A few weeks ago, my five-year-old son and I got hit with the flu. No, we did not confirm this with testing, but the two things that stood out and make it likely was a horrendous headache and the pure persistence of the symptoms. In fact, we both still have coughs.
It has been relentless.
The importance of learning to manage the pain of acute infections without drugs cannot be underestimated. I devoted an entire chapter to this topic in my book Eat in Peace to Live in Peace: Your Handbook for Vitality. Drugs rob the body of seeking its own resolution and instead of the infection making you stronger, it makes you weaker.
Well-managed acute infections are important to both our physical AND spiritual development, particularly in children. After all, these parts of ourselves really can’t be separated, can they?
Getting sick is not a failure. It’s an opportunity for healing. The reality that we don’t live in a world that understands this should anger and motivate you to do something different next time you are sick.
Given that so many people are suffering right now, I thought it would be a good time to tell you how I moved (and continue to move) through it.
The single thing that brought us the most relief was daily garlic foot baths!
Here's how to do it:
-Boil a quart or two of water.
-Take an entire bulb of garlic, use your palm to crush each clove with the flat side of a knife to remove the skins, and add to the boiled water.
-Let it sit for 5 minutes or so and then add to the foot bath, along with some cooler water. You want it as hot as you can stand it.
-A 30 minute foot bath is a good time frame to submerge your feet in the garlic water.
I am happy to report that Drake loved doing these with me.
So why does this work so well?
The sulfur compounds from the garlic are absorbed through the skin, bypass the digestive tract, enter the bloodstream and essentially fumigate the lungs. Drake and I would have a race to see whose breath would start to smell like garlic faster. It takes about 5-10 minutes.