Author: fizur-philip@cooperhealth.edu

The luscious fruits of the Amazon jungle still grow, undeterred by the raging pandemic. But many Colombian farmers and Indigenous communities have been left without a way to sell their harvests, and without the wherewithal to buy the staples of daily life. Seeing this need, two siblings launched The Harvest: Amazonian Barter. Now dozens of people line up every Friday in front of a truck packed with soap, rice, oil and other products that they exchange for fruits that would otherwise go to waste because of the virus. Read more of their inspirational story at https://apnews.com/602a36f9a1c6a8c3d96e9c3078dcbdf0

As nearly every state loosens restrictions, gyms are facing slowed rollouts, lost revenue and legal challenges from customers. There are “serious challenges ahead” for the fitness market, according to Beth McGroarty of The Global Wellness Institute.

Health clubs have been expanding into spaces “once occupied by department and smaller stores at shopping centers and on city streets,” explained McGroarty. The widespread lockdown in March, however, decimated the revenue of gym owners and left them struggling to pay rent on their large retail locations.

Learn more at https://abcnews.go.com/US/fitness-industry-fight-regain-trust-gyms-reopen/story?id=70742734

When coronavirus lockdowns came to his California mountain town, businessman Craig Fierro realized there would be no children’s birthday parties — no friends playing games, eating cake and singing “Happy Birthday.” Something must be done, he thought, to ease the disappointment. He found that something in his store. In April he posted an invitation on a Facebook community page: Anyone with a kid with an upcoming birthday could send him the name, date and address, and he’d drop off a present. The give-away was supposed to run through May and be for children ages 5-10. But he’s ended up giving the toys to toddlers and even bigger kids, in their late teens. Deliveries are Truckee-only, but folks from elsewhere in Tahoe are welcome to drive to the shop and pick one up. Read more about Mr. Fierro’s efforts at AP News.

Mindfulness microchillers are some of the best tools to stay calm and balanced and sharpen concentration and performance amid pandemic uncertainty. They are quick, portable, and easy to build into the day while on the run. You can practice five-minute microchillers in several different ways and to varying degrees. To learn more about these and how to implement them, check out this article on Psychology Today.

Endurance athlete Corey Cappelloni once ran six days through the Sahara Desert in what’s considered the most grueling foot race on Earth. But a 218-mile run to grandma after she was sickened with COVID-19 turned out to be the longest, toughest and most rewarding of his life.

Cappelloni’s “Run for Ruth” has raised more than $24,000 so far for smartphones and tablets to help older adults isolated due to the pandemic communicate with loved ones.

Learn more about Corey’s run at https://apnews.com/0d228ebaf997cf00dae4ab35612a1ade

Sometimes at home or at work we feel that everything is coming at us at once, especially as we try to manage the ever changing demands of this pandemic on all aspects of our lives. This can be distressing. When we feel emotional, we can feel overwhelmed and our thinking brain (the pre-frontal cortex) goes offline or becomes unresponsive – just like our computer does sometimes when we have too many programs and files open at once. This is why one of the most common pieces of advice given by the helpdesk it to reboot, and see if the problem persists.

We can use our mind’s reboot mechanism by telling ourselves to STOPP (Stop, Take a Breath, Observe, Pull Back for Perspective, Practice What Works) and breathe – a little slower, in through the nose, out through the mouth. In thinking about our breathing, we have shifted our focus of attention and the emotional thoughts fade a little into the background. In taking slower deeper breaths, we are calming our physical sensations of emotion. This reduces the emotion enough to allow our thinking brain to come back online, enabling us to make more rational responses.