Dear Friends,
In a word, unprecedented. These are uniquely scary times.
Yesterday, seeking solace in routine, I jogged over to Brooklyn Bridge Park. I glimpsed the Statue of Liberty just as the B52s came on and I won’t lie, I felt a lump in my throat. The B52s take me back to the early 80s – big hair, parachute pants, and hardly a care in the world, though the cares seemed big at the time. The Statue of Liberty always brings my Grandma Lily to mind, and though I’ve run this route a thousand times, this combo, at this moment, got me.
Grandma Lily had a long and storied life. She arrived in New York around her 7th birthday, having left Poland to escape religious persecution. She arrived in New York Harbor with her sisters -- poor, barely literate in Polish, her mother terrified and facing a new life filled with challenges, and yet, Lily always had the cheeriest of outlooks. A call to her any time throughout my life meant basking in her several-second-long sing-songy greeting in her unmistakable voice: Dah-ling! It was worth the long-distance bill.
Today, I am doing my best to channel Grandma Lily. It’s not easy, so I’ve adopted a mantra:
Control what you can control
Toward that end, here are some of the things I’m trying to control, and I’m hoping you’ll consider joining me:
Social Media: Set a timer, and power down all screens an hour before bedtime.
Food and Drink: Of course, maintaining a healthy diet is more important now than ever.
Check In: Reach out to friends and family, especially those who are positive influences in your life.
And Me: Please check in with me! While I’ve closed my practice temporarily, I would love to hear from you; I’m happy to communicate via email, or set up a time to catch up on FaceTime or a phone call. At a minimum, I can walk you through some acupressure points that are extremely helpful in times like this. It’s barely been a minute, and I already miss my office, my work, and you.
Interested in supporting your immune system? Here is a video from Peter Deadman, a beloved scholar, writer and teacher in the Chinese medicine world, which he has generously shared.
And there is no wrong way to massage the most immune supportive acupuncture point in the world, used in 99% of all point prescriptions and shown in the photo here, right below the knee.
I know if I could call Grandma Lily today, she’d promise me everything would be okay, and I’d hang up feeling a little bit better. I hope this email provides even a moment of that kind of reassurance.
I’ll be back, and I can’t wait to see you when I am.
In Solidarity,
Margaret
Sikowitz.com
119 West 23 Street
Suite 802
New York, NY 10011