What to do to stay relaxed at home

How yoga is helping while we all stay at home

Our whole way of being has  pivoted this week. My kids are home from school, I am using telemedicine to see my patients, and Lulu has us home all day interrupting her nap schedule. I, like many, have been going through ups and downs with the information I am seeing on the lack of testing ability, creating this rollercoaster of questions and emotions. When we are stressed, we produce excess cortisol. Like most everything else in life, cortisol in moderation is needed to keep our bodies balanced. How am I staying grounded during these times of flux? Yoga!

My good friend has brilliantly put her yoga school online to help support and keep continuity our lives.

I set up my mat on the living room floor and logged in to do yoga. I quickly realized it was not going to be the normal class of quiet. Lulu quickly decided she wanted to be a part of things.

note the ipad on the floor I am using for my virtual class

Next, my son had homework questions. Just as I was about to get irritated that this lack of space was not helping my cortisol levels, I realized the energy I was emitting was what was indeed drawing them to be right next to me. They both stayed during my entire practice, which did have math homework questions intermixed in.

Yoga builds strength, stability and flexibility of not just our bodies, but our minds and spirit as well. The Harvard School of Medicine recommends yoga as a way to reduce stress from anxiety resulting from the current COVID-19 social issues. I encourage you to give it a try when we need to be super flexible with ever changing schedules and social norms. Let me know how your home yoga practice or whatever you are doing to keep your stress managed during these times..  

What is Burdock Root?

I went to my local health food market the other day, and to my surprise found burdock root! It is not something you will find in your local grocery store, though you will most likely find it in an asian market. Burdock root is a gentle acting medicinal plant used in Europe, Asia and the Americas. I thought it would be fun to explore the benefits of burdock.

Burdock (Articum lappa) is an incredible herb. I use it almost daily for my patients in the form of tinctures or herbal powder. As a medicinal herb it is cooling in nature. It is used for skin problems.  It improves digestion. Other uses of burdock root that has been reported in the literature include treating chronic diseases such as cancers, diabetes and AIDS. However, it is also essential to be aware of the side effects of burdock including contact dermatitis and other allergic/inflammatory responses that might be evoked by burdock.

one burdock root on my counter with the daffodils I picked from my yard

Now that I have this medicinal root in my kitchen, I have to decide how to prepare it. To be honest, I have never cooked with burdock. So I did what everyone else does when they don’t know how to cook something. I looked it up and found what seems to be a simple recipe I found on spruceeats.com.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb gobo (burdock root)

• 1/4 lb carrot (peeled and cut into short and thin strips)

• 1 1/2 tbsp mirin

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 1/2 tbsp sake

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp sesame seeds

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Steps to Make It

1. Peel the gobo’s skin with a peeler (the traditional method is to scrape the skin off with the back of kitchen knife - Sasagaki, between shaved and sliced). Then diagonally slice thin strips so that each piece is about 2-inches in length. Then collect some of the slices and cut into thin matchbox strips. 

2. Soak the gobo strips in water for a while and drain well. You can add a drop of vinegar to the water if desired. Change the water several times until it is clean. Leave the gobo in the water until you are ready to cook.

3. Cut the carrots into matchbox strips.

4. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, and fry gobo for a couple of minutes.

5. Add carrot strips to the pan and stir-fry them.

6. Add sake, mirin, and sugar and stir-fry until the liquid is gone.

7. Season with soy sauce and stir-fry well.

8. Turn off the heat.

9. Sprinkle sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Obviously don’t feed this recipe to your pet as it contains alcohol.

I asked a fellow holistic vet and herbalist Dr. Connie DiNatale how she prefers to prepare her burdock root. She recommends making pickled burdock t for high blood pressure and head aches, as is used in Japanese traditional medicine. Cooking is a fun way for us to get to know our food that is medicine. If you would like to learn more about how burdock helps, us as well as our pets, let me know in the comments section below. And remember as always, these statements do not replace the medical advise of your doctor or veterinarian.

FDA Disclaimer: The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products presented on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.