Nikki has come to appreciate her ability to self-assess her own health and overall well-being. “You know your body better than anybody else,” she reminds. “The more connected you are with your mind and body, the better you can heal yourself.”

When Nikki Matthew’s Long COVID Fatigue Met Yoga

Nikki Matthews is exhausted, but does her best not to let it get her down.

A little over two years ago, the 47-year-old executive recruiter had just finished visiting family and friends in the Poconos and was headed to Florida. When she boarded her plane in Philadelphia, she felt fine, but by time she landed in Orlando, she felt like she had been hit by a truck.

For the next three weeks, Nikki was completely bedridden with a fever and was unable to breathe. “It was hellish,” she attests.

It wasn’t until February 2020 that she deduced she had COVID. Testing positive for the antibodies confirmed her suspicion. It was early in the pandemic and the world wasn’t yet familiar with all the after effects of the virus.

While normally able to bounce back from illness fairly quickly, Nikki felt this time was different. After many of the symptoms subsided, she still had no energy. “I would normally walk or hike seven-to-eight miles on a Saturday, but I could barely even walk. I felt like a 90-year-old woman,” she confesses.

Nikki is convinced she must have gotten COVID again in February and December 2021. The Pennsylvania native found herself down and out, with a respiratory system that was working overtime. People would tell her she was young, healthy, and in great shape, so something else could be the culprit.

“All of this started after my mother died in May 2019 and many close to me assumed much of this was emotional, but this felt very different,” she substantiates.

A nurse practitioner suggested her breathing trouble was related to a bacterial infection brought on by COVID that could have led to double pneumonia.

As Nikki’s maladies developed, so did the medical community’s understanding of people with Long COVID (aka long-haulers), when symptoms persist for more than four weeks. It was at this point she realized that to diminish her fatigue, she needed to go inside – herself. That’s when she rediscovered yoga.

Growing up on the East Coast, Nikki had a very happy childhood, spending much of her time in nature, boating, and camping. Even before pursuing her B.A. in Communications from Kutztown University, she got involved with the practice of yoga for inner peace and balance that would last throughout her life.

She joined one of the largest yoga communities in the country and began to understand the fundamental underpinnings of her attention deficit disorder (ADD). By 18, she was teaching yoga, fitness kickboxing, and Pilates. Within a few years, she was National Sales Manager for the Himalayan Institute, earning a status of 200-hour specialist.

In 2006, her father died, and she migrated to Arizona. “It was time for a new way of life and thinking, especially about loss and grief,” she says. “This is when I developed a deeper appreciation of the mental aspects of yoga.”

Nikki explains, “Most people associate yoga with physical activities that incorporate different poses. That’s Asana. However, Shiv Asana helps me maintain balance, meditation, and relaxation with my physical side.”

Yoga became a daily ritual as she learned to take control of her own health. “I was always into holistic medicine and consider it the backbone of my healing.”

After her third bout of COVID, Nikki was still struggling to regain energy. She felt as though her adrenals were drained and brain fog left her unable to think clearly. “I would do things that weren’t me, like put laundry detergent in the refrigerator,” she recalls. “I wasn’t present; it was like my brain wasn’t firing correctly.” Nikki refers to the constant chatter she was experiencing in her brain as “Monkey Mind.”

To combat the scattered sensation, she forced herself to be more deliberate, slow down, and think more. “I learned to say things out loud as way of reinforcing my memory, things like ‘here are my sunglasses, here are my keys.’ I developed routines around just about everything.”

Carrie Collins-Fadell, CEO of the Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona, says for some people who have had COVID, especially the earlier variants and COVID pneumonia, the reality is life may not just bounce back to normal. Carrie herself experienced a loss of smell after a bout with a respiratory illness in March of 2020 that she believes could have been COVID.

“It’s hard to see some Long-COVID survivors with cognitive challenges struggle in navigating healthcare and community-based programs and systems, much like survivors of brain injuries have for years” said Carrie. “We really need to band together and address the gaps in systems for everyone with long or short-term cognitive impairment, regardless of the cause.”

As for Nikki, she continues to practice Asana and Shiv Asana to maintain balance and battle the fatigue and changes in the brain that dog her. “The physical is only one part; I actually made meditation and relaxation my number one priority since I could no longer push to boost my energy,” she says. “This helps reduce my angst wondering, ‘Is this my new normal and will I always be sick?’”

Furthermore, Nikki has come to appreciate her ability to self-assess her own health and overall well-being. “You know your body better than anybody else,” she reminds. “The more connected you are with your mind and body, the better you can heal yourself.”

She also suggests consulting with holistic practitioners can be beneficial for a ‘whole person’ approach, allowing for more well-rounded decision making for personal health.

Support is key for long-haulers and can come from many sources. In addition to online and in-person support groups, family, and work should be welcome places to turn. Nikki is particularly grateful to her employer for making accommodations as she heals.

Finally, she wants people to know that the fatigue someone feels from Long COVID is real and can’t just be wished away. A few months ago, she began to include Vanyasa Yoga into her routine three times a week. Often confused with “power yoga,” this continually changing series of poses is based on the philosophy that all is temporary as we move from one position to another, then leave.

A perfect metaphor for how life unfolds as we bring consciousness to each moment, then continue to move forward.

ABOUT BRAIN INJURY ALLIANCE OF ARIZONA

The Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona (BIAAZ) is the only statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of adults and children with all types of brain injuries through prevention, advocacy, awareness and education. BIAAZ also houses the Arizona Brain Health Resource Center, a collection of educational information and neuro-specific resources for brain injury survivors, caregivers, family members and professionals.

What began in 1983 as a grassroots effort has grown into a strong statewide presence, providing valuable life-long resources and community support for individuals with all types of brain trauma at no charge.

The Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona:

• Works with Congressional Brain Injury Task Force
• Houses Arizona Brain Health Resource Center
• Hosts Statewide Opioid Use Disorder & Cognitive Impairment Workgroup
• Has Statewide Opioid Use Disorder & Cognitive Impairment Response team with peer support, training, and family wraparound services
• Facilitates Brain Health Advisory Council
• Manages statewide Neuro Info-Line: 888-500-9165