The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Prognosis and Your Response
The world, or at least most of it, is today seized with the Coronavirus situation – where it’s hit, how many affected, how many dead or recovered, how many relapsed after cure and so on. The world economy has slowed down to a tortoise-like gait. And, that has consequences…jobs, income, physical health, mental health, relationships, travel, business, entertainment and perhaps, every aspect of life that we so far took for granted will suddenly look very different. The changes will creep upon us little by little and sometimes suddenly!
That means a time of great change is upon us. Most will stumble through the changes but many will succumb – physically, mentally, emotionally, financially or in some other way. But a few will come out of it (if ever there’s any coming out) relatively unscathed.
Many national leaders in Europe and elsewhere are announcing how they expect 50 percent, 70 percent or even all their citizens to be affected (infected) sooner or later. And, that doesn’t sound like a great thing to happen. But how many are taking their dire warnings with any seriousness? Is anyone even preparing? How?
Without being alarmist, assuming food supplies, essentials etc will surely be impacted sooner or later and in some way, the most important thing is going to be health. How one looks after all aspects of his own health and the health of his family is going to matter far more than anything else.
Coronavirus is a respiratory health issue far more than anything else. But it could mutate. And, even if it does, there’s little doubt that respiratory health is going to remain a major issue. Looking after one’s overall health well and respiratory health particularly well is going to be a ‘LIFE AND DEATH’ matter.
India and Indians have been especially fortunate in that our rishis and seers have left us a rich tradition of ‘pranayama’. Sadly, however, only a tiny percentage have adopted pranayama as a lifestyle choice.
Pranayama encompasses a vast range of breathing techniques, each designed for a special aspect of physical and mental health but not just that. Maharshi Patanjali, the author of ‘Yoga Sutra’ encapsulated most of these techniques and left them behind for posterity.
We need to awaken post-haste to the wisdom of Patanjali and other yoga masters, particularly with respect to their practices of pranayama. Those among us who start familiarising themselves with pranayama, in particular, will do themselves an immense favour. A crisis is usually best overcome by those who are truly well-prepared. If you have been practicing pranayama, that’s wonderful. If not, please start now!
Let me get you started here, with a simple technique to empty your lungs of all stale air and inhale lungfuls of fresh air:
Sit or stand straight but comfortably and blow out as much air as you can through your mouth…then without inhaling, stop for a moment and blow out again…do it a few times until lungs are empty. Then breathe in (inhale) slowly through your nose. Repeat the blowing out through the mouth a few times without inhaling and then inhale again. This cycle may be repeated 10/12 times, ideally on an empty or light stomach.
Once you’ve understood this and practiced it well for a few weeks, you’ll be ready to learn a technique that will almost ensure you remain largely unaffected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its mutations even if the virus were to hit you.
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– Rajesh Kanoi (rajyogi)
