From Stephanie Prima: Free Mindfulness and Qigong Training for COVID-19

Stephanie Prima – Contributed photo

In this time of COVID-19 we’ve all received tons of emails from businesses offering ‘tips’ to manage the crisis that are sales pitches in disguise. But there is very little on how to deal with the anxiety that comes with daily changes and restrictions. As a gift to our beloved community, I have put together an extensive list of mindfulness practices and a 50-minute Qigong practice to help you manage this stress – no sales pitch, no strings attached.

With social isolation and news of COVID-19 changing daily, it may seem like our lives has been put on hold and we have no control over our daily lives. While we can’t control the virus spread and mandates, we DO have control over ourselves and how we respond to the daily changes. Besides what the CDC recommends to protect ourselves and our loved ones, there are MANY things we can do to lower the anxiety and take back our sense of personal control and well-being.

Feeling better within ourselves is especially critical at this time, because chronic anxiety is stress, and chronic stress without some sort of healthy outlet and balance will compromise the immune system – just what none of us needs right now. Chronic stress can affect all of our physical, emotional, spiritual, and energetic systems, leading to fatigue, insomnia, headaches, digestive problems, and depression.

I am so grateful to live in a community where people are managing this crisis with resiliency, compassion, and generosity toward all our community members. And I’m grateful to all those essential workers who are on the line for the benefit of all.

While I can no longer teach in-person classes, I would like to offer what I can for the benefit of the community. So I share with you some helpful mindfulness and Qigong tactics to reduce anxiety and boost the immune system on several fronts. All are simple and doable by pretty much everyone.

The 50-minute Qigong sequence can be done in very little space home – you only need enough room to extend your arms. There is no prior experience needed, no special equipment or clothing; just wear flat comfortable shoes and clothing. The exercises I’ve chosen are specific to reduce anxiety and improve the immune system. They are easy to do even for beginners, and can be done in a seated position if necessary.

If you’re not familiar with Qigong, it’s an ancient Chinese practice, born out of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Through all these centuries, it has been proven as a terrific self-help tool. Indeed, modern scientific studies are now backing up what Qigong practitioners have always known – it works on many levels. Even doctors and nurses in hospitals in Wuhan are leading quarantined patients through Qigong exercises.

You can access my extensive list of immune-protective tactics and Qigong to help yourself here:  https://www.moveintomindfulness.com/mindfulness-and-qigong-for-covid-19/. I hope you find tools that appeal to you, and most importantly, encourage you to just DO something, even if it’s just one thing. Take back control of your inner landscape. Qigong will help you do that. Even those who say they can’t meditate because of the ‘monkey mind’ can practice Qigong to quiet the mind, bring the stress energy down, and sleep better. If you have any questions please feel free to email me, Stephanie Prima, [email protected].

Lastly, I would like to share this Prayer for a Pandemic, written by Jeanne Rikkers:

‘May we who are merely inconvenienced,
Remember those whose lives are at stake. 

May we who have no risk factors,
Remember the most vulnerable.

May we who have the luxury of working from home,
Remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.

May we who have flexibility to care for our children when their schools close,
Remember those who have no options.

May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those who have no safe place to go.

May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market,
Remember those who have no margin at all.

May we who settle in for a quarantine at home,
Remember those who have no home.

As feat grips our country,
Let us choose LOVE.

During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace to our neighbors.’

No doubt, we are headed for further economic upheaval. But in this time of COVID-19, I see opportunity to learn. It is my hope that as we rebuild, we will remember these times of how we worked together for the benefit of all. It is my hope that we rebuild as a caring community, state, country, and global force to create a new economy that includes compassion, dignity, and justice for the earth and all sentient beings.

Yours in Qi,
Stephanie

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