Flu Season is in Full Swing

Flu Season is in full swing. A client of mine recently sent me the following advice in an email. Its probably the best advice to come out of spam ever :). We at Chill would add the following plea if you are sick, Please - stay home, don't soldier through and go to work or to the grocery store - thus sharing your infection with others- stay home. You can order groceries online sometimes with free delivery (try Amazon fresh). And please those fever induced aches are not helped by Massage Therapy in fact massage moves the lymph in your body so if you are fighting something off, massage can actually make things worse by overloading an already pushed to the brink immune system. That said, Massage while you are healthy is a great way to stay healthy. Make it part of your stay healthy routine this Winter, book a massage every two weeks and I think you will quickly see the benefits in the form of reduced stress, better sleep, fewer aches and pains, better moods, and a better functioning immune system. We also have a myriad of aromatherapy supplies to support your well being. So while you are still in the pink of health come on in and get started on your healthiest winter yet.

Now the advice on how to stay Flu free this Fall/Winter

1. Frequent hand-washing with soap and warm/hot water.

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face, especially your eyes, nose and mouth.

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method..

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water . *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose fully once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.* Neti pots and sinus rinse kits are available at the drug store and relatively inexpensive….under $15.

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, warm water with ginger/lemon, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

7. (this one is mine) If you do become ill try a tea of freshly grated ginger, juice of a lemon, cayenne pepper and honey.

Stay warm, eat well, exercise and get massage therapy. We look forward to seeing you!

~The Chill Team
Nicole, Heather, Diana, Alix