Empowering Yourself Through the COVID-19 Situation

You may be feeling afraid and vulnerable right now. It is important to understand that denial and minimizing the current situation creates a false sense of safety. Additionally, panic and over reaction are not helpful either. There are things you can do to empower yourself. Approaching the current Coronavirus, aka COVID-19, outbreak from a place of empowerment will go a long way in creating a greater sense of balance and calm.

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First and foremost, honor your feelings without getting lost in them. Acknowledging your feelings allows you to process them in a healthy way. Doing so also empowers you to understand what support is most needed, helpful, and appropriate. Anything that brings in a grounded state of being helps calm emotional anxiety and reduce emotional stress. For helpful tips and suggestions, please reference “The Importance of Grounding”.

Reduce your toxic load. Reducing your toxic load supports your body’s innate healing capacity and brings in more balanced physical state of being. This greatly supports your immune system, as your body doesn’t have to work so hard. For helpful tips and suggestions, please reference “The Importance of Holistically Reducing your Toxic Load”.

Eat well, rest, and stay hydrated. Do your best to support your body and your immune system by getting enough rest, eating well, and staying hydrated. Make food your medicine! Eat organic and bring in as much variety as possible. Add a mix of cultured and fermented foods and drinks to your daily diet. Additionally, it is very helpful to take the following supplements everyday: whole food vitamins, liquid vitamin D, and probiotics. If you have difficulty drinking enough water, please reference my blog post, “Water the Elixir of Life”, for helpful tips and suggestions on staying hydrated.

Helpful basic herbal extracts to have on hand that support respiratory health and immune function: Elderberry (Sambucus), Angelica (Angelica archangelica), Marshmallow root, and Ginger. Take these herbal extracts as needed by following the suggested dosage found on the extract’s labeling. It is most effective to add your extracts to a warm herbal tea and sip slowly.

Finally, I would like to share some of my favorite immune supporting recipes:

Immune Support Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup sliced or diced fresh Shiitake mushrooms
1 cup diced fresh Portobello mushrooms
1 large bunch chopped fresh spinach
1 large bunch chopped fresh kale
1 cup sliced fresh carrots
1 cup sliced fresh celery
1 large cubed fresh butternut squash (outer skin, stem, and seeds removed)
8 to 10 large minced fresh garlic cloves
1 small diced fresh yellow onion
1 large handful chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 sprig minced fresh rosemary
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
2 to 4 teaspoons salt
3 large dried bay leaves
2 large slices dried Astragalus root (optional)
6 to 8 fresh chicken legs (bone in)
3 tablespoons Avocado Oil
2 tablespoons fire cider or apple cider vinegar
4 to 6 cups filtered water, chicken stock, or bone broth
1 large capacity slow cooker aka Crock Pot

Instructions:

1
Place 2 tablespoons Avocado oil into the bottom of a large saucepan.
2
Add spinach, kale, onion, and garlic.
3
Sauté over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.
4
Place spinach, kale, onion, and garlic into slow cooker.
5
Return large saucepan to stovetop and add 1 tablespoon Avocado oil and chicken legs.
6
Gently brown over medium high heat.
7
Once browned, add chicken legs to slow cooker.
8
Add all remaining ingredients to slow cooker.
9
Allow to slow cook until chicken is falling off the bones, approximately 6 to 8 hours depending on your slow cooker.
10
Remove and discard chicken bones and skin, bay leaves, and Astragalus root.
11
Enjoy!

*Do not add the astragalus root to your soup if you are currently ill. You may substitute dried or frozen vegetables and herbs if fresh is unavailable.

Immune Support Tea

Ingredients:

French Press or Mason Jar
12 ounces Filtered Water
4 Garlic Cloves
4 teaspoons Elderberry Syrup
1 Lemon
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger Root (grated)
2 Tablespoons dried Elderberries
2 Tablespoons dried Marshmallow Root

Instructions:

1
Thinly slice or mince the garlic and place it in the bottom of your French press or Mason jar
2
Add the elderberries, marshmallow root, and grated ginger root
3
Add 12 ounces of boiling filtered water
4
Cover
5
Allow your tea to sit and infuse for 15 minutes
6
After 15 minutes uncover your tea and add the juice of 1 whole lemon and the elderberry syrup
7
Stir
8
Recover your tea and allow it to sit and infuse for another 15 minutes
9
Press off or strain your tea into a teacup
10
Stir and enjoy!

Drink while warm up to 4 times per day.

Mulled Herbal Spiced Cider

Ingredients:

2 cups Apple Cider or Apple Juice
6 whole Cloves
2 Cinnamon sticks
1 Tablespoon dried Elderberries
1 Tablespoon dried Citrus sinensis
1 Tablespoon dried Marshmallow root
1 Tablespoon dried Rose hips
1 teaspoon dried Ginger root
¼ teaspoon dried Cardamom

Instructions:

1
Place all ingredients into a medium saucepan
2
Bring to boil. Stir, cover, and reduce heat to lowest setting
3
Simmer for 15 minutes
4
Turn off heat
5
Carefully uncover, stir, and strain into mugs
6
Garnish with fresh lemon or orange slices if desired

Enjoy this tasty immune boosting twist on a traditional Yuletide beverage!

Fire Cider

Ingredients:

Approximately 1 quart of organic raw apple cider vinegar (with the mother)
1 cup (8 ounces) organic raw honey
¼ cup organic horseradish root grated
1 organic onion, chopped
1 head organic garlic, peeled & chopped
1 organic lemon thinly sliced
¼ cup organic ginger root grated
4 tablespoons organic turmeric root grated
¼ to 1 teaspoon organic cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1
Fill a clean quart wide-mouthed glass mason jar with the horseradish, onion, garlic, lemon, ginger, turmeric, and cayenne pepper
2
Add raw honey
3
Top off with apple cider vinegar
4
Cap your mason jar with a plastic lid and shake ingredients until well mixed
5
Allow ingredients to settle and add more apple cider vinegar if necessary
6
You want to make sure there is an inch or two of vinegar above the level of ingredients
7
Allow to sit, out of direct sunlight, for 4 to 6 weeks
8
Shake occasionally
9
Strain and store in the refrigerator

At the first sign of a cold take 1 to 2 tablespoons every 1 to 2 hours in warm tea or warm water and until your symptoms subside. This is also a great remedy for nausea and congestion. You may also take 1 to 2 tablespoons daily as an immune support. Never take or drink undiluted vinegar!

*Do not take fire cider if you have a fever or you are pregnant!

Elderberry Syrup

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons dried elderberries
2 cups filtered water
2 cups organic sugar

Instructions:

1
Place the water and dried elderberries into a saucepan
2
Bring to a boil
3
Cover and reduce to lowest heat setting
4
Simmer for 45 minutes
5
Turn off heat
6
Carefully uncover and strain off berries
7
Place 1 cup of strained liquid and the sugar into a clean saucepan
8
Gently bring up to a low boil over medium heat
9
Stir until all sugar is dissolved
10
Cool
11
Pour into a glass mason jar
12
Label with the date and ingredients
13
Store in the refrigerator and use within 8 weeks.

Herbal Gelatin Recipe

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups filtered water
3 tablespoons dried elderberries
2 tablespoons dried rosehips
3 tablespoons elderberry syrup
3 tablespoons grass-fed gelatin (I use organic Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin)

Instructions:

1
Place the dried elderberries and rosehips into a small saucepan
2
Add the filtered water and bring to a boil
3
Cover and reduce heat to lowest setting
4
Simmer for 40 minutes
5
Turn off heat
6
Carefully uncover and strain your herbal tea, returning it to the saucepan
7
Add the elderberry syrup and whisk to mix
8
Add the gelatin
9
Whisk and mix until the gelatin is completely dissolved
10
Pour your gelatin mixture into a shallow heat proof glass dish
11
Allow to cool on the kitchen counter for 15 minutes
12
Cover and place in the refrigerator. Your gelatin should be ready to eat in about an hour.

For more information on COVID-19 please visit:
https://www.who.int/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

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Rev Ann Rene

About the author

Reverend Ann Rene is a holistic healing practitioner, spiritual minister, and teacher who holds a broad spectrum of certifications and training in alternative as well as traditional healing therapies. She has traveled the world extensively studying wise woman healing techniques, energy medicine, shamanism, indigenous spirituality, and esoteric teachings. Empowered Goddess is the name of Reverend Ann Rene’s healing and teaching practice. She has spent over twenty-five years empowering women and children through heart centered energetic holistic healing support, intuitive guidance, and spiritual counsel. Additionally, Reverend Ann Rene offers extremely unique handcrafted artesian metaphysical healing support products, original artwork, local learning, and individual healing sessions.

Rev Ann Rene