Faced with great peril we rallied, made selfless sacrifices and triumphed against death and disaster… all thanks to the God of Science and from the comfort of our own home.

I dream of a Christmas tale with an edifying story, the expected happy ending and just enough magic to make it credible.

Nine months on (and just in time for Christmas!) we are given THE solution to the current threat: a vaccine against Covid-19!
Quite what the threat is seems unclear, and varies considerably depending on your perspective, but it is affecting everyone’s life.

We all long for a return to a more “normal” life where planning ahead is possible, enjoying the company of friends permissible and singing carols an act of goodwill instead of a risk to human life.

So what can be said of the “Novel Vaccine” against a “Novel Disease” in those unprecedented times of global “Pandemic”?

THEY WERE PRODUCED VERY QUICKLY

Because a vaccine takes on average four years to produce, the usual techniques were not applied for the Covid-19 vaccine.

As a reminder the two main current vaccine types are:

Inactivated vaccines which contain inactivated, but previously virulent, micro-organisms that have been destroyed with chemicals, heat, or radiation.
Examples include vaccines against polio, hepatitis A, rabies and most influenza.

Attenuated vaccines which contain live, attenuated microorganisms. Many of these are active viruses that have been cultivated under conditions that disable their virulent properties, or that use closely related but less dangerous organisms, to produce a broad immune response. Although most attenuated vaccines are viral, some are bacterial in nature.
Examples include vaccines against the viral diseases yellow fever, measles, mumps, and rubella, and against the bacterial disease typhoid.
Attenuated, or live, weakened, vaccines typically provoke more durable immunological responses. But they may not be safe for use in immunocompromised individuals, and on rare occasions mutate and cause disease.

Spurred by the sense of urgency from the current crises, enter new, and potentially game changing, technologies.

In the case of Covid-19 the main laboratories that have announced positive results from their as-yet unverified trials are: 

• Sanofi (in France), who joined forces with GlaxoSmithKline (in the UK), to produce a vaccine that uses the same technology as one of Sanofi's seasonal influenza vaccines coupled with a boosting substance (an "adjuvant"): squalene issued from the fat of sharks – and other Cetacea.
• Moderna, and the Pfizer/BioNTech collaboration in the US who are using a new technology to create a messenger RNA (m-RNA) vaccines.
• AstraZeneca the U.K. pharma giant, in partnership with the University of Oxford, and the Russian laboratory Gamaleya who are relying on a replication-deficient adenovirus vector to produce their vaccine.

The Sanofi vaccine uses a recombinant DNA technology called: Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS), a technology that produces proteins found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 (spike proteins) by editing the DNA of a baculovirus (a type of virus affecting insects). The modified baculovirus is then used to infect designated laboratory raised insects and the resultant spike proteins harvested from them. The vaccine is produced by combining those protein fragments with the adjuvant squalene. The immune system is expected to react directly against the floating spike proteins. This, however, seems to be somewhat difficult to predict in any reliable way without multiple trial and error which might explain why the more recent tests results are essentially disappointing and Sanofi has requested more time to perfect their vaccines.

It is not a new technology, but it has produced controversial vaccines in the past. Those include the HPV vaccine and the Hepatitis B vaccine.

Because the vaccine contains fragments and not the whole virus it is possible that the immune system will not recognise it or produce a weak response that will need many re-inoculations, with the additional risk of exposure to the adjuvant. In the case of squalene GSK has already had to face lawsuits in 2009 against its squalene-containing H1N1 vaccine which was shown to have caused narcolepsy in 100’s of cases.

Another point of controversy with this type of technology is with respect to the fragments themselves that are not guaranteed to be configured correctly. The chain of amino acids building the protein could be sequenced correctly but folded in an inappropriate manner that could potentially lead to unpredictable results.

The greatest advantage of the messenger-RNA technology chosen by Moderna and Pfizer is the rapidity of production (no need to cultivate viruses) and therefore low cost involved. A possible drawback is the logistics of distribution requiring a very cold supply chain (minus 20C to 70C).

This technology consists of incorporating an RNA mediated message into our cells via a liposomal (tiny fat) capsule to instruct the cells to make SARS-CoV-2 spikes, to stimulate the relevant immunity against it and therefore inactivate the actual virus should we encounter it. A remarkably clever idea for its simplicity and precision.

The adenovirus vaccine technology currently being tested by AstraZeneca and Gamaleya uses a genetically modified and replication-deficient adenovirus. Those adenoviruses have had their DNA hacked to incorporate the gene for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Those GMO vectors instruct our own cells to produce the spike protein required to activate the immune system.

AstraZeneca (in the UK) has chosen an adenovirus issued from the chimpanzee as their GMO vector while Gamaleya (in Russia) is using one of human origin for its aptly-named vaccine Sputnik V (sputnik means traveling companion in Russian - clearly these scientists are not devoid of humour!). The Sputnik V vaccine is already being used in Moscow on masses of human volunteers. The next few months will be crucial in evaluating the safety of this GMO technology.

Whatever we think of the pandemic, its political implications, vaccination as a whole, and the fight for freedom of choice, looking at the facts objectively can only enhance our ability to choose wisely.

In the words of St. Francis de Sales
“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”

"Philosophy teaches us to feel uncertain about the things that seem to us self-evident.

Propaganda, on the other hand, teaches us to accept as self-evident matters about which it would be reasonable to suspend our judgement or to feel doubt.”

Aldous Huxley

A simplistic view of the measures taken to counteract the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 virus might give the impression that they were meticulously organised based on unquestionable “scientific evidence”, and necessary because we were dealing with a super-virus with unfathomable power for destruction.

1. Organisation was, and still is, far from meticulous or coordinated. In the initial phase the focus was on hand-to-nose/eyes transmission. Masks were discouraged while panic buying of hand sanitiser became essential. This came out of the assumption that SARS-CoV-2 behaved like the flu virus. It was later agreed that aerosols were the most likely main transmission route, yet masks are still looked upon as less relevant than handwashing and distancing. This is not just illogical, it is impractical: In a normal life situation, wearing a mask is a lot easier than keeping a 2 metre distance, even when aware of distancing and the strict handwashing protocol!
 
2. The “science” behind the measures is based on ONE statistical model (from Imperial College London) which was never openly challenged by other models. Yet, in order to create a statistical model it is necessary to make numerous projections and assumptions. Projections are based on actual figures gathered initially, but without much perspective, such as how quickly the virus was spreading, while assumptions are necessary in terms of human behaviour and the elusive starting date of CoV-19 with patient zero. It is now fairly well documented that SARS-CoV-2 was already amongst us in late 2019 and that patient zero was not, as was assumed, in January/February 2020. This changes everything about the rate of spreading, the number of immune amongst us and the mortality rate. Yet, the initial model has not been revised and we are continuing to release lockdown based on the assumption that only a small percentage of us are immune and a high percentage of Covid-19 sufferers die. 
 
3. After a short appearance that started in January 2020, Covid-19 was dropped off, on March 19th, from the list of High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) on the Government’s website. For reference, lockdown in the UK officially started on the 26th of March, a fact that puts total lockdown in question: an unprecedented measure with extreme consequences! Lockdown measures were taken to control the rate of hospitalisation and reduce demand on limited life-support facilities but it was later agreed that delaying invasive oxygen support was more effective. Even at the most critical time of the pandemic, at no point did the NHS run out of ventilators. This is despite a current shortfall of 7100 apparatus below target.

Was total lockdown necessary by the time it was put in place?
Was continuing with it, for over 12 weeks, worth the damaging cost to our human psyche and societal fabric?
Was the “science” even accurate?
Did “The End justify The Means” in this social experiment?
Or simply demonstrate how easily our personal agency can be hijacked and manipulated!

Going forward we have acquired solid information about:

• Viral transmission: The main dissemination of the virus is through aerosol. Those are tiny droplets which are formed and expelled when water or body fluids are under pressure. They stay in suspension for a number of minutes before settling. Under certain conditions, the lighter droplets can evaporate quicker than the time it takes to settle and they remain suspended for longer. When coming from a virus carrier, aerosols carry viral capsules that can settle on surfaces. Those can be picked up and transmitted from hands to nose or eyes. But, if you are on the slipstream of an aerosolised viral sneeze, they can be breathed directly into your lungs and bypass immune tissues in the nose and throat.
 
• Viral load: This is a fundamental concept to contagion. A few virus particles will not be enough to mount an infection. Additionally the load threshold varies considerably from one individual to another depending on their immune resilience. Also relevant is the site of delivery. The skin and gut lining are more impermeable and resistant than the lungs which are designed to absorb small gaseous molecules straight into the bloodstream. It follows that viral loaded aerosol breathed directly into the lungs will more likely lead to infection than any other method of picking up the virus.
 
• Contagion and asymptomatic carriers: There is much debate about SARS-CoV-2 and its exceptional power to survive, travel and replicate leading to theories about this super virus hiding where there is no symptom and making those asymptomatic carriers potential super spreaders.
  This theory is in fact an amalgamation of two different situations: pre-symptomatic (not yet aware of symptoms because very mild) and asymptomatic (never develops symptoms).
  Viral load spreading is greatest at the beginning of symptoms when the immune system has not yet started to organise its counterattack. Those symptoms start as vague and diffuse and are often un-detected until the 2nd or 3rd day, yet those first three days are the most contagious.
  Pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic are not the same. Asymptomatic carriers have been shown to be very low spreaders while the pre-symptomatic that is not yet fully aware of the problem can be particularly contagious especially if he shouts, sings, sneezes, coughs or has diarrhoea.
  Being vigilant really means being attentive to how we feel and our symptoms, even if they are mild.

  For reference, the following symptoms are associated with Covid 19:

  1. Temperature
  2. Fatigue
  3. Upper respiratory symptoms including sore throat and runny nose
  4. Loss of taste and/or smell
  5. Rash
  6. Skin symptoms akin to chilblains (red/swollen or discoloured extremities)
  7. Diarrhoea

  Fatigue or/and low-grade temperature with or without diarrhoea seem to be the earlier symptoms.

• Aerosol formation and settling time: Those will form when we talk (the louder the more aerosols produced), puff and pant, sneeze and cough.
  Toilets are another area where aerosols are rife especially when flushing with the lid open.
  The larger droplets settle in a few minutes. The lighter/smaller ones can float for over an hour depending on conditions. The virus has been shown to survive for up to 72 hours depending on surfaces but this doesn’t make it likely to be contagious for that amount of time because viral load is such a critical factor in infection and virulence outside the host will diminish over time.

The most critical aspect of contagion is suspended aerosolised viral particles followed by hand to nose from infected surfaces.

This has led me to put in place the following measures to ensure your security and comfort:

1. Pre-screening of all clients and therapists before coming into the clinic. Advising to stay home even if symptoms are mild.
2. Obligatory masks for everyone. Those are available at the clinic.
3. Hand-sanitising on arrival and throughout the day
4. Air purifiers in the rooms during treatment for on-going aerosol elimination: those are equipped with HEPA filters (to filter larger particles), UV (shown to kill germs, including viruses) and an ioniser (shown to speed the settling time of aerosols).
5. Ventilation protocol between treatments.
6. Longer cleansing time between treatments to ensure that all contact-surfaces are cleansed; those include the toilet area, door handles, chairs, handrail etc.

Despite its confusing mortality rate and the greater threats from global warming, famine, diabetes and autism, Covid-19 has mobilised energy and deployed worldwide actions never seen before in human history.

Estimates of the average death rate for Covid-19 range between 0.1% (based on the control group provided by the Diamond Princess Cruise ship) and 0.5% . 

For reference, the autism rate in the UK in 2013 was estimated to be 1.1% and current projections suggest a doubling of reported cases by 2023.

Yet autism mobilises virtually no funding and no interest from governments or the WHO.

Interestingly, statistics about compliance at the start of lockdown showed that it did not correlate with the level of discomfort imposed. Poor, overcrowded quarters did just as well as the affluent ones, while people in the countryside did their best to resist the urge to seek fresh air and other healthy pursuits with equal determination. Regrettably, this much civic mobilisation was offset by the (minor!) side-effects of increased domestic violence, suicide and alcoholism but the near 100% increase in the demand for food-banks, although regrettable, was largely waived against the obvious benefit: we stayed home and we saved lives! an easy slogan to chant to the cadence of weekly self-congratulatory clapping which could be heard resonating all the way to emergency rooms across the land.

What strikes me the most about the current crisis is that, although the measures imposed may have brought us together and even given us a sense of united purpose at first, ultimately, it has accentuated differences between those who have and those who have not; I am not only referring to financial wealth, but physical health, mental resilience, spiritual faith, social support networks and access to basic rights such as clean water, fresh air and nutritious food.

Those who have will undoubtedly come out of the trauma better off than the less fortunate amongst us.

Predictably, economic necessity is catching up with the severity of the measures imposed; political solutions now have to juggle the obvious contradictions between the initial deadening messages used to get us to stay home and the necessity to break the lockdown to recover essential life-supporting income.

While the conditions of our release are being crafted to reconcile the dread of the outside world with our human needs for exploring and connecting, the younger population is feeling the strain of an open-ended social sacrifice essentially aimed at the elderly.

The time has come to step out of fear into our future but strict adherence to the rules has been replaced by confusion, and mistrust of social interactions whenever venturing outside the safety perimeter of home.

As I am preparing to return to a semblance of pre-Covid life and planning my post lockdown practice, I am confronted by a few home truths:

• Extreme uncertainty is forcing me into the present. Uncertainty is one of the hardest things to accept. The brain is wired for action and finding solutions to problems: survival depends on it. When faced with uncertainty we can rebel and fret or we can let go and let God (trust). We all have an individual tolerance threshold for inaction. The ultimate surrender is when stress is so great that we can neither fight nor flight and we freeze. For the past few months, un-able to look forward to those punctuating events we need to create fresh memories, we have been flirting with our freeze response and we had to dig deep into creative resources, trusting they will keep us safe. Practising peaceful surrendering has helped me become more present.

• Mental resilience is as much about cultivating healthy thoughts as it is about physical care: the connection between discipline and self-care has been brought to me into sharp relief in those chaotic times; nonetheless self-mastery is the foundation for meaning in life no matter the level of confusion and pain. There is no small victory when it comes to those acts of discipline and self-care!

• Love casts out Fear: Fear has become the new ruler of our lives and added a layer of social suspicion I find profoundly disturbing… yet the love that has also poured in to support me is nourishing my hope that love overcomes no matter the level of unrest and discord around me. Love in action heals the wounds previously made by our fears and I am not short of opportunity to practise love in action at the moment :-)

Immune resilience 

Without question some pathogens are more dangerous and virulent than others, but regardless of the pathogen, number is highly relevant. Also called pathogen load, there needs to be enough individuals to damage vital function and/or for our immune system to have failed at keeping things in check. Additionally pathogens can join forces making their effect more lethal, while our resident microbiota can produce anti-viral and anti-biotic substances that will largely contribute to reducing the pathogenic effect of an intruder. It is all about balance and interactions which is why we must look at immune resilience from a system perspective rather than focus on the pathogen only.

In the case of SARS-CoV2, a number of theories are being postulated to explain how a fairly banal viral infection can suddenly and catastrophically trigger collapse of vital functions. Whatever the mechanism, the immune system is involved in the collapse not just the virus. 

A healthy immune system is not an aggressive one, it is a vigilant and coordinated one that can modulate localised response to the required level for the degree of threat.

It is worth noting that Covid-19 not only has the potential to trigger mass immune over-reaction and collapse, it can, and in fact already has, triggered mass political response with equally catastrophic consequences on our economic and social systems. The anthropological symmetry is striking; we can take heed in the fact that not all who have gone close to immune collapse have died... even if recovery takes longer before resilience can once again prevail.

"What doesn't kill us can make us stronger" but in my experience, only if we are prepared to re-assess our ways and acknowledge personal responsibility in our recovery. 

Immune health

Diet and maintaining weight largely control immune health. Do not be tempted to over-eat or to binge on alcohol or high sugar comfort foods. All are pro-inflammatory and suppress your immune system.  Instead go for all those colourful and seasonable foods: herbs, spices and healthy fats, nourishing protein, green tea and home-made fermented foods such as kimchi, kefir or kombuccha. All have direct and indirect benefits on immunity and some even have been shown to exert antiviral activity such as garlic, thyme and oregano.

Vitamin D deficiency is a major contributing factor to poor immune resilience. Make sure that you are keeping your vitamin D topped up by taking at least 3000IU a day and getting in the sun as frequently as you can without burning. Vitamin K is best taken at the same time as Vitamin D to avoid imbalance. They are often combined in one supplement.
Zinc deficiency is another common cause of reduced resistance to colds and flu; early signs of deficiency are loss of taste and smell. Interestingly those are also common symptoms of Covid19 infection. A preventative dose for zinc is 25mg/day but, at the first signs of infection, you can safely increase to 75mg/day for a month or so; best split through the day. Zinc picolinate is a good form but also available are zinc lozenges to use in case of sore throat.
Selenium is required for healthy zinc balance and often depleted from our foods. It can be found in generous amounts in Brazil nuts. A strong mineral/vitamin supplement will also cover requirements.
Magnesium is an important mineral required for many functions including immunity. It is frequently deficient from our foods. Dairy produce and stress will deplete reserves. I recommend 800mg/day of magnesium glycinate. It is best taken with a B complex or a strong multi. Magnesium baths and magnesium oil are additional ways to improve magnesium status. 

Reaching out for targeted anti-virals at the first signs of infection

Vitamin C is a proven anti-viral.

Protocols include 500mg/day as preventative dose. I prefer getting my daily vitamin C from foods such as berries, acerola cherries, kiwis and lemons.

However, vitamin C truly shines at the first signs of infection when it will assist the work of the immune system. Take it frequently and keep topping up. Bowel tolerance is usually the upper limit but this varies with the type of vitamin C. 

I recommend liposomal vitamin C; take 250mg of vitamin C every 30 minutes (some say 100mg every 10 minutes especially if symptoms are severe). Keep going until symptoms noticeably reduce/disappear.

I have personally done this successfully on numerous occasions. It usually takes a few hours but less than a day. Once the symptoms are substantially reduced you can move to a less restrictive schedule of 1000mg x4/day.

Propolis is my favourite anti-microbial.

I use it in liquid form (alcohol-free) otherwise a tincture might be easier to get. As much as possible I aim to use it topically. If my nose is the problem I squirt a few drops diluted in salty water up my nose or if it is my throat I gargle. Also great for mouth ulcers and skin infections.

Oxygen Therapy: Hydrogen Peroxide and Ozone (H2O2) have been shown to kill corona-viruses (a group of viruses known to cause cold and flue symptoms)

Both could be regarded as cheap semi-medical treatments and have shown efficacy within the health service in some countries like China, Cuba, Italy and Spain. However, and to my incomprehension, they remain largely rejected by conventional medical thinking and the WHO. 

Ozone would require a professional setting and might be useful once pathogens are circulating/translocating.

In the initial (entry points) phase it is in the nose, sinuses, throat and possibly digestive tract/colon that (current) corona-virus is gaining acces. This is when mild symptoms might be felt and when home treatments are at their most valuable.

Home and safe use for hydrogen peroxide is at a dilution of 0.5% volume (this can be achieved by buying it at that concentration or by diluting a 3% dilution 1 part H2O2 to 3 parts pure water).

It should be used four times per day to kill pathogens where symptoms are felt and where corona-viruses might gaining access to your body:

• In the throat: gargle
• In the bowel: use as enema
• In the nose: rinse using a "neti" pot  (available on internet) or a nebuliser (see below)
• In the lungs use a nebuliser  (cheap and suitable devices are available on internet)

 References:

Cambridge.org on the use of H2O2

Reframing the stress response by activating the Vagus Nerve

“The only thing we have to be afraid of is fear itself” Franklin D. Roosevelt

As days of lockdown run into weeks of duress, the mood of the nation is evolving in great surges of emotional tirades: all relayed on my mother’s radio from which I cannot escape because it is all that is connecting her still with the outside world. In contrast, the official messages that regularly intersperse such passionate outbursts are very carefully worded and seem delivered more to control and anticipate our misbehaving than to inform us.

I am struck by government’s officials and their spokespeople’s ever-evolving syntax. The commanding tone, clearly borrowed from NLP, has become more admonishing as lack of preparation is surfacing. Creating a nation of meek and obedient citizens while figuring out how to lead us out of the blind alley of confinement is easier than to take a systemic and more long-term view of the crisis. As John Major allegedly once said “when your back is against the wall you have no choice but to turn around and walk”.

There is solid evidence from research conducted over the past 15 years that our brains are losing their ability to plan ahead and invest in the future. This has come as a result of bite-size information delivered through social media, the culture of meaningless relationships designed to boost dependence and the overabundance of instantaneous gratifications. The resulting disconnection from the fundamentals of (our) nature has contributed to the dizzying rise of prescriptions for antidepressants. In the UK alone those have almost doubled between 2008 and 2019.

As we are confined to an open-ended and uncertain future we have no choice but to limit our planning to the day-to-day. This lack of perspective in an already fragile and socially isolated population can feed into a pattern of stress that will increase the longer the lockdown, and with the inevitable spread of economic consequences on financial security.

Yet systemic analyses, creative problem-solving and forward thinking all depend on our nervous system’s equilibrium which is why it is so important to actively maintain it while we are sitting out the current social experiment.

Neurologically the stress response can take three different pathways depending on our nature and the intensity of the stress. We can fight, we can run or, if we are unable to respond because the situation limits possibilities, we can freeze. Physiologically, the fight/flight response is the result of stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (a collection of highly responsive nerves ). 

The freeze response however is similar to shock and is a primitive response that immobilises and shuts down bodily functions by inhibiting the activity of the para-sympathetic nervous system.

The main portion of the para-sympathetic nervous system is the Vagus Nerve: a long and wonderous nerve with a complicated relaying system.

The Vagus Nerve is a major regulator of nervous system homeostasis (a balance which influences how the body heals and maintains health). It is positively activated by non-threatening social engagement, touch and other healing modalities. It is connected to feeling safe.

Learning to connect with the Vagus Nerve is how babies develop the ability to self-soothe having learnt safety and vagal activation from the variety of soothing activities on offer from their parents such as cuddling, rocking, lullabies, facial games and so on.

As we grow up and our interactions with the world expand, our perception of safety becomes the product of our experiences, each being meshed into the resulting tapestry of our body, mind and spirit: the looser the weave the more flexible and adaptable we are; the tighter the weave the deeper the stress and traumas will be trapped.

An effective root of disentanglement is to enhance and nourish our sense of safety and security by engaging in creative hobbies (painting, knitting, writing, etc.), by improving our immediate environment with meaningful touches and by nurturing authentic relationship(s).

More specifically we can (re)activate safety signalling from the Vagus Nerve by stimulating the relevant pathways. The Vagus Nerve has two main branches: the Ventral Vagal and the Dorsal Vagal. The former enervates structures in the face, neck, and upper chest that relate to social engagement, the latter enervates the gut, lungs and heart and is also involved in the freeze response.

Partaking in activities that engage the Vagus Nerve in a soothing way will have an immediate stress-busting action. Doing it regularly will strengthen the response and increase our resilience to stress.

Activating the muscles connected to social engagement (muscles of the face, eyes, throat, jaw, tongue and inner-ear) and those of the gut, diaphragm, lungs and heart can be done in a variety of healing ways even if alone.

The feeling of safety, induced by activation of ventral and dorsal vagal, is reinforced by hormones and neurotransmitters that are triggered as a result. One of those hormones is oxytocin which is stimulated through intimate touch, loving and sharing.

Gratitude (especially when we focus on the feelings of our heart) is a way to increase oxytocin when we are not able to physically connect with our loved ones.

Activate soothing from the Vagus Nerve by:

• Singing
• Gargling (use bicarbonate of soda)
• Swishing (use coconut oil)
• Laughing
• Yawning
• Massaging your face and skull
• Reading aloud
• Meditating (listening to certain vibrations such as bong can enhance)
• Petting (cat, dog, and rabbit, anything alive and cuddly!)
• Developing peripheral vision by letting sight ahead go soft and focusing on what we can see from the corner of our eyes
• Listening to classical music (Bach and other baroque music is the best for this)
• Smelling essential oil (lavender, frankincense, marjoram, pine and many more - use your preference)
• Belly breathing and slow breathing and other breathing techniques such as “Cardiac Coherence”
• Shaking and gentle bouncing (could be extended to dancing to your favourite track)
• Gentle, slow stretching exercises
• Barefoot conscious walking (preferably on damp grass or wet sand)
• Cold showers and cold water plunge (can be combined with sauna/hot bath or shower)

If you are holed up with someone willing to share your well-being enhancing effort, you can experiment with:

• Playing games (any as long as not dangerous or overly competitive)
• Exchanging a massage (foot, face, whole body) and/or intimate touch
• laughing and sharing jokes
• Preparing and sharing food
• Reading to each other
• Singing or playing music together
• Ballroom dancing
• Praying