Pandemic and Health

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Pandemic & Health

Good Health is key to a healthy living and in the pandemic; physical, mental, and emotional health have been repeatedly challenged. In cities especially where there has been limited space and parks have been minimal. Many living on their own in a one-bedroom flat with no human contact, only the internet for company. As the world goes back to the new normal, Aura took to the streets to talk to individuals who share their experience and how they deal with the issue daily. In the finale of the Pandemic series, we bring to you:

Health in the Covid Times:

Sandy 41, TBC

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Image from Canva

Samuel 30, Physical Health

I was always obese, a chubby child and I struggled with weight loss because of my love for food, I could eat 2 double cheeseburgers, a portion of super-size fries and fizzy drink in one sitting. Exercise for me was to walk up to the fridge to get unhealthy munchies and sit on the couch and watch endless TV. This went on for most of my single adult life, I am now 30 and looking back I was eating myself to the brink of a heart attack. One day I was out getting my grocery shopping and the only healthy thing in my trolly was sugar free chewing gum and the rest was junk food. I overheard the checkout lady make fun of me to her colleague and that was the tipping point for me. I knew I had to do something about it.

I began to research on how to work on loosing the extra weight. I began to start by just walking for 15 minutes each day, we went into the lockdown, and I felt like this was the end of my workout plan. However, we were allowed to exercise at least an hour a day. I took advantage of this and religiously began by walking in the park and then moved on to jogging around the football pitch at the park. I could see an improvement in 4 weeks and my eating habits changed, I began to understand, what foods were healthy and what foods to avoid.

I signed up for the local 10km run and everyday I was out in the park building my stamina, I learnt a lot about my nutrition and exercise, I began to see the benefits and I lost all the excess weight, becoming a health freak. I recently signed up for the London Marathon and I am training for it. In the pandemic being on my own made me learn more about myself and what I am capable of and I began to help myself by setting a long term goal and created small goals to get to my final goal of the major weight loss.

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Anastasia 28, Mental Health

Living in the City was my choice as it was easy for me to get into work. I found a 1-bedroom flat that was ideal for me. The city dweller’s lifestyle is work a 9 to 5 job and then meet up with friends in the evening for drinks, or dinner or events planned during the week. The weekends were always for shopping, cleaning, and getting ready for the week ahead. And some weekends I would travel to the countryside to visit my grandparents and spend quality time with them.

And then everything changed, with the lockdown, I was unable to travel into work, meet with friends afterwards. The first 3 weeks I was grateful that for once life slowed down, and I could take a break from the social life. But then I began to work longer hours, the 9 to 5 job turned out to be a 9 to 8 job. I was spending more time working and taking no break at all, my contact with my family and friends became limited to a point of non-existent. I began to feel alone, vulnerable and lost, as soon as I finished work, I would go to bed and sleep for ages and when I was awake, I would keep thinking about how alone and pathetic my life is and that if I die no one will care. My mental wellbeing was getting affected by it all.

One evening I was checking my phone and came across a WhatsApp status of a friend, I clearly remember the words talking to me “This Shall Too Pass!” The simple four words phrase awakened something deep within and I sent a message to the friend, thanking her and we got talking about how she was coping with the pandemic and my brain started registering. I had trained as a yoga instructor and was so engrossed in my city life that I had put my practice on a hold. Each morning I practice movement meditation through yoga and have gotten back on track with my mental health.

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"A Healthy Outside starts from the Inside." – Robert Urich

Final of the Pandemic series, 3 beautiful souls share their inspire tales about health, physical, mental, and emotional.

 by Kiran Kaur

March  2022

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