 • Personal Health
By Deborah Morris-Harris MD
T
he Hebrew word berek means “knee”; its cognate barak means to “kneel”. The knee in Hebrew scriptures is a source of power and strength. Genuflexion, bending the knee, is an expression of honor and a declaration of subservience to a greater power. To bend the knee implies a volitional lowering of one’s position vertically in an act of humility and reverence. In the kneeling position, adoration and spiritual appellations flow naturally from hurting hearts. Deep contrition and anguish bring most humans to their knees. Prayers of supplication plead for divine intervention in the affairs of men. Liberation Theology entreats a delivering God to restore justice and relieve oppression.
The Biblical account of Hebrew slavery and God’s miraculous rescue have fueled the hopes and imaginations of generations of enslaved peoples. A God who not only hears the cries of the downtrodden, but who decisively intervenes on their behalf is to be worshipped. But kneeling acknowledges an inner deeper bending, recounting the perfect humility of Christ saying, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Why then do liberators in contemporary protests make a public display of ‘taking a knee’? The power of kneeling not only denotes a call for God’s justice and a plea for a path forward in the sea of injustice, but it reveals the reality that human solutions are impotent to effect change. Prayer power circumvents cleverly crafted policies, academic discussions, fact-finding studies and decades of feeble attempts to right injustice. Spiritual
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“
Deep contrition and anguish bring most humans to their knees. Prayers of supplication plead for divine intervention in the affairs of men.
intervention changes hearts and humbles wills. Walls of hatred and separation crumble suddenly and in unexpected ways. In 1956, at the end of the year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott and numerous death threats, Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) had an epiphany. His mission was justice and non-violent protest and prayer power became the tactics of “the movement”. The Civil Right Acts of 1957 and 1964 followed. However, legislation did little to squelch rage or bring down bigotry. In the iconic 1965 photo taken in Selma after ‘Bloody Sunday”, Martin Luther King led kneeling protestors in public prayer. The Voting Rights act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 began to rip the fabric of structural racism. In 2016, Colin Kaepernick, fifty-one years after Selma, again brought the power of ‘taking a knee’ into public discourse. Protesting the killing of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and one hundred and fourteen other black men in that year,
Kaepernick kneeled as a symbolic entreaty for God to right the wrongs of racial injustice administered by those with a duty to serve and protect. He chose to kneel in honor of a greater power, rather than stand for democracy and nationalism, lesser gods, impotent to right the wrongs that had been inflicted. In 2020, Derek Chauvin ‘took a knee’ of oppression, in honor of the spirit that kills, steals, and destroys. For eight minutes and forty-six seconds he used policy, position, and privilege to asphyxiate a prone, hand-cuffed man. But peaceful protestors, beleaguered by weeks of pandemic anxiety, unemployment, escalating divisive and hateful political rhetoric, outraged over a nationally televised murder, took to their knees and caused the country to step back from the brink of implosion.
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By Lola Mendez
“
How SEVEN People Dealt With the Realities of COVID-19 Crisis
Women are particularly affected by the increased demand for emotional labor from this collective grief and trauma our communities face during this pandemic.
A
March 2020 survey from the Pew Research Center found that 47% of women say their personal life has changed drastically during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nearly half of the women said childcare responsibilities have been a struggle, and Pew also reports that women of all ages are more likely to experience high distress. The time for wellness has become scarce during the pandemic, which has blurred the boundaries between work and home life during quarantine, and diminished physical and social support due to social distancing and mandatory lockdowns. We spoke to some women about the harsh realities they’re facing during the COVID-19 crisis, and what they’re doing to ease their worries.
Coping With the Loss of a Loved One Pennsylvanian Lissa Poirot has eye cancer and went through radiation in February. In March, her fiancé was tragically killed. Soon after, she went into lockdown with her two teenagers before they could plan a memorial. “I’m still awaiting the results of my radiation to find out if my tumor is gone while I grieve his sudden loss,” she says. “My fiancé was a rock to me; he managed the finances, and took care of me when I was going through treatment. If the quarantine would have started a week earlier, perhaps he would be here with me, trapped inside.”
Pet Therapy Poirot has a puppy and is taking dog walks with her kids. “Pets have healing power; they raise serotonin and dopamine levels in our brain which helps with anxiety and depression. Pets provide companionship, a sense of security, and comfort,” Noreen Iqbal, LCSW, and the founder of Olive Branch Therapy Group in New Jersey, says.
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Coping with An Unstable Job Market Julia Metraux lives in Massachusetts and graduated from university during the lockdown. She’s facing challenges with the harrowing employment landscape and dealing with an autoimmune disease, systemic urticarial vasculitis. “I’m worried that I won’t be able to find a full-time journalism job during the pandemic,” she says. “I hoped to find a job with health insurance. My biggest fear is that the pandemic will ruin my hope for the future which is difficult during massive layoffs in this industry, and it feels like most publications have frozen their budgets.”
Sleep as Self-Care Metraux is prioritizing sleep as a form of self-care. “Sleep around the same time that you usually do each day. This keeps healthy behaviors intact and provides a level of predictability in your day,” Dr. Alex Lee, a Los Angeles-based LCSW and Director of Coaching at Ria Health says.
Coping with Caretaking as a Single Mom Ruby De Santiago is a single mom in Arkansas receiving no financial support from her son’s father and is the sole provider for her family. “I’m the fun parent and the disciplinarian. I’m tired all the time; it almost feels like I have a newborn again minus the nightly feedings. I don’t have a partner to pitch in economically or emotionally. I feel alone in this parenting journey,” she says. “Being the sole source of emotional, physical, and mental comfort for my son is a heavy weight to carry on my own. I don’t have a partner to carry the burden or co-parent as my ex lives across the country.”
Prioritizing Me-Time Santiago fits in ‘me time’ whenever she can. “Self-care is critical, especially for caregivers. It’s vital to take care of yourself to be the best mom. Having a cup of tea in the morning and journaling things you’re grateful for is a short, calming activity,” Dr. Nekeshia, a psychologist at her Florida practice, Hammond Psychology & Associates, P.A., says.
24 • Personal Health
Coping with Eating Disorders During the Pandemic Lydia Rhino lives in Colorado and has been in eating disorder (ED) recovery since 2014 and is afraid of relapsing. She’s dealing with hectic grocery shopping, which is already stressful under normal circumstances. It’s been challenging for her to see body-shaming and an uptick of workout routines on social media. “I cried in the grocery store for the first time in years when items that I purchase routinely were sold out,” she says. “On social media, people are sharing home workouts, posting memes about weight gain, and emphasizing that we can control what we eat and how we exercise.”
Therapy Sessions Rhino has been reaching out for more support during the pandemic with weekly therapy sessions and virtual support groups. “I felt like I was failing at my recovery because I needed extra support; but I’ve accepted that needing more support is an act of bravery,” she says. Clinical Psychologist in California Dr. Carla Manly stresses the importance of reaching out for support before you become overwhelmed. “There’s strength, not weakness, in reaching out for support. Support groups can be incredibly helpful for boosting mental health,” she says.
Having a Loved One Who is Sick In Kansas, Kymberly Thorup is a first-grade teacher and the sole provider for her family as her husband Taylor is battling cancer. “I’m trying to hold it together. Taylor has doctor appointments throughout the week and cannot drive, no one can watch our son, and visitors aren’t allowed. It’s difficult keeping a 4-year-old entertained in a car for hours. Sometimes the appointments are last-minute and I have to have video meetings with my students in the car.”
Playing with Her Child Thorup has incorporated her son into her fitness routine. “If they don’t want to go on a walk, bring a bug jar and binoculars. If they don’t want to do yoga, try Pokémon yoga,” she says. Dr. Lee says it’s important to stay active and suggests trying new online workout videos, setting a timer for squats throughout the day, or holding a plank before bed at night.
25 • Personal Health
Coping With Loss of Work Puerto Rican Carmen Portela is the co-founder of a sustainable tour operator, Local Guest. “I’m worried about the future of the tourism industry,” she says. “I worry about the potential consequences of staying in lockdown or reopening the economy, my business failing, and my financial stability. There are days when nothing makes sense and anxiety takes a hold of me.”
Plant Therapy Portela has found caring for her 25 plants to be therapeutic. “When we’re confined indoors, it’s important to bring nature inside. Plants have a positive effect on mood because the mind equates plant life to the soothing, uplifting realm of nature,” Dr. Manly says.
Dealing With the Stress Two Family Members Hospitalized with COVID-19 Cassondra Hartsfield, a Health Insurance Specialist based in Northeast Ohio, struggled when her mother and boyfriend were hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Elizabeth Hospital as a result of COVID-19. “They went into the hospital within a week of each other,” she says, adding that not having the ability to see them in person contributed to her anxiety. “All the stress (of running the family and keeping things together) fell on my shoulders,” she says. She also worries about her son, a NCAA Student Athlete away at college in Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, who has a compromised immune system and is unable to come home and help alleviate some of his mother’s difficulties because of quarantine. “Not being able to be with my mom was hard; it was hard to simply rely on the nurses’ words,” Hartsfield said, adding that at one point, she was sure that she would lose her mother, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. Despite her mother’s release from the hospital, Hartsfield says that she still continues to battle COVID-19 related issues, including sugar levels that are out of control, as well as high blood pressure.
Music and Prayer Hartsfield turned to music to help her stress levels. “I put on whatever soothing music I was able to find online, and I prayed many times a day,” she says. She also researched online breathing techniques and other alternative medications for her mom and her boyfriend. In the end, she believes her optimism and continued prayers from family members helped her mother and boyfriend turn the corner for the better. “Emotionally, I make certain that I’m eating healthy, well-balanced meals, connecting with my family, and staying informed by fact-checking sources to find reliable information. Mentally, I remain optimistic,” she says.
Lola Méndez is an Uruguayan-American freelance journalist writing about sustainability, travel, culture, wellness, lifestyle, and more. She’s a full-time globetrotter who travels to develop her own worldview and has explored over 60 countries. Passionate about sustainable travel, she seeks out ethical experiences that benefit local communities.
26 • Personal Health
Good nutrition and tasty dishes can be found by taking a closer look at items you just may have on hand
By Sheryl Nance-Nash
Y
ou’ve probably cooked more in the last few months than you have in years. Even folks that are clueless in the kitchen during the pandemic find themselves getting familiar with the stove. No doubt, two questions top-ofmind for almost everyone are: what’s in the fridge and what’s in the pantry?
The good news is you don’t need the resources of a five-star restaurant. Basics can go a long way, and what matters most is keeping at hand ingredients that are healthy, and staples that can come together to turn out tasty meals without a great deal of trouble.
Celebrity chef David Ruggerio, who has been on PBS and the Food Network, has a grocery list for your kitchen. For the pantry, he recommends: dry beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, lentils, rice, brown, longgrain rice mixes, pasta, couscous, orzo, whole-wheat crackers, breadcrumbs, onions, sweet potatoes, garlic, wholeplum tomatoes in juice, canned and dried fruits like raisins, canned soups, broth, and bouillon, canned tuna, salmon, minced clams, peanut butter, vinegars, olive and canola oils. In the refrigerator, stock chicken breast and ground turkey breast, red snapper, salmon, veggies, fruits, low-fat or non-fat milk and yogurt, cheeses, like Parmesan, cheddar, eggs, sauces like Worcestershire, soy, teriyaki, and chili, ketchup and mustard (spicy and
Dijon), salad dressings with olive oil or reduced-fat, and sparkling water. Keep your freezer full of frozen vegetables and fruits, Ramen noodles, whole basil leaves, and 100% whole-grain breads. Those foods lay a healthy foundation for your home, and from then on, possibilities are endless. Dietitian and nutritionist, Rima Kleiner, says her ultimate superfood is seafood, be it canned, pouched or frozen. She’s big on its immune-boosting benefits, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, zinc, and vitamin D that your body needs at a time like this. One of her favorite recipes is something that you can whip up in 15 minutes, and make a brunch or light dinner.
27 • Personal Health
There’s also nothing quite so soothing as soup. Denise Bustard of the food blog, Sweet Peas and Saffron, has a Greek lentil soup that is chock full of zinc, iron, and vitamin B6. You can create your own with dried brown lentils, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, chicken or vegetable stock, tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves. A squeeze of lemon at the end will brighten flavors.
Natasha Ford, CEO of Chef Natasha, offers private cooking instruction, online workshops, and more. She says two kitchen must-haves are seaweed and ginger. “Seaweed adds extra nutrients to your meals, as seaweed like Nori is packed with chlorophyll, iodine, vitamin K, iron, and other antioxidants. “I keep both fresh and powdered ginger. I use it in many dishes and tea. It is great for your digestive system and aids in keeping your lungs, sinus passages clear by reducing the mucus response in the body,” says Ford. She uses both of these ingredients in stir frys like her Soba Noodle Stir Fry with Nori Flakes.
28 • Personal Health
SALMON AVOCADO BOATS
(SERVES FOUR) • • • • • • • • • • •
½ cup of non-fat plain Greek yogurt 2 tsp. light or olive oil mayonnaise 1 tsp Dijon mustard ½ cup celery, finely chopped ½ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped 1 Tbsp lime juice. freshly squeezed ¼ tsp cumin 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 2 (5 oz.) cans or pouches of salmon, drained and flaked 2 avocadoes Salt and pepper to taste
In a medium bowl, combine the first eight ingredients, mix well. Add salmon, mix well. Cut the avocadoes in half, lengthwise, remove pits. Scoop about 1 Tsp of the flesh from each avocado half, add to salmon mixture, mash well, salt and pepper to taste. Fill each avocado half with ¼ cup of salmon mixture.
29 • Personal Health
10 MINUTE HERBY LEMON TUNA PASTA During the pandemic, Orlando City Pasta has come up with “Corona Kitchen” recipes. Owner Peter Mastrangelo says you’ll likely love this recipe that can be made in 10 minutes.
• • • • • • • • •
Ingredients (for two people) 9 oz spaghetti or bucatini 1 can of tuna chunks in water, drained 1 lemon, juiced Several sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped (substitute with 1 tsp of dried oregano if needed) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp butter 1 pinch crushed red pepper Salt and pepper, to taste
While you wait for your water to boil, chop the parsley sprigs and juice the lemon. Drain the tuna and set it aside. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water, according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving about a ladle-full (1/2 cup) of the pasta water. Return the pasta to pot and vigorously stir in butter and olive oil with half of the ladle of pasta water
until a thin sauce/coating starts to appear (about 30 seconds). Add tuna, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, and your herbs. Stir it to combine, and season to taste. For style points, you can plate this up with a carving fork by twirling to create a mound. Top the pasta with breadcrumbs, capers, and Parmesan. Bon Appetit!
Sheryl Nance-Nash is a freelance writer specializing in travel, personal finance and business. Her travel writing has appeared on CNTraveler.com, Newsweek.com, Afar, ShermansTravel, Orbitz, RD.com, Fodors, amNY, TheWeek.com, among others. When she’s not encouraging people to spend money wisely, she travels the globe to satisfy her wanderlust and to inspire others to do the same! She is based in New York.
30 • Personal Health
By Laurel Dowswell
Edible plants fill the Earth’s backyards, forests, meadows, and deserts. But what some people may think of as weeds — others think of as dinner.
D
uring the coronavirus pandemic, resourcefulness is an important quality for us to find the things we need for daily living, including the food we need to feed ourselves and our families. From planting vegetable gardens to foraging in our own backyard, and beyond, there is bounty aplenty outside of the increasingly frequent sparse grocery store shelves.
The number of edible plants you can find may astound you. Many edible plants are also medicinal! Wild onions, garlic, dandelion, and more, can have a positive impact on your health. When you are contemplating adding something new and natural to try to supplement a healthy diet, consider these five edible plants you can find in the wild. They are pretty simple to identify, and some of them could be just a few feet from your doorstep.
Ready for an edible plant adventure?
31 • Personal Health
Be Creative, Yet Careful, With Edible Plants
1
DANDELIONS
Dandelions are one of the most easily accessible plants you can find. They are edible from root to flower — just make sure to pick them young when they have the bright yellow flower instead of the poofy white fuzz that blows away with the wind. The plant will get bitter as it ages. One of the most common uses is harvesting the greens for a salad. You can also eat the flowers raw or put some brilliant color with your greens. The roots can be used to make tea. Dandelions can also be made into wine or jelly. The tried and true Old Farmer’s Almanac has a tasty jelly recipe using fresh dandelion blossoms, sugar, lemon juice, and pectin. Flowers on toast for breakfast? I say, yes! Dandelion has powerful antioxidant qualities and has been touted for having great potential in anti-diabetic effects as well.
“
Just remember two cardinal rules of eating foraged plants: proper identification and ensuring they are organic with no pesticides or herbicides.
32 • Personal Health
2
WOOD SORREL
3
CHICORY
The lovely wood sorrel plant has an identity problem. Often called a clover, wood sorrel has heart-shaped leaves, while the leaves of the clover are actually round. This edible plant is one of our most common “weeds” across North America and can be found in gardens, lawns, near the edges of the woods, and even popping up in the sidewalks. Wood sorrel will have tiny little yellow flowers with five petals and get seed pods that look like miniature okra fruits — and all of these are edible!
Chicory is a common plant in the dandelion family whose young leaves are a great addition to salads. They are a bit bitter, but if you cook them, this will release some of the bitterness. Since chicory often grows in disturbed spaces, including on the sides of streets or roadways, it is important to only forage from known spaces like at the edge of your yard where you know that no pesticides have been used. Potential health benefits of the leaves include its immuneboosting qualities, as well as helping to reduce stress.
Wood sorrel has a tangy, almost citrusy taste and can be added to soups, salads, and sauces. This flavor makes it a good choice to serve with fish too. Avoid the older, tough stems of wood sorrel for optimum results. Just like many other edible plants, you can also make tea with it. A dash of honey goes well in your cup, particularly when you cool your beverage down on a hot day. In moderation, wood sorrel has been used as a diuretic and to help reduce fever.
Most people know chicory for its root, and for its distinctive taste. It is often used as a substitute for coffee (minus the caffeine). The root is an excellent source of prebiotics and fiber. When cooking with chicory, you can sauté the quartered heads with olive oil and serve with rice, onion, and garlic. Throw in some nuts, such as walnuts or almonds, for additional texture and flavor.
Please note — since it has oxalic acid in it, wood sorrel is contraindicated for people who have arthritis, gout, rheumatism, hyperacidity, or kidney stones. Be Creative, Yet Careful, With Edible Plants When you are trying something new, it’s good to be cautious and know your own body. Always know your source well and consume in moderation.
It can be an exciting culinary experience when preparing meals with dandelion, chicory, wood sorrel, prickly pear, and Katniss. As you commence your foraging, “May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor.”
33 • Personal Health
4
PRICKLY PEARS (CACTUS FRUIT)
5
ARROWHEAD (KATNISS!)
The cactus fruit, often called prickly pears, is a late summer pear-shaped fruit that comes in a variety of colors from green to red (less sweet to very sweet). These flat cactus pads that the prickly pears are grown on are very popular in Mexican cuisine (nopales). If you are foraging these, make sure you are careful of the spines! For those that are less adventurous, you can also find prickly pears at many farmer’s markets.
The easily identifiable aquatic arrowhead plant, also known as “Katniss,” among other names, has an underground tuber that tastes similar to sweet potatoes. The edible plant, long used by Native American tribes, can be eaten raw but is often roasted or boiled. It is a source of protein, potassium, and many trace elements and vitamins, including magnesium, iron, and vitamin C.
It is often eaten raw while avoiding the hard seeds. The nopales are commonly used in main dishes, salads, eggs, or as filling for other dishes. Prickly pear fruit can also be used for “shrubs,” a concentrated syrup that combines fruit, sugar, and vinegar, in cocktails, juices, and in jams.
According to the American Indian Health and Diet Project, the Navajo have used it to treat headaches, and the Ojibwa have eaten the tubers for indigestion.
Prickly pear can be a fun infusion to a healthy diet. It is high in fiber, antioxidants, and carotenoids and has been shown to decrease blood sugar for people with Type 2 diabetes in preliminary studies. When you first try prickly pear cactus, ease into it. It can cause some stomach discomfort/issues for some individuals.
In popular culture, Katniss Everdeen from “The Hunger Games” was named after this plant by her father. In a quote from the novel, her father teasingly says, “As long as you can find yourself, you’ll never starve.” Resourcefulness, and a willingness to be creative with your diet, will continue to be more and more important as our world continues to change. It’s pretty amazing what choices are out there when you really open your eyes and are willing to try new culinary delights.
Laurel Dowswell is a freelance writer and branding specialist based in Atlanta, GA. In addition to diverse nonfiction and business writing, she is the former Features Editor of Change Seven literary magazine and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her passions include wellness, the natural world, fiction, equality, and social justice.
34 • Personal Health
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35 • Travel & Wellness
Self Care Page
Have a Bossy Bladder?
39
How one woman took control of her life
36 • Self Care
By Heide Brandes
DOUG GARONE of Oklahoma City knows the discomfort and danger of getting sick while traveling. A frequent flyer, he’s caught several colds
and
viruses,
but
nothing
compared to the medical emergency he faced three years ago while traveling home from Santa Fe, New Mexico. “I got the Norovirus in New Mexico and got sick 12 times at Dallas Fort Worth Airport and three more times on the plane to Oklahoma City,” he
According to a report by TravelMedicine. com, more than 30 million Americans go abroad each year, and those who travel to less developed countries for up to 90 days face a 60% to 70% possibility of illness.
LENA REGINA, a photographer from Fayetteville, Ark., has also had trips ruined by sickness. While working as a photographer for a wedding in the Dominican Republic, she suffered heat stroke, but the non-bottled water the staff gave her really caused a problem. “My flight home was a nightmare. I swallowed an entire bottle of Immodium. I stayed in one of the only two bathrooms on the plane,” she said. “The flight attendant had to practically break the door down to get me back to my seat for landing. I sat in that seat in sweat, exhaustion and pain. I got inside the airport and I was so weak and sick. Nightmares are made of this.”
said. “I think I caught it at the coffee and breakfast bar at the hotel we were staying at because my boss and coworkers also got sick. It was probably from someone not washing their hands after going to the bathroom. When we landed in Oklahoma City, they had an ambulance waiting for me.”
ALICIA-RAE OLAFFSON of Vancouver, had her own travel sickness misfortune when she contracted the Zika virus while traveling in Puerto Rico for work. “It was like the worst most horrendous flu of all time. It was the only time I’ve had to go to the hospital abroad,” she said.
37 • Self Care
According to a report by TravelMedicine.com, more than 30 million Americans go abroad each year, and those who travel to less developed countries for up to 90 days face a 60% to 70% possibility of illness. Those traveling in a developed country also have a risk for illness with 5% to 8% of travelers seeking medical care. No one wants to get sick on vacation, but it happens. Taking precautions when traveling to keep germs and viruses at bay is worth the extra effort, especially with the rise of the COVID-19 coronavirus and this year’s rampant flu epidemic. While avoiding infections might take a little preparation, the extra effort is worth it.
COVID-19 AND OTHER DANGERS
A
s of July, the COVID-19 coronavirus has been reported in all 50 U.S. states and has affected over ten million people around the world and the numbers continue to go up. Many countries have paused their trade and travel with China, which was the epicenter of the outbreak, to try to slow the spread of the virus.
Travelers’ diarrhea is the most common travel-related illness, especially in high-risk destinations like Asia, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Middle East. While diarrhea is rarely serious in healthy adults, it can make your trip unpleasant, to say the least. Even a common cold can cause headaches for travelers, but health officials say simple precautions can keep you feeling your best when taking planes, trains, and automobiles. Yet the biggest concerns for health officials and travelers alike this year is the widespread COVID-19, China’s coronavirus outbreak, and this year’s influenza virus. The coronavirus causes a serious respiratory illness that can be spread from person to person.
Italy, the most affected country with with over 34,700 deaths, placed more than 16 million people on lockdown to try to stop the spread of the virus, and health officials warned that the deadly coronavirus could cause “severe” disruptions in the USA and beyond.
“Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that naturally occur in animals and humans so they circulate both in animal and human populations,” said Douglas Drevets, M.D., dean of the Hudson College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
COVID-19 isn’t the only disease sickening travelers this year. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), seasonal influenza activity in the United States skyrocketed since September.
“Coronaviruses were long known to cause mild respiratory symptoms to humans even back when I was in medical school, but they weren’t really considered serious pathogens until the early 2000s.”
The CDC estimates 34 million flu illnesses, 350,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths have occurred from the flu since September 2019.
In the early 2000s, a coronavirus was responsible for an outbreak of SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
38 • Self Care
HOW TO STAY HEALTHY WHEN TRAVELING Most health professionals agree - washing your hands is the most effective way to avoid getting sick, no matter where you are. “Wash your hands, wash your hands and then wash your hands again,” said Dr. Drevets. “If you have a cough, cover it and then wash your hands. There’s also what we call social distancing, which is staying away and avoiding folks who do have coughs. The surgical masks you see on TV are not designed to keep people from being infected, but they are potentially helpful for people who have coughs to keep them from spewing out the droplets that contain the virus.” No matter where you travel, taking care of personal hygiene can help you protect your health and improve your general cleanliness. These tips apply whether you are trekking through trails in South America or taking a walking tour of Paris.
TRAVEL HYGIENE TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND INCLUDE: 1. Use sandals when taking a shower. If you are staying in a hostel or sharing a bathroom, this is especially important. You never know who else was in that shower before you. 2. Keep disposable plastic gloves on hand to help avoid touching icky surfaces, especially in locations where clean soap and water are not readily available. 3. Keep hand sanitizer at the ready. If you can’t wash your hands, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content will kill nasty germs between washes. 4. Don’t share personal items like towels or pillowcases. When in doubt, consider bringing your own small travel towel and pillowcase. 5. Be a picky eater. Make sure your food was prepared or refrigerated properly before you eat it. Food poisoning and traveler’s diarrhea can happen anywhere, not just in high-risk countries. 6. Keep your privates clean. A small travel packet of wet wipes is a lifesaver if you find yourself in a bathroom with no toilet paper or one that’s less than clean. Women may want to consider a personal peeing funnel that includes a short tube that allows women to urinate while standing or into a well-marked bottle. 7. Always cough into your elbow or into a handkerchief instead of your hands. One cough can spread respiratory droplets throughout the air, and if you sneeze or cough in your hands, those germs spread to whatever you touch. 8. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. As Dr. Drevets said, practice social distancing. 9. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning product and/or disinfectant wipes. “The other thing you can do is to have a healthy lifestyle,” said Dr. Drevets. “Especially with these respiratory illnesses, it’s really helpful if you don’t smoke. It’s just another good reason to stop smoking if you do.”
For Garone, he said he learned his lesson about germs while traveling. “I bring disinfectant hand wipes everywhere. I wipe down everything like the tray and remote on airplanes, and I take a lot of immunity boosters,” he said. “In a hotel, the remote, the phone and the doorknobs are the filthiest things, so I wipe those down too. I think this recent coronavirus will change a lot of people’s travel habits.”
Heide Brandes is an award-winning journalist based in Oklahoma who covers travel, conservation, business, healthcare and more.
39 • Travel & Wellness
By Deborah Burst
“
Like many female ailments, we are often told to deal with it, “Just wear a pad; it’s something that comes with age, or maybe time for surgery.”
L
ike many female ailments, we are often told to deal with it, “Just wear a pad; it’s something that comes with age, or maybe time for surgery.”
Then comes the pain, the constant burning, the frequent urinary infections, and worst of all, the impact on your social life. How many women cancel social engagements, or choose to give up travel excursions due to frequent urination? That happened to me, and as a travel/lifestyle writer, it impacted my career. At that point, I realized that it was time to tame my bossy bladder and take control of my life.
40 • Personal Health
Plane journeys might be the worst stress test. Have you ever noticed that when the refreshment carts begin moving down the aisle, your bladder starts screaming, “You best be getting me to the bathroom, like now!” Many women become housebound and clinically depressed due to an overactive bladder. Like me, many women thought surgery was the only recourse, or they just had to accept a life that was forever changed. I soon learned, albeit in a quite embarrassing manner, there was an answer.
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT After an increase of bladder infections and an impending overseas trip, I needed to see a specialist and randomly found a young urologist, Dr. Ross Hogan. The poor guy didn’t know what hit him when he dove in for a vaginal examination to check for bladder prolapse (dropping of the bladder). The entire office probably heard me screaming, driven by excruciating pain. It was then Dr. Hogan told me I needed bladder physical therapy. He directed me to a facility dedicated to treating women’s pelvic health, and a more natural way of conditioning the body back to its original form. While the entire procedure might be a bit painful and may take several months, he reassured me that it would be well worth it. Going into my third month of twice-a-week therapy in what I call “bladder boot camp,” I have seen a vast improvement. It’s a team effort: the therapists at Dynamic Physical Therapy work on relaxing and rebuilding the interior muscles of the pelvic floor. They explained that the pelvic region is much like a sling, a group of muscles that supports the bladder, the vagina, and rectum. While some women suffer from incontinence or organ prolapse due to weak muscles, I had the opposite problem. With a drastic drop in hormones after menopause and a hysterectomy, my muscle tissue was dry and tight. My physical therapists stretched and massaged my interior pelvic muscles.
KEEPING A DIARY IS HELPFUL In my first weeks of therapy, I kept a daily diary of fluids while slowly increasing times between voiding. It’s quite an education as you become one with your body, building strength, endurance, and learning how to take control. Be prepared to shed tears of joy, pain, and self-discovery, as it’s quite an emotional, enlightening experience. Have you ever pulled into your driveway and suddenly felt this urgent need to go? Yep, it’s that bossy bladder again. Instead of sprinting to the toilet, walk slowly and take deep breaths, what’s called diaphragmatic breathing. It adds oxygen to the body and releases tension in the pelvic floor muscles. The standard frequency of urination is 5-8 voiding sessions, with an average of two or more hours between trips to the bathroom. Take note of the color of your urine; if your urine shines like the sun, you need to start drinking more fluids (not soft drinks or carbonated water. Drink the real-deal: water). Be ready for some homework -- it’s all about continuing what you learn in therapy. You’ll be using tools to stretch the pelvic floor muscles. They’re called dilators, shaped like, well, you know, a penis. A pack of six in different sizes, of course, you can stop at the size that fits your needs.
41 • Travel & Wellness Coat it with coconut oil, insert it, and leave it there for a good ten or fifteen minutes. I do it in the evening while watching TV and cover up with my afghan. Increase the size according to your comfort level. Then after a week or so, you’ll begin moving the device in different stations of the clock (9:00, 6:00, 3:00, 12:00). This exercise was my turning point; this is when I knew it was working. It had been a long time since anything found its way up that dark tunnel. Remember, it’s a lifestyle change. Some may only need a couple of months, while others may need six months. It’s all about gaining back your confidence, no more fear, complete control, and no more homework. Now I’m the boss of that bratty bladder, a healthier and more energetic traveler eager to see the world, with or without bathrooms.
Therapists at Dynamic Therapy recommended that their patients get a prescription of uterine cream. While it does have some hormones (typically one percent), these do not enter the bloodstream. The cream helps with pain and provides more moisture for the pelvic floor. Hydration is a crucial element in retraining the bladder. It restores energy and focus, lubricates the joints, eliminates aches and pains, relieves spasms, and helps organ function, including bowel and bladder. Above all, be empathetic: Pelvic Floor Dysfunction can happen to women of all ages, not just those who are having issues with hormone imbalance.
A New Orleans native, Deborah Burst, is an author, and award-winning writer/photographer with featured work in regional, national, and international publications. She has written five travel/photo books featuring the South, and it’s people, critters, landscapes, mystical legends, and historic architecture.
1. 2. 3. 4.
TIPS ON IMPROVING YOUR BLADDER CONTROL Maintain a healthy intake of water (48-64 ounces) and juices (grape and cherry) to reduce as many irritants as possible;
Reduce beverages with caffeine, alcohol, and carbonation, as well as real or artificial sugars, and maintain a healthy diet, at least five servings of fruits and vegetables;
Only use the toilet when needed (typically at 2-5 hour intervals), and empty bladder and bowels;
Behavioral steps with bladder retraining techniques, at-home therapeutic exercises, at-home scar tissue massage are all helpful;
5.
Try to maintain a healthy body weight: excess body fat creates more pressure on the pelvic floor;
6.
Don’t strain when constipated, it increases odds of pelvic floor prolapse;
7.
Continue therapy at home using dilators and uterine cream as prescribed;
42 • Travel & Wellness
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help folks of all ages learn a fundamentally healing yoga practice called the Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga. The practice strengthens and aligns the body, improves balance, and increases flexibility. It also improves immune and digestive functions, and moves us away from inflammatory stress responses, toward homeostasis. The yoga poses in this specific type of practice are easily modifiable and suitable for anyone willing to experiment. People learn to do a set sequence of postures in which movements are synchronized with regulated breathing. Regularity can pay off: the yoga postures become both enjoyable and meditative. Ashtanga yoga can also reward us by delaying the inevitable decline we experience upon reaching middle age and beyond. While the clear value to the body seems common sense, the richness of the meditative experience is a matter of personal cultivation.
By Robbie Norris
“All parts of the body which have a function if used in moderation and exercised in labors in which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy, well-developed and age more slowly; but if unused and left idle, they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly.” — HIPPOCRATES, THE FATHER OF MEDICINE, C.460-C.370 BC
WHY ASHTANGA YOGA? With so many yoga practices out there, what makes Ashtanga Yoga unique? First, it is traditionally taught individually, in what is referred to as “Mysore Class.” (Mysore is the city in India where this form of yoga originated.) Although it is a group class, students do not practice in unison; instead, they practice individually as if they were alone — with the teacher canvassing the room offering help where warranted. Students share the good group energy, but no one needs to be concerned about keeping up, or being held back.
43 • Personal Health People of advanced age typically need a little bit of extra help to learn and maintain a yoga practice, but not everyone has the budget or desire for ongoing private yoga lessons. This makes Mysore classes ideal for older people because the individualized instruction is similar in quality to private lessons, but at affordable groupclass rates, and with an added sense of community. Henrietta Near, a 90-year-old artist, feels that this type of yoga is a very different exercise from other types of yoga because it unites the breath with all movements, which makes it especially beneficial for older people who need to expand their breathing techniques in order to keep their lungs working well. “My nervous system especially appreciates this type of yoga as it feels supported through all the poses.” Doris Clevenger, a retired 85-year-old educator, strongly feels that this type of yoga can work. “Ashtanga Yoga has been vital to my overall good health for the last ten years,” she said. “I do a short version of the specific practice on my own almost every day between lessons, and I visit (Mr. Norris’) studio on occasion.”
as a precise, thorough template for meditative self-examination. After a student has been practicing regularly for a month or so, they require only intermittent assistance. Thus, I am able to spend extra time helping new students and attending to those who require more assistance because of medical conditions or advanced age. With this format, I am able to quietly conduct classes with an array of practitioners ranging from the teens to the 90’s, including those with medical conditions, new students, and seasoned practitioners. To effectively lead such a group in unison would not be possible. GRATITUDE AND ACCEPTANCE The practice of yoga fosters a sense of gratitude for the direct experience of being alive, and an appreciation of the potential for healing. We practice with patient acceptance of our current state (which is the foundation for future states) while remaining open to the possibility of positive change. Anxiety breeds anxiety, but calm produces calm. Although we know all bodies die, we can meanwhile engage lovingly and with a cultivated sense of equanimity, a practice that increases awareness of the miraculous mind-body continuum.
Because students are always practicing the same sequence of postures, over time, the sequence becomes memorized
Barbara Matthew, a retired 72-year-old postmaster, said
that she started Ashtanga yoga in July 2019 with the recommendation of my acupuncturist, who had been helping her with her declining health. “Little did I know what I was getting into,” she said. “I have done the gym scene many times through my years. That would leave me feeling as if I wasn’t as good or as strong as others around me, as they flexed their muscles.”
Another unique aspect of Ashtanga Yoga is the cultivation of a controlled breathing method as the leader of our movements: with a slight constriction in the throat, and with the mouth closed, the inhale both initiates and infuses upward or expanding movements; and the exhale initiates and infuses downward or contracting movements. While breath is generally emphasized in any yoga class, this perfect synchronization of breath with movement is a hallmark of Ashtanga practice. In most other activities, we are focused mainly on movement, with little awareness of our breath. And even in those activities where we are highly aware of and even attempting to control our breath, including most forms of yoga practice, the breath is not typically viewed as the initiator of movement. The paradigm shift of this focus on breath as the leader of movement greatly enhances the meditative aspect of Ashtanga Yoga, requiring continuous focus on the sound, quality, and duration (preferably medium to long) of our breaths.
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“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – RAM DASS, AMERICAN SPIRITUAL TEACHER AND PSYCHOLOGIST, 1931-2019.
Robbie Norris has practiced Ashtanga Yoga daily since 2001 and teaches privately in people’s homes, and at his Jackson Ward studio, Richmond City Yoga.
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45 • Travel & Wellness
Spirtuality And Mental Health Page
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Forgiving yourself for a mental illness I realize the biggest stigma I have to overcome is my own. So, I’m working to embrace being bipolar, to accept it’s a part of who I am, what makes me, me. With every hurdle I overcome, every success I have, every friendship I make this becomes a little bit easier.
46 • Travel & Wellness
By Kelly West Bevan
M
y husband and I sat in a cramped office as I staved off a panic attack. My psychiatrist seemed hesitant to speak. He knew my concerns surrounding a serious mental health diagnosis; I knew he was wrestling with how to lessen the blow. I took a deep breath, wiped away the tears with the back of my hand and allayed his fears with a nod. I had finally pieced together the entirety of my symptoms over the years and I knew. So he laid it out there with four swift words, “You have bipolar disorder.” I should have been relieved. After six months of questions, I finally had my answer. The prognosis made sense to my husband, my kids, my mother, my therapist — even to me, I guess. But it was a diagnosis I had been unwilling to consider until this very moment. Now I knew what was causing the unpredictable moods, my ability to go from zero to pissed off in thirty seconds, the chaos in my head that woke me up at night in the middle of a to-do list. I had an explanation for why I couldn’t stay awake past noon, why three-hour naps were a necessity. But the guilt weighed heavily. No matter how unrealistic, I felt that as a former psychotherapist, I should have recognized the symptoms earlier, even though I had left that career over ten years ago. I could have avoided months of doctors’ appointments, and uncontrollable outbursts with my kids. The tears. The worry.
47 • Personal Health ESCAPING THE STIGMA But the fear of the stigma that accompanies a bipolar diagnosis was even more paralyzing. The stereotype of those prone to manic episodes and long stretches of depression can be harsh. There is often judgment and suspicion and a great deal of apprehensiveness to be around us. There is the fear of the unknown — beliefs that we can be impulsive, irrational, and can’t hold down jobs. Yet this is not the case for most of us, and for all of us, our symptoms can be tamed or controlled with medication. But then there is the process of finding the right medication. It often takes a while and the medication experimentation provides the evidence that stigma is born of. I felt catatonic, unable to form complete sentences, and I got lost in a Price Chopper parking lot on one. Another caused heart palpitations, I was suddenly overly loquacious and talked at mock speed about anything and everything. My inhibitions were non-existent, I had no filter and said exactly what I was thinking (not always an admirable quality). Just ask the basketball coach who experienced my frenzied diatribe about an obnoxious parent on the sideline from which he is probably still recovering. I left that one-way “conversation” embarrassed and praying others hadn’t witnessed me unraveling. The next medication brought on severe mania and it was as if someone had discovered the magic formula for harnessing the energy of a toddler and wrapped it up in a nice capsule-shaped package. I functioned on four hours of sleep, completed weeklong to-do list within hours and I was exhilaratingly
happy. Any longer on this med and I might have been found dancing in the streets. Thankfully, I have found Lamictal. We’ve tweaked the dosage over the years to keep my symptoms at bay; yet, five years later I still experience the occasional bout of depression, panic attacks, and sleepless nights filled with the constant stream of self-doubt. This fall I had a setback, and retreated into the safety of my home for a couple of months canceling work trips and social engagements. I struggle to forgive myself for the memories my children will have of me at the height of symptoms. I berate myself for the victim I become at times when the symptoms take hold and nothing seems to subdue them. I have always prided myself on my ability to overcome even the most painful experiences and see them as motivation to become stronger and more resilient. They drive me to make something of myself and were why I became a psychotherapist. But that person existed nearly two decades ago, and at times I do not recognize the person I have
become post-diagnosis. The more I live with bipolar disease, the less I fear other’s perceptions about it. Yet, I’m still hesitant to share that I have a bipolar diagnosis. When I do, I often qualify it to let people know I’m OK. “It’s not the kind you see on T.V.,” I tell them. Or I explain that I have bipolar depression as if that will lessen their concern. “I experience more depression than mania.” I am making strides every day to stop blaming myself for the invisible scars I’ve left on the hearts of my husband and children. I try not to explain away my symptoms to those I tell. My husband and I remind my children frequently of the mother I was before those six months in crisis and the mother I am now — less jaded, more social, non-explosive, more affectionate. And I realize the biggest stigma I have to overcome is my own. So, I’m working to embrace being bipolar, to accept it’s a part of who I am, what makes me, me. With every hurdle I overcome, every success I have, every friendship I make this becomes a little bit easier.
Kelly West Bevan is a freelance writer and former psychotherapist and school counselor who lives in the Berkshires of Massachusetts with her husband and three almost-grown children.
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