This winter has been tough, with a lot of people experiencing a wide variety of colds, flu, bronchitis, you name it! One method to try to avoid getting sick is to stay away from anyone that is sick (which unless you are a hermit in a cave is pretty challenging). A different approach is to say: well, when I get sick my body makes me do certain things, and one of them is to slow down. Indeed, having to lie in bed for a week is an effective way to slow down, but one that most of us would rather avoid. We can influence our health by remembering that very many people find they get sick when they have been over-extending themselves—trying to cram in too much into too little time. They have gotten “toxic” (think of work deadlines, studying for final exams, travel with disrupted sleep and eating rhythms). And a process of inflammation makes us slow down and simplify (whether we want to or not), and cleanses the body.