“Mama, did you hear coronavirus is in South Korea and Japan?” says my worried 8 year old at the dinner table.

“You’re not still going to Japan are you?” 

“No petal, I’ve decided to postpone my trip” 

“Yes!!” she replies with obvious relief.

Despite doing my best to shield her from the news (for as long as possible), it’s hard not to get swept away with the sensationalist media coverage of coronavirus right now.

As well as the obvious actions you can take to avoid it like avoiding travel to countries most affected and washing your hands well (basic hygiene 101), here are 5 Japanese yoga hacks that can also help.

1. Strengthen your Immunity 

Stronger immunity= Greater resistance. 

To everything going around- not just coronavirus.

How to strengthen your immunity Japanese yoga style?

Here are a couple of ideas (my suggestion is to treat this like a buffet- you don’t need to try everything, but you might like to pick a few ‘favourites’).

-jump in the ocean

-have a cold shower or finish your shower with a few seconds of a cold shower

-avoid sugar

-build up your hara power (lower belly)at home or at Japanese yoga class

-spend time in nature connecting with the seasons

-walk in bare feet on morning dew

-clean up your eating habits (see below)

– chew your food well

-take ‘deep breathing’ breaks throughout the day to get a handle on your stress levels

Stress is highly underrated as a cause of low immunity- it’s helpful to know what stresses you out and see if you can limit those things that are within your control. 

EG: if 24/7 news stresses you out- turn it off. If checking your social media after 9pm stresses you out, switch it off. If driving in peak hour stresses you out, see if you can leave earlier or later (or take public transport). 

Some stresses are avoidable with some forethought and awareness- other stresses aren’t and we may just need to breathe through it and know that ‘this too, shall pass’. 

If it gets too overwhelming- seek professional help. It takes strength- not weakness- to ask for help. Sometimes professionals can give you something a caring friend cannot….

2. Use Pure Essential Oils

Some pure essential oils are scientifically proven to reduce the spread of pathogens. 

Diffuse On Guard, use On Guard sanitiser and handwash, take an On Guard capsule every day, gargle with a drop of On Guard in water every night, put a drop under your foot every morning and night, take On Guard intraveneously (ok, not that one but you get my point!). If you’re a fellow sceptic and you want proof, check out this pubmed article on how effective On Guard truly is https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21078173

3. Clean up your Eating Habits

Do your best to eat seasonal wholefoods, eliminate sugar and consider reducing meat, caffeine and dairy (different body types and cultures have different thresholds here). 

Focus on wholegrains, legumes, seeds, nuts, organic (where possible) fresh fruit and vegetables that’re in season- and not from cold storage. 

The easiest way to approach this: stay away from foods out of a box.

4. Drink more Water

Just simple water (preferably filtered). 

By this I don’t mean herbal teas, juice, essential-oil flavoured water, caffeinated tea and coffee. 

Plain water. 

The approximate general recommended daily amount is 1 litre per 22 kgs of bodyweight. 

You might need to build up to this slowly. 

A way I’ve managed to do this is to drink about half a litre when I wake up (I have one of my favourite water bottles next to my bed) and before I have a meal, snack or cup of tea, I have a glass of water. 

For more information on just how critical water intake is for health, check out these books: “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water”, The Essential Guide to Water and Salt”, both by Dr Batmanghelidj.

5. Get enough Sleep

An oldie but a goodie. 

If you’re in the southern hemisphere, you’ll notice the temperature is starting to drop. 

The body naturally requires more rest as we say sayonara to hedonistic summer. 

Your minimum requirement for sleep may be different to mine-we all have different needs for sleep to operate at our best.

 A general indicator of whether you get enough sleep is if your body wakes up before your alarm. 

Your quality of sleep also matters a lot.

Ensure a sound sleep by eating at least 2 hours before bed, avoid drinking alcohol close to bedtime (despite the rumours alcohol makes your sleep worse, not better) and turn off screens at least 1 and a half hours before bed.

And if all else fails- stock up on toilet paper (if you can find any!) and cover yourself that way;-)

If you’d like to consciously strengthen your immunity with Japanese yoga you’ve got a couple of options.

OPTION 1: If you’re in Sydney Australia you can come to my in-person Japanese yoga classes. Click here for details.

OPTION 2: If you’re not in Sydney Australia, you can purchase my online Japanese yoga class – while the main benefits of this class is reduced neck, shoulder, headache and migraine issues – all Japanese yoga builds immunity so it’s terrific for that as well. Details here.