Backstory
Ever since this pandemic, I’ve felt that I’ve been in such a panic and I know I’m not alone. I think that with isolation and social distancing, it’s easy to fixate on certain things and feel a loss of power. For me, my loss of power is being able to choose which foods I have access to at any given time. Of course, I realize how lucky I am that I can even get food and usually have the luxury to choose. But even with realizing this, I think I have been obsessing just because it’s outside of my regular routine and comfort zone. I want to boost my immunity with foods, but since that isn’t always an option I came up with 10 ways to build immunity without eating.
Normally when I go to the store, I load up on ginger because of its healing properties. Making ginger juice is one of my favorite things to do. It helps with my allergy symptoms and just makes me feel great in general. Since I’ve been back from Spain, it’s been selling out quickly in stores here in Florida. Just the other day, I finally got ginger in time before it sold out and let me tell you, I have never screamed before in my life just by seeing two large ginger roots. I was so beyond happy and grateful.
I guess that’s one of the beautiful things about this pandemic: realizing the beauty in “mundane” every-day things. I think that this is one way we can all get through this- by valuing and being grateful for the little things. However, it isn’t always easy to come back to this. Suddenly our fixations and habits are calling us and wanting to take over again. There’s all this talk about building immunity, but what happens when there’s no ginger left at the store? What are we supposed to do then?
I’ve opened my fridge and pantry over and over again thinking of what I can make use of and what I can create to stay healthy. Sometimes the options are there, but when they aren’t we need to realize that eating food isn’t the only way to build immunity. In fact, there are ways to build immunity without eating. While opening my fridge, I was thinking about lack when I should’ve been thinking of how to stretch my resources. And stretching my resources doesn’t even have to be food-related. In this time of pressure, we have to know when to take the pressure off.
This is why I created a list of 10 ways to build immunity without eating. We are going to get through this by focusing on what we have available to us.
10 Ways to Build Immunity Without Eating
A morning routine
It’s important to set the tone for the day. For me, I do this by waking up early. I love to be up before everyone else because it gives me a sense of peace. When I wake up, I always keep a glass of water beside my bed and I drink the rest of it before getting up. Once I get up, I drink a glass of warm water at least 30 minutes before eating anything. This primes my digestive system.
In that 30 minute period, I go outside with my dog and write things I want to achieve during the day in my notes on my phone and I put the top three tasks at the top of the list. After this, I usually make a matcha latte and meditate. Your morning routine can be anything that you feel helps ground you and gets you excited to start the day (even if you are inside). Create goals you can do from home. For me, it’s mostly content creating.
Meditation
This truly has so many benefits and can help you get in touch with yourself. I find this the most helpful when I am looking for happiness and things outside of myself (for example the ginger fiasco). It’s also helpful just to do anyways. Focusing on the breath can help relax the mind from all of the clutter that goes through it on a daily basis. Deepak Chopra and Gabby Bernstein have good meditations.
You can also do an equal breathing technique (Sama Vritti) where you inhale for the same count and exhale for the same count. In between each inhale and exhale, briefly pause. Then, extend your inhale and exhale count by one second. So, if your count was 4, after inhaling and exhaling 4, the next you would extend to 5 seconds. This breath relaxes the body easing digestion, the immune system, and emotions.
Yoga
This is an easy way to move while staying inside. You don’t need much space or anything like that. You just need the floor, yourself, and a mat. If you don’t have a mat, even a towel could work. Sometimes you need blocks for yoga, but you can improvise with books if you don’t have them. There are many online yoga classes going on now (check yoga studios on instagram) and Alo Moves is an app that has an array of different yoga classes based off your needs.
Visualize
Nows a great time to think about literally everything! And this includes where you are at in your life. Are you doing something you love? Are you working towards something you love? I truly believe that all of your dreams can become a reality and visualizing is a great tool to help us stay on track. We can do this through meditation, list making, creating mood boards, and so on. And after you visualize, think of what action steps you can do to get closer to your vision.
Create
I’m grateful that with all this time being at home, I have so much time to content create. I’ve been spending a lot of my time writing, cooking (with what I have here), and doodling ideas. It’s also fun creating new playlists that you love too. There are even so many fun activities to do like painting and little crafts. And these creative things might even inspire you to create something you never thought of before! For some reason, this is making me want to build a fort from sheets, pillows, and furniture.
Socialize
Connect with people through social media, FaceTime, or whatever! Just because we are social distancing, doesn’t mean all communication needs to be cut off. It’s a great time to connect with family and friends and even long distance friends that you haven’t been able to catch up with.
Reach out to people that are passionate about the same things as you. This way you can stay inspired and build new ideas just from talking to each other. We can still stay connected while being disconnected. Having a sense of community helps build immunity because we are reminded that we never have to face anything alone. We are all in this together 🙂
Drink some water!
If you are typically bad at drinking water, you now have no excuse. You are now stuck inside with your sink. Stay hydrated and feel energized from it. It’s optimal for digestion and honestly, overall functioning. Usually when I want something, I’ve learned to take a sip of water first. Your skin will also thank you for this!
Catch up on sleep
If you are exhausted from your normal, daily life all the time you can look at this pandemic as a gift from the gods. You deserve to get some sleep, and NO it is NOT lazy! Sleep is an underrated part of wellness in my opinion. It makes you more keen and productive during the day when you get adequate amount of sleep. This also helps with hunger cues. When you are less sleepy, you are less lightly to go for the cravings that will end up making your body feel like shit. I find that when I want something like a jar of peanut butter, I really just need to go to bed. There have also been studies that sleeping restores the brain.
Maintain good hygiene
Just because you are home, it doesn’t mean you should stop taking showers or start forgetting to brush your teeth. For me showering often is important, because I’m really allergic to pollen in Florida. Even if I don’t sweat and have already taken a shower from the beginning of the day, I need another one to make sure the allergens are off. Having a good hygiene can also make us feel energized. Taking care of myself always makes me feel like I can do so much more. Try using products that you’re excited about. I love to use Kora Organics Noni Oil on my skin when I get out of the shower. You can also use moisturizing time for massaging muscles releasing any tension.
Learn something new
Have you always wanted to take a dance class but never ended up getting your butt there? Now’s the opportunity to try many different workouts from the comfort of your own home. So many instructors are live-streaming classes. There are also YouTube videos that can teach you to do pretty much anything. That’s how I started this blog. I just kept YouTubing things I didn’t understand.
It’s also a great time to start learning a new language. I recommend the app, Babbel. It has Spanish on it and they give very specific examples of the language as well as useful phrases. Duolingo is more simple, but to me Babbel is more in depth and worth it. Learning new skills is a way we can feel proud of ourselves and this builds immunity by reducing the stress of the what-if.
So, let’s build our immunity without eating! 🙂 I hope that this list made you feel a little less doomed. What are some of the things this quarantine has you fixating on? Even when it feels like the solution is outside of ourselves, the answer is always within xx
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