Yoga News
- Yoga classes are scheduled to resume on: Saturday, 9th of April, at 8am SHARP, to 9:30am.
- Masks are MANDATORY at this time. Bring your own mat and blanket.
- Wear comfortable clothing and do not eat for up to 30 min before class.
- Payment by cash or EFTPOS on arrival – be sure to come 5-10 Min. before class starts.
- Classes may be cancelled due to bad weather.
- Please text Susan for more information on: 042 093 6887
The Herbal Health Coach: Kurrajong Natural Medicine Community News
At Kurrajong Natural Medicine Centre, we try to help as many people as possible as widely as possible. To this end we are publishing this page which contains relevant information to anyone who is directly or indirectly affected by the Novel Coronavirus 19.
We are publishing videos and articles on this page that Susan and I find helpful and up to date. Please feel free to share the url of this page with other.
Stay Safe and Positive
Danny & Susan Siegenthaler
The aim of this page is to provide you with information on how you can stay as well as possible for as long as possible in this current health crisis around the Covid-19.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as well as Western Herbal Medicine have at their heart the aim to keep people well rather than wait until they are sick before offering treatment. Their aims are to mobilise the body’s own mechanisms to fight off disease and maintain good health.
Looking After Your Mental Health During Coronavirus (COVID-19) Restrictions
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly changed the way we live. To help keep us safe, it is likely that our lives will be different for a while. When we aren’t able to see our friends and family regularly, it can be harder to keep on top of how we’re feeling.
Being aware of how you’re feeling and knowing what you can do to look after your mental wellbeing is an important part of staying healthy during this challenging time.
All of the things we’re used to doing each week — going to school and work, catching up with friends and family, going out for dinner, playing sport, going on holidays — have changed.
Many people have lost their jobs and there is uncertainty about how COVID-19 will affect jobs and the economy into the future. And for people working in health care and essential services, work pressures have never been greater.
Under these circumstances, it’s normal to feel anxious, overwhelmed, confused, sad or even bored. But these feelings can take their toll, and we all need to take the time to care for ourselves and to look out for our friends, family and colleagues.
What you can do
There are things you can do to take care of your mental health and wellbeing.
Look after your physical health
Exercising and eating well help us stay physically and mentally healthy. Read more about how you can stay physically active while following physical distancing rules, and find tips on eating well at home.
Getting a good night’s sleep is a really important part of staying healthy. If you’re finding it hard to get to sleep, these tips might help.
Stay connected
Maintaining social connections is important to feeling safe and well.
You can still keep in touch with family and friends while you practise physical distancing through:
video chats
phone calls
online groups
chats with neighbours while keeping 1.5 metres apart
Develop new routines
We’re used to having routines to guide our days and give us a sense of achievement. When so much seems out of our control, establishing some structure in our days will help to provide stability and a ‘new normal’.
This is particularly challenging for families adjusting to home learning. Try to create new routines as a family to help separate ‘work and school time’ and ‘family time’.
Think about the parts of your usual routine you value the most and find ways to make these part of your day — such as having lunch with colleagues via video chat, or finding an online gym class.
Take breaks
Be kind to yourself and take time just for you, even if it is just a few minutes to take some deep breaths and step outside into the fresh air. Plan your breaks and use them to do something that makes you feel calm and happy.
Reach out to others
Some people are particularly vulnerable for different reasons. They may be older, live on their own, have a chronic medical condition, or live in a challenging home situation.
Reaching out to give people support, if you are able, can help your mental wellbeing and make a big difference to someone else’s life.
Seek support
It’s normal to have ups and downs, and it is important to talk about how you’re feeling with family and friends. In times like these, they are likely experiencing similar feelings.
If you want to talk to someone else, but aren’t sure where to start, there are lots of great online and phone chat support services available. Head to Health is a good place to begin, and Beyond Blue has launched a dedicated coronavirus online and phone support service.
But if you are feeling anxious or depressed for an extended period, see a health professional.
Source: https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/ongoing-support-during-coronavirus-covid-19/looking-after-your-mental-health-during-coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions
Stargazing meditation is an easy and readily available way to connect with self and Universe.
Gazing at the stars is no doubt one of the earliest forms of meditation practiced by human beings, and it is readily available to this day. If you live in a city, you may have a hard time seeing the stars, but a short drive can take you far enough beyond the city lights to reveal their glory. If you live in a rural setting, all you have to do is wait for the sun to set and the night to settle to get the show of your life, every night. If you make a habit of it, you will begin to know the seasonal changes of the night sky, deepening your connection to the earth and the universe in which you live.
One of the best ways to stargaze is to lie down on a blanket so that your body can fully relax. This position allows your breath to move easily through your tranquil form as you settle down into the earth, connecting your consciousness to the sky. As you look deeply into its vastness, allowing your awareness to alternate between the pinpoints of light and the blue-black space that holds them, your breath expands and contracts your body, just as the universe expands and contracts to its own eternal rhythm. You may feel as if you are floating amidst the stars or that they are raining down upon you. You may feel peacefulness, joy, and connectedness, or any of a full range of emotions. Simply continue to breathe, experiencing the wonder of this universe and your place within it.
This is a short, guided meditation/relaxation. Susan has put this up to help you deal with stress, anxiety and worry.
Enjoy this awesome meditation.
An Introduction to Qigong
An introduction to Qigong by Peter Deadman provides you with an overview of what Qigong is about and what it’s aims are.
Hope you enjoy this short video.
Wondering if you might have Covid-19?
Here you can use the Self-Assessment Tool from HealthDirect. Just click on the link and it will take you to the self assessment page: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptom-checker/tool/basic-details
You do not need to identify your self or provide any personal information other than you age and sex.
Phylogenetic network analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes
Peter Forster a,b,c,1, Lucy Forster d, Colin Renfrew b,1, and Michael Forster c,e
a Institute of Forensic Genetics, 48161 Münster, Germany;b McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER,United Kingdom;c Fluxus Technology Limited, Colchester CO3 0NU, United Kingdom;d Lakeside Healthcare Group at Cedar House Surgery, St Neots PE191BQ, United Kingdom; and e Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrecht-University of Kiel, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
Significance
This is a phylogenetic network of SARS-CoV-2 genomes sampled from across the world. These genomes are closely related and under evolutionary selection in their human hosts, sometimes with parallel evolution events, that is, the same virus mutation emerges in two different human hosts. This makes character-based phylogenetic networks the method of choice for reconstructing their evolutionary paths and their ancestral genome in the human host.
The network method has been used in around 10,000 phylogenetic studies of diverse organisms, and is mostly known for reconstructing the prehistoric population movements of humans and for ecological studies, but is less commonly employed in the field of virology.
Abstract
In a phylogenetic network analysis of 160 complete human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) genomes, we find three central variants distinguished by amino acid changes, which we have named A, B, and C, with A being the ancestral type according to the bat out group coronavirus. The A and C types are found in significant proportions outside East Asia, that is, in Europeans and Americans.
In contrast, the B type is the most common type in East Asia, and its ancestral genome appears not to have spread outside East Asia without first mutating into derived B types, pointing to founder effects or immunological or environmental resistance against this type outside Asia. The network faithfully traces routes of infections for documented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, indicating that phylogenetic network scan likewise be successfully used to help trace undocumented COVID-19 infection sources, which can then be quarantined to prevent recurrent spread of the disease worldwide.
You can read the entire research paper here: <https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/04/07/2004999117>
The Pandemic Is Not a Natural Disaster
Communicating with Children & Teenagers about Covid-19
This is a comprehensive discussion of how to talk to your kids about the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
Hopefully this might help parents to lessen the anxiety and fear in their children.
Please share this with other Mums and Dads
Using Qigong to Actively Strengthen your Lungs
This is a video by one of my colleagues, Peter Deadman, showing you how you can strengthen and stimulate your Lungs. This is a great way to improve your overall immunity and vitality.
In this video my friend Kath Berry shows ways that the different countries around the World have handled the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19). She shows why the social distancing model works and why it is important for both the healthcare system and the economy.
It is very informative and only goes for 10 minutes – You need to watch this!!!