Long Covid Podcast

I'm joined by Bal Matharu to talk about how breathing links the nervous system, stress biology, and Long Covid symptoms, and why recovery often begins with creating a genuine felt sense of safety. We share practical ways to assess and change breathing patterns, plus the role of co-regulation, boundaries, and carefully held breathwork support. 

• Bal’s path from advanced respiratory physiotherapy and ICU work to lifestyle medicine and PhD breathwork research 
• The six pillars of lifestyle medicine and why stress management often underpins the rest 
• Acute stress versus chronic stress and how the body shifts blood flow, hormones, and immune function 
• Cell danger theory, mitochondria, ATP, and why fatigue can be a protection signal 
• Safety as a felt sense through neuroception rather than a purely cognitive idea 
• Breath assessment basics, posture, high chest breathing, diaphragm use, and longer exhales 
• Overstimulation, silence avoidance, and letting emotions move through the body in short windows 
• Co-regulation, practitioner capacity, and building safe spaces for nervous system work 
• Boundaries, people pleasing patterns, and choosing relationships that support regulation 
• Selecting credible breathwork practitioners and avoiding unsafe cathartic methods 

Links:
Bal's Website: https://www.bodymind-iq.com
Embody Ecosystem: https://go.bodymind-iq.com/embody-ecosystem

Message me! (I can't reply to these messages)
For more information about Long Covid Breathing courses & workshops, please check out LongCovidBreathing.com

(music credit - Brock Hewitt, Rule of Life)
Support the show
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Long Covid Podcast is self-produced & self funded. If you enjoy what you hear and are able to, please Buy me a coffee or purchase a mug to help cover costs

Transcripts available on individual episodes here

www.LongCovidPodcast.com
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**Disclaimer - you should not rely on any medical information contained in this Podcast and related materials in making medical, health-related or other decisions. Please consult a doctor or other health professional**

We hear Ana’s honest recovery story, from a gradual slide into Long Covid to the moment her nervous system finally stopped treating everyday life as a threat. We talk through neurodivergence, trauma, hypermobility and the practical tools that helped her rebuild a calm, creative life. 

• The slow build of stressors that leads to a major crash 
• Hypermobility and why intense workouts can backfire 
• ADHD and autism discovery and how it reframes burnout 
• Tests, uncertainty and how fear can keep symptoms loud 
• Restrictive diets, supplement spirals and removing fear around food 
• Nervous system regulation using polyvagal ideas and body listening 
• Meditation with music, creative visualisation and breathing
• Trauma as unmet safety needs plus small experiences that stack up 
• The “spreading” practice and learning to handle activation 
• Returning to work slowly and dropping all-or-nothing thinking 
• Creativity as a recovery pillar and building a life that fits 

Links:
Ana's Substack: https://becomingcreative.substack.com/
Somia Heal: https://somiainternational.com/heal/ 
Jackie's Insight Timer (as mentioned by Ana at the start) https://insig.ht/sT6iUelAR3b 
Ed the Osteopath who Ana found super helpful: https://movementandwellbeingclinic.co.uk/about-us/#ed-madeley

Message me! (I can't reply to these messages)
For more information about Long Covid Breathing courses & workshops, please check out LongCovidBreathing.com

(music credit - Brock Hewitt, Rule of Life)
Support the show
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Long Covid Podcast is self-produced & self funded. If you enjoy what you hear and are able to, please Buy me a coffee or purchase a mug to help cover costs

Transcripts available on individual episodes here

www.LongCovidPodcast.com
Facebook Instagram  Twitter
Facebook Creativity Group
Subscribe to mailing list

I love to hear from you, via socials or LongCovidPodcast@gmail.com

**Disclaimer - you should not rely on any medical information contained in this Podcast and related materials in making medical, health-related or other decisions. Please consult a doctor or other health professional**

I share three common recovery traps and how we can find our way out of them without blame. Today's episode focuses on pacing, nervous system safety, and emotional processing so your body can stabilise and move forwards. 

• Pushing too hard on a better day and triggering the boom and bust cycle 
• Banking energy for healing by spending some, enjoying some, and saving some 
• Stepping off the symptom-fixing merry-go-round and reducing pressure 
• Creating safety through kindness, gentleness, and small consistent cues 
• Recognising the emotional load of long COVID, ME/CFS, and health challenges 
• Finding a safe place to feel emotions without judgement 

So do let me know how you get on, if these resonate with you, and if you've noticed any other common recovery traps that you might be getting waylaid by. 

Links to relevant practises (free tracks)
Finding Emotional Safety: https://insig.ht/A7bEwwAXF3b
Meeting your body kindly: https://insig.ht/Jlnf2P0w32b 
STOP: From overwhelm to ease: https://insig.ht/1UCyrM2w32b

Message me! (I can't reply to these messages)
Support the show
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Long Covid Podcast is self-produced & self funded. If you enjoy what you hear and are able to, please Buy me a coffee or purchase a mug to help cover costs

Transcripts available on individual episodes here

www.LongCovidPodcast.com
Facebook Instagram  Twitter
Facebook Creativity Group
Subscribe to mailing list

I love to hear from you, via socials or LongCovidPodcast@gmail.com

**Disclaimer - you should not rely on any medical information contained in this Podcast and related materials in making medical, health-related or other decisions. Please consult a doctor or other health professional**

I talk with Jacqui from New Zealand about dropping from a high-energy, ultra-active life into severe Long Covid, then building her way back to running, swimming and full work. Mel Abbott joins us to explain why calming the stress response comes before increasing activity, and how tools like breathwork, visualisation and emotional processing can change the trajectory. 

• Jacqui’s pre-illness pace as a high achiever and endurance athlete 
• Catching Covid during grief and prolonged stress, then dismissing the risk the second time 
• The slide into dizziness, dysautonomia and post-exertional malaise after pushing through 
• Hitting a severe crash, insomnia and becoming bedbound with full-time care needs 
• The first shift: education about the nervous system, threat responses and prediction loops 
• Practical regulation: frequent calming exercises, breathing, meditation and timers 
• Using visualisation to rebuild safety and confidence before returning to exercise 
• Gradual return to normal life: walking, driving, swimming, cycling and running 
• Handling setbacks and symptom flares by reducing fear and regulating stress 
• Maintaining wellness long-term with compassion, flexible movement and emotional tools 

Links:
https://www.curablehealth.com/ 
https://thesteadycoach.com/ 
https://unlearnyourpain.com/mind-body-syndrome/ 
Alan Gordon - The Way Out, 
Mel's website: https://empowertherapies.co.nz/
The webinar that Jacqui talked about: https://empowertherapies.co.nz/pages/webinar
The Switch Programme: https://empowertherapies.co.nz/pages/the-switch

Message me! (I can't reply to these messages)
For more information about Long Covid Breathing courses & workshops, please check out LongCovidBreathing.com

(music credit - Brock Hewitt, Rule of Life)
Support the show
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Long Covid Podcast is self-produced & self funded. If you enjoy what you hear and are able to, please Buy me a coffee or purchase a mug to help cover costs

Transcripts available on individual episodes here

www.LongCovidPodcast.com
Facebook Instagram  Twitter
Facebook Creativity Group
Subscribe to mailing list

I love to hear from you, via socials or LongCovidPodcast@gmail.com

**Disclaimer - you should not rely on any medical information contained in this Podcast and related materials in making medical, health-related or other decisions. Please consult a doctor or other health professional**

In this episode of the Long Covid Podcast, I explore one of the most common — and often most confusing — parts of recovery: overwhelm.
Overwhelm can feel like your whole system suddenly says “too much”:
too much noise, too many sensations, too many decisions, too many feelings, too much uncertainty. It can build slowly over time or arrive out of nowhere — and in Long Covid, ME/CFS, & other post-viral conditions, it often shows up faster and more intensely than before you were ill.
In this gentle, practical episode, I look at:
What overwhelm actually is
How overwhelm shows up in the body
Why overwhelm is so common in recovery
Reframing overwhelm as communication, not failure
Practical tips to avoid overwhelm, and to meet it when it hits
By the end of this episode, my hope is that you feel less alone, less confused by your own reactions, and more equipped with language and understanding that can help you navigate overwhelm with more compassion for yourself.

Links: 
Breath Awareness: https://insighttimer.com/LongCovidPod/guided-meditations/gentle-breath-awareness-from-loch-ness-with-waves 
Reset Button - 2 mins to tranquility: https://insig.ht/xee2ILEGaZb?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=live_stream_share
Gentle Somatic Tracking: https://insig.ht/Jlnf2P0w32b 
STOP: From Overwhelm To Ease: https://insig.ht/1UCyrM2w32b 
Amy Davies episode on Internalised Pressure: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1835170/episodes/19021956

Message me! (I can't reply to these messages)
Support the show
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Long Covid Podcast is self-produced & self funded. If you enjoy what you hear and are able to, please Buy me a coffee or purchase a mug to help cover costs

Transcripts available on individual episodes here

www.LongCovidPodcast.com
Facebook Instagram  Twitter
Facebook Creativity Group
Subscribe to mailing list

I love to hear from you, via socials or LongCovidPodcast@gmail.com

**Disclaimer - you should not rely on any medical information contained in this Podcast and related materials in making medical, health-related or other decisions. Please consult a doctor or other health professional**