- Cecilia Macaulay
52 delightful, Corona-busting activities, and the scholarly evidence behind them.
Updated: Apr 15
A virus with no man-made cure is coming our way. We can dodge it for a few weeks and months, but according to statistical models, the most likely scenario is that we will eventually catch it and get well again. Unless we don't. The future may be uncertain, but I've always been convinced of this: the #1 most cheap, effective and enjoyable way to survive is to invest in being radiantly, naturally well. Dodge the stress and poison our culture will try to pile onto you, and give your immune system everything it needs to do it job when the time comes.
Below is an unconventional ‘prescription’ in verse, of 52 activities to get you from ‘tired and wired’, to ‘chilled and fulfilled’ by medical pioneer Dr Marc Cohen. Its cute, but its as substantial as you can get. Dr. Marc went a bit overboard, when it comes to being qualified in wellness. He is a practicing GP with PhD's in Chinese medicine and engineering, on how systems work. He is a Professor with over 100 original peer reviewed papers, who created the master of wellness program at RMIT in Melbourne. He lives in a Permaculture edible garden, created by his mates though an endless series of parties, so Dr. Marc walks his talk. His prescription for you includes links to scholarly articles, so if you aren’t sure having this much fun is good for you, click on the 52 coloured links and get the proof.
How ironic is it that it took all that education to come to the conslusions that we should be doing the things our hearts desired all along.
Below is an unconventional ‘prescription’ in verse, of 52 activities to get you from ‘tired and 100 original peer rviewed papers, who created an
The Slowdown Shuffle, aka:
How to go from 'Wired and Tired' to 'Chilled and Fulfilled'
Hold someone’s hand, gaze into their eyes
Go barefoot in nature, bask in sunrise
Choose a dance partner, go find your groove
Do tai chi or yoga, mindfully move
Share a massage, enjoy healing touch
Focus on one thing and don’t think too much
Make time for a hobby, play chess, fly a kite
Make use of your hands, draw, paint, sew or write
Help someone in need, donate to a cause
Play games, meditate, read stuff from bookstores
Turn off your screens, get a good sleep
De-clutter, spark joy, love what you keep
Dig around in a garden, pick up a guitar
Slip into a bathtub, sauna, or spa
Care for a pet, take up a sport
Go on vacation, make your home a resort
Lie in a hammock, release pent-up stress
Relax and do nothing, then do even less
Laugh out loud, share a joke, give someone a kiss
Say a prayer, chant a mantra, follow your bliss
Lovely, right? Which one do you want to do first? For a few days last week, I did let myself get consumed by corona media. I became miserable, fiesty and unwell, with no benefit to the world at all. When I noticed, I took the poem's advice, and turned off the screen. 'No more wallowing in internet news, unless you plan to do something about it' I told myself. I've been ticking one adventure of the list each day, here in lockdown with my 79-year-old mum, staying in her riverside Footscray apartment. I suggest an adventure, and then my little mother steps up, and does something that surprises me, every day. I don't tell her the idea is from the poem, she just thinks 'What an interesting daugher I have'.
Mary and Cecilia getting chilled and fulfilled, on our daily exersize outing. She kept on going, pushing her walker through the wetland, past the swans, past the interesting pink protected lady, all the way to Franco Cozzo and home again, in time for a game of two-up.
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