Winter is the time of year for grand feasts and gathering with loved ones. But it’s also the time when respiratory viruses make their rounds. As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Let’s take a look at a few “power” remedies well-known for their immune-enhancing effects and tips on how you can keep your immune system strong.
1. Eat Mushrooms for Your Immune System
“Let food be thy medicine & medicine be thy food”
Hippocrates
If I had to choose only one food for immune system support, it would be mushrooms. Asian traditions have used mushrooms for health and longevity for thousands of years. Scientific research, starting around the 1970s, has identified several compounds in various mushrooms that are antiviral, antibacterial, antitumoral, and immune-enhancing. Medicinal mushrooms can be consumed in supplement or whole-food form. Shiitake & Lions Mane mushrooms are an easy addition to the dinner menu and taste great.
2. Use Essential Oils: Potent Herbal Support for your Immune System
Pure, authentic essential oils are one of our most potent herbal remedies.
- Menthol in Peppermint reduces pain
- Eucalyptol in Eucalyptus clears out sinuses & opens airways
- Thymol in Thyme functions as an antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral.
A recent 2020 study by the National Institute of Health concluded “Thyme Essential Oil and extracts show diverse antiviral activity against such viruses as influenza virus, HSV-1, HSV-2, and HIV-1. In silico studies on the anti-Sars-CoV-2 activity of thymol are also very promising.”
Thyme essential oil is one of the signature oils used in our Raindrop Therapy sessions.
Use Essential Oils at Home to Support Immunity
A few essential oils you can use at home to support your immune system include lavender, lemon and orange.
- Add several drops to a glass spritzer bottle with water. Shake to blend before each use. Spritz into the air to freshen and improve air quality.
- Add a drop of essential oil (EO) directly to a cotton ball to place under your pillow each night, in your car vent, or even in your pocket.
- Purchase a home ultrasonic diffuser, which disperses the oils into the air.
Remember to always read the label on your essential oil bottle and use as directed. Check out general safety tips here: https://tisserandinstitute.org/safety-guidelines/
3. Incorporate Raindrop Therapy into Your Wellness Regimen
Raindrop Therapy combines the supporting properties of essential oils with Aromatherapy, Massage, VitaFlex (similar to Reflexology) & Energywork. Clients report getting sick less often, having milder symptoms when they do get sick and recovering faster when they receive Raindrop sessions every 3-4 weeks. Raindrop Therapy has been found to ease inflammatory-related pain as well as painful menstrual symptoms.
Call us 608-443-7048 to book (or schedule online) your Raindrop Therapy Session
Ask for Heather or Tasha
Through the safe application of essential oils, Raindrop Therapy provides support to every system of your body. This 90-minute session begins with your feet. Grounding, centering & applying the oils in combination with reflex techniques balance and engage the “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) part of your nervous system.
Once you’re settled in and feeling relaxed, we focus on your back & neck, applying the oils in Raindrop fashion. We’re focusing on the muscles that cradle the spine, relaxing the tissues and creating space for absorption of the oils along the neural highway. A hot towel compress, applied to cover your back and neck further relaxes you, reduces pain, opens pores, enhances essential oil activity, and increases circulation. We complete the session with gentle neck stretches and traction for the spine.
Schedule your Immune Boosting Session Raindrop Therapy Session with Heather or Tasha.
https://resolution.health/book-now/ Or give us a call at 608-443-7048.
Written by Tasha Bynum, Licensed Massage Therapist at Resolution Health Collaborative. Tasha is a life-long lover of learning, currently studying herb & food healing ways with the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine, deep nature connection with Wild Harvest Nature Connection and ancestral healing with Daniel Foor, PhD of Ancestral Medicine. She lives with her husband and children in Lake Mills, WI where they tend 36 beautiful acres of Ho-Chunk ancestral lands.