Living with CVID: One affordable life hack to help you take care of your body

After my CVID diagnosis, I knew that I needed to make some positive changes to improve my physical health. However, I was in college and I didn’t want to change my ways. I was so busy with doctors’ appointments, work, school, and my sorority. I felt like I hardly had any time to make appointments for optional things like workout classes, spa treatments, and other things like yoga or acupuncture.

My journey to take care of my body

After a while, I started going to acupuncture and I joined Orange Theory. It was an awesome way for me to be more in tune with my body, especially since I started to hate my body for all the pain it had put me through. Before then, I felt like I was rebelling. I just wanted to lay in my bed all the time and give in to the fatigue and depression.

Both of these things really helped me get out of my slump, and I only started doing them during my senior year of college (a couple of years after my diagnosis). I was lucky enough that my parents said they would help me pay for both since I didn’t have a lot of my own money.

But, after moving from Fort Collins to San Diego, I had to leave behind my routine and find a new one that worked well with my “big girl job” lifestyle. College classes provide a more random, flexible schedule, so I could attend appointments and classes during the day. But now, I had a full-time job and I was going to be pretty busy.

While I have a pretty nice gym in my apartment complex, I wanted to try new things like yoga or pilates. I felt like that would be good for my joints and not too harsh on my body. While I liked Orange Theory, it was a bit intense for my lung disease and sometimes my body would feel the high impact.

Discovering an affordable way to try out classes

When moving to a new city, you have to get out of your comfort zone. It can be really scary, but it’s so worth it. I have had a lot of anxiety about trying new things, but I know that it’s a great way to meet people and explore ways of healing and relieving any pain and stress in my body.

My friend told me about ClassPass. This is an app that allows you to use credits to try out different classes, spa treatments, hair/nail salons, and more. This is awesome because you can see what you like, and the first month is free! I started out with a bunch of free credits and I have gone to yoga, pilates, and an infrared sauna. All for free!

Once my free credits run out, I can buy credits, and it stays pretty affordable. At this age, I don’t have a ton of extra money for spa treatments and workout memberships/classes. I try to go about once a week to a new place, giving me some great de-stress time and a new experience for my body.

On the app, you can see what locations nearby use ClassPass (in San Diego, it’s a lot!). If you send your link to your friends, you can actually invite them to classes that you are attending so that they can sign up as well!

If you’d like to sign up and get a free month of credits, use my referral link here! Then you can start to try out new places near you!

As someone with CVID, here are my favorite things to try

Yoga

I used to be so scared of yoga because I am not flexible at all. But it helps me regulate my breathing, feel calm, relieve stress, and move my body. I know that I will continue to get better and better as I keep doing it.

Read about some benefits of yoga.

Hot Pilates

I get hot really easily. I was super hesitant to do anything “hot” but I went to a pilates class at SALT and it was amazing!! I was actually so sore the next day, and I sweat a lot. The heat was not too much for me. I do feel like it helped with my fatigue.

Read about some benefits of pilates.

Infrared Sauna

My mom absolutely loves infrared saunas, and I didn’t know about them until she told me. I went to one on ClassPass and it was an amazing experience that really sent me into relaxation mode.

Read about the benefits of infrared saunas.

The road to feeling better

Living with CVID is really hard, and I have seen so many negative effects on my body. But, I am happy that I have found a few things that helped me, and I hope that this helps you too! 🙂

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