It was a terrible winter for flu and other illnesses! Here in Italy for sure, but also in America and it seemed all over the world so many people were getting really sick, even to the point of hospitalization.  I remember hearing entire schools were closing in Florida in order to prevent the spread of flu because it had gotten so bad.  Periodically I would stop and notice that I had managed to escape even catching a cold, but as it was also a particularly long winter I felt that it wouldn't be wise to declare I'd had an illness-free winter until I was sure spring was here to stay.  Well, now we're well into May so I am sure winter is over and I can state as fact that I had a healthy winter!  I am particularly happy about that because I was not only out amongst the public throughout the winter but I nursed my 2 kids through fevers as well (my daughter at least twice), so it's not as though I was never exposed to germs.

I've made a lot of changes in the last few months, drawing a lot on yogic principles and practices throughout my day.  I thought it could be helpful to reflect on what changes I've made which could have helped keep me healthy this winter.  I don't want to pretend that anything here is a silver bullet to avoiding colds and flu, but perhaps combined they gave me more immunity - and they certainly didn't do any harm.

• Neti pot - I went on a small spiritual retreat in Assisi in October and bought a neti pot.  Neti pots allow you to use saline (salt water) to wash out your nose.  It helps clear out mucus and can help with nasal allergies, colds, and sinus problems.  I have used my neti pot regularly, usually once per day (after my shower), but if I felt like something might be brewing in my sinuses I would use it 2 or more times per day.  I don't purchase any special saline, but instead boil water and once it cools put it in a container I can seal. I then add 1/2-1 tsp of salt per 2 cups of water.  Super easy and cheap.  At some point I may make a video  on how to use a neti pot.  It's easy but can take a little getting used to.
• Scarf - The scarf is a big part of Italian culture (and other European countries).  One of my closest friends is Italian, and we often joke about how vital the scarf is in protecting people from getting sick.  It is absolutely the mindset here that your skin getting cold/feeling a draft will certainly result in becoming sick.  This is not naturally part of my American culture, but I have to admit that I have succumbed to the dependence of the scarf.  When I start to feel that my throat feels the least bit sore or my nose is starting to get a little runny, I make sure my throat is covered, even if it's warm out.  The other handy thing with a scarf is utilizing it to cover the nose and mouth when needed.  In January I took my regular 3 flights to get to Carmel, IN from Italy, and on the first of those flights I had a teenager behind me who was one of the many last winter who suffered from a terrible cough.  The poor guy would really get coughing once he started.  He was directly behind me, and we all need to share that small airspace on a plane.  I spent that flight (luckily, it wasn't the long cross-Atlantic one!) with my scarf up over my mouth and nose, in the hopes of limiting the amount of germs I would breathe in from his poor cough.
• Strategic breathing - This one is simply a Kara-ism - it really came from my imagination but, again, it didn't hurt!  I don't have a car, so everything I do is on foot.  This winter I passed many people who would cough or sneeze as I was about to walk past them.  When I saw they had coughed or sneezed, I would take an inhalation and slowly exhale (through the nose) as I walked past them, not inhaling again until I really needed to.  My logic is as I am entering the airspace where their germs are, I am not breathing in their germs - in fact I am blowing them away gently through my exhalation.  This is also helpful when passing the incredible numbers of smokers encountered throughout the day in my city.
• Healing energy - My meditative practice includes summoning and sending out healing energy.  If ever I felt that I was starting to catch something, I would consciously send healing energy where needed in my body during my meditation time.  
• Meditation - Meditation simply has a positive effect on health - that's a scientific fact which has been proven over and over.  In the past months my meditation time increased fairly dramatically, and that in and of itself has positive results for my health.

I have become much more in tune with my body and energy in the last few months in particular, and I think part of my ability to stay well during the winter was realizing very early when something wasn't quite right, and then taking various actions that are more powerful when they are dealing with a small amount of germs, rather than trying to fight something off once it's really taken hold.  

I have two cherished spiritual sisters who I meditate with online weekly.  One lives in Sweden and the other in South Africa.  For now, we are blessed that we are in the same timezone even though we are living a bit all over the place; I hope we will still be able to connect as often when I move 6 timezones away.  We met through a course of Ananda online.  In addition to our online meditations, we check in with each other most days through WhatsApp.  It really is a blessing to have these souls in my life, walking a similar spiritual path and giving and receiving advice about our meditation practices as well as life in general.

One of these sisters has given me permission to share this inspiring metaphor that came to her last week.  She had been feeling quite inspired with her meditation and spiritual practices a few weeks ago.  She felt confident in her direction, both where she was at the time and where she felt she was going.  Then, she took a vacation which for various reasons was a mixture of Spirit everywhere and nowhere.  It was a holy place with rich spiritual history and energy, but personally she was not able to meditate due to time constraints, and the personal circumstances taking place throughout her time there were confusing her and seemingly pulling her away from her higher self and spiritual seeking.  

She was feeling very conflicted when she came back from vacation.  Her heart was torn in opposite directions.  Upon her return she was jet-lagged and physically sick, and as she is also the mother to a toddler she was finding it very difficult to have the energy to meditate.  When she finally recovered physically, it still took her a while to have energy in her meditations and often found she was struggling to not fall asleep while meditating.  Perhaps more frustrating than her tiredness during meditation was the simple struggle of motivation.  She was feeling unsure of her dedication to her spiritual path as it seemed she was forsaking another version of her life in choosing this path, and her meditations were not feeling very inspired.

In time, through dedication and willpower, she was able to bring herself back to her previous point of being able to go deeply into meditation, and feeling herself connected to her spiritual path.  She sent the most beautiful message the other day (I’m paraphrasing):