First Steps - Healing the Autonomic Nervous System
First Steps
Healing the Autonomic Nervous System
The Habit Ayurveda
First Steps to Healing.
This blog is part of a series on my personal experience with Long Covid / Post viral illness. To get these stories delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for my email list here:
Last week's article on my journey through post-viral illness was on the subtle symptoms of dysautonomia - aka dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.
If you missed it you can read and check your symptoms here .
One of the many, many responses I received read:
"As I read your email about dysautonomia, I got a little emotional. I felt so…seen. Heard. I have been saying for the past 25 months, to family to friends to doctors to anyone who will listen that “my nervous system seems to have lost the ability to regulate (inflammation response, immune response, pain response, temperature, fear/stress response, energy, GI processes, etc., fill in the blank)”. All this time, everyone (I was seeing over 20 specialists at one point) seeking to treat the symptoms. Even functional medicine doctors."
I have to say it's bittersweet to hear the story of another person who can relate. To feel heard and seen can be a relief, but it also means another person is struggling.
Many people are struggling.
Like my dear reader above, last year I went through the gambit of doctors, specialists and tests.
Blood work, ECGs, Brain MRI, Chest CT, Ultrasound, 7 different prescription meds, iron infusions, B12 shots via my GP
Visits to the Allergist, Cardiologist, Hematologist, and Interior Health Long Covid specialist
Over $4,500 spent on Naturopathy, including all kinds of testing and supplementation (at one point they had me on 31 different supplements/tinctures 🙄)
And guess what? None of it was all that helpful. (some of it was definitely harmful)
As wonderful as these modalities are (and truly, they are. Medical & Naturopathic Science has uncovered so much about the human body),
none were able to reach the root of the problem, which was dysregulation of my nervous system.
Unfortunately, just like the gut microbiome, western medicine has yet to unlock the vast mysteries of the nervous system.
Even more unfortunately, what results is a lot of people just being diagnosed with anxiety, fibromyalgia, or chronic fatigue, and then not really being treated.
Thankfully there are many modalities that have focused on the gut, the nerves and the breath for millennia.
Ayurveda being the prime example.
I want to clarify here that I didn't fault myself for looking outside of my own profession for support. In fact it was the opposite - receiving the feedback that all of my tests were coming back "clear" from a medical perspective was a big relief.
It was the confirmation that I needed that I won't die from this. That I don't need to focus on fear of "does x symptom = y disease", I can simply focus on healing.
And the first thing I tried that started to heal me?
Getting realllllly into my breath.
Interesting fact: Breathing is the only aspect of the autonomic nervous system you can control
So what if... breath is the key to initiating recovery?
Looking for simple tools to bring you back to balance?
three things I did to get present with my breath:
1. Breath support from a teacher
Just because I teach holistic health doesn't mean I'm impervious to illness. Just because I teach mediation doesn't mean I don't need support sometimes too. I needed a hand to hold mine as I got present with the discomfort in my body. A lot of feelings come up when you're unwell, no one should have to go it alone.
I reached out to my dear friend and Teacher Aditya Bhatia (<< that's a link in case you're looking for an AMAZING teacher for 1:1 support) in India. He held space while I cried, led me in breathing through and letting go of fear, and reminded me of the healing that takes place when you orient to love. He also taught me the power of prayer ♥️ 🙏.
2. Breathing as part of movement practice, starting slow to avoid post-exertional malaise
Folks with post viral illness / long haul are likely to experience fatigue. You have to be careful not to over-do it, physically or mentally, or you'll hit a wall and your symptoms will flare. That being said, movement is an important part of healing. Movement and breath brings fresh oxygen to the brain, and helps the lymphatic system & immune system clear out viral cells.
This practice became a staple of my early recovery . I did it three times a day, often while sitting in my bed, and gradually increased my movement from there.
3. 20 minute interval reminders for diaphragmatic breathing.
Diaphragmatic breathing (deep breathing into your lower chest) takes you out of fight or flight and into parasympathetic / rest & restore state. No healing can happen in stress state and when you're working, cooking, cleaning, being a busy human, feeling sick or all of the above, it's easy to get stuck in the shallow breathing pattern that keeps you in fight or flight.
I used this app to play a bell every 20 minutes, reminding me to stop and take 5 deep breaths and just chill and be quiet for a moment.
…
That's it. That was my first step to healing.
Of course there are many steps in this journey, but like with everything, it's good to pace.
I spent a good 2 months really only focusing on this, and it brought me to a place where I could comfortably go for a hike again without hitting that wall of fatigue.
Let me know {{ subscriber.first_name }}, how's your breathing? This might be a small but mighty step in your healing journey too (or a loved ones if you pass this along :)).
Next week I'll be talking about.... hm what would you pick?
The most healing diet I've found
The most helpful supplements I've found
How to rewire your brain to slow inflammation & symptom flares
The V word (I said I wasn't going to talk about it but wow I've had replies to every email asking about it)
The life changing magic of chronic illness - what I learned from a year in bed
All of these stories are coming up, but if you want to have a vote on what's next just hop in the comments and let me know!
To your healing breath,
Carly at The Habit Ayurveda
p.s - Are you feeling ready to focus on small shifts like this one to help you heal? The Everyday Ayurveda Course might be your perfect next step.
