massage and fitness (as well as old posts) at my new website!

Greetings, fellow humans!

For those of you who have been on this journey with me for a while it will be no surprise, but I'm taking the "Next step" and moving my blog over to my new website!

Also, feel free to like and share my facebook page if so inclined,
 or follow me on instagram.

All of your favorite recipes and videos will soon be available, but through this page:

http://www.mothehuman.net/blog/

My first post to the new blog is here in reference to the importance of sleep and some simple tools to improve your sleep.

For now, old posts will still also be available on this blogger site as I transition everything over.

Luckily, I'm so busy giving massages and coaching people on efficient, safe exercise that I don't have a ton of computer time available in my schedule.

Thanks to all of you for all of your support.

OK, now go outside and play!



                                                                                        Much love and respect,  Mo the human

Natural Human Movement videos

Greetings, fellow humans!

As a reminder, I am happily now offering top quality "mo-ssage" and one on one holistic fitness coaching at Synchronicity Wellness in Asheville! 

Regardless of what part of the world your ancestors came from, it's safe to say they moved a lot. They walked every day, the squatted every day, and they lifted things every day. Perhaps, they even ran every day. Think of it like this:

• Graceful

• Efficient

• Powerful…

• and PLAYFUL!

This is how you and I were meant to move.

Unfortunately, for many of us, modern life has disconnected us from how our body was meant to stand,walk, sit, lift, play, dance, and run.
By re-integrating our natural, ancestral movement patterns into the context of our modern life,
my approach to “natural human movement” encourages movements and postures that are helpful rather than harmful to our physiology.
The result is a safe, enjoyable approach to attaining our full human potential for movement.
When we view our own health from the ancestral health or biological perspective, we start to ask: “What was our body designed to do?”
This perspective shifts us toward a more natural, whole foods way of eating. Similarly, this perspective must also take into account how we move.

In an effort to share some  ideas on how our bodies were meant to move, I am in the process of co-creating a series of short videos on ePhysiologix. Below is a link to some of what has been published so far:

http://www.ephysiologix.com/fitness/naturalhumanmovement/

some individual links are below:


Tap/click here to watch:   Squat to sit/ squat to stand: 

Tap/click here to watch: Self massage of the calf (this one is more "self care" than natural movement)

Tap/click here to watch: Run like an animal, not a machine  (a one minute "selfie" showing what gentle trail running can look like)

If you want to see an older (and much longer) video with a somewhat in-depth explanation of why we have lost our natural human gait, and how to begin regaining it,

Tap/Click here to watch: Grace in every step 

It's a wonderfully cold and soggy day as I look out the windows from my beautiful work place.
As "old man winter" sets in, it's easy for many of us to just snuggle up on the couch, enjoy a warm beverage, and watch movies. I'm not suggesting for even a second that you miss out on these truly wonderful comforts. However, it's worth mentioning that you were meant to move. Enjoy these moments of relaxation, but also take every opportunity to move.

OK, Now go outside and play! 

                          Much love, -Mo the human

What if "CARDIO" doesn't exist?

Greetings, fellow humans!

I'm now ready to put "cardio" in the same bin with "heart healthy whole grains" "artery clogging saturated fat" and "a good supportive shoe".

Don't get me wrong, fellow humans... I love to move!

(August 2014 update... I am now available as a personal trainer at Synchronicity Wellness Hooray!)

Vigorous physical movement is vital to my physical and mental health. Hiking, biking, trail running, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu... Numerous things that I have LOVED throughout the years could easily be considered "cardio" by most people.

If you love exercise bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, etc... Have fun! I'm not suggesting anyone stop doing any of that stuff. However, I now have pretty good reason to believe the term "cardiovascular fitness" is a cultural misunderstanding of biology.

Please allow me to give a "plain English" explanation:


About 10 or more years ago, my wife and I were a walking stereotype of Boulder, CO:

• We were young(ish), slightly tan, and relatively fit.
• She was a full time yoga teacher, and I was a full time massage therapist.
• We had the typical medium-sized athletic dog that we would take for hikes on the steep trails near town a few times a week. 
• We rode our cruiser bikes downtown to have sushi with our insanely beautiful friends. 

Essentially, you could have pulled us off a "GREETINGS FROM BOULDER!" postcard.


One day, we ran into my friend "Bob" (not his real name) who we hadn't seen in a few years. He invited us to join him and a group to hike three "14ers" in one day. (To those who don't live in the Rockies, this means we would be hiking up and down three 14,000+ foot tall mountains in one day.) This is the kind of thing Boulderites do for fun, I swear!

A few days later, we meet up early in the morning at Bob's place. That's when my wife and I realized we had accidentally found ourselves surrounded by another Boulder stereotype: the Uber-Athletes! You know,  The folks who train with heart rate monitors, have clothing and footwear sponsors, test out fancy new fabrics and gadgets for companies, model for fitness photo shoots... Yeah, like that. During the early-morning-coffee-in-the-kitchen conversation, we discovered a key factor we hadn't considered... Bob is now a competitive marathon runner. Actually, to our surprise, so is everyone else going on this hike except for the two of us!
But wait, it get's better...
"We've got a race coming up," one of these uber-athletes casually mentions, "and we'd kinda like to use today as a training day. So.... hopefully, you two don't mind if we keep a pretty good pace?" She says with  smile.

My sweet wife and I looked at each other with thinly veiled dread and agreed that we'd try to keep up with these kind and friendly folks... And then we got to the trail:

These "cardio kings" (and queens) couldn't keep up with us! "Oh, that's right," We thought, "These people are pros! They're pacing themselves. We know nothing about pacing. We better slow down, or they're going to just blow past us at some point."

So, we slowed down to the pace of the pros... And our dog started going nuts. He wanted to go normal pace... He wanted to GO!
"OK then", we figured, "We'll go our normal speed, and they'll pass us when they pass us."
They never passed us.

We sat at the top of the first 14 thousand-and-some-odd-hundred-foot-tall mountain and ate our lunch, then packed away lunch, waiting for these super-fit freaks (actually, very nice people) to catch up.
Finally they did catch up... IN PAIN.
Not only were they as confused as we were, but they appeared to be hurting themselves trying to catch us! The rest of the day went just like this. These folks could NOT keep up with us! 

For about a decade, my wife and I racked our brains and could not figure this out! I'm guessing the marathoners are still baffled by that "mystery hike" day.

Then I read the book "Body By Science" by Doug McGuff, MD and John Little...

This book changed my perception of exercise immensely. Among other things, it explains where the myth of "Cardiovascular Fitness" came from! Apparently, it was invented by a doctor who worked for the US Air Force. It went kinda like this... Allow me to grossly oversimplify:

We are all familiar with the "Cardiac Stress Test", right? You know, a person is running on a treadmill while hooked up to wires that measure heart rate, breathing into a snorkel to measure their breathing.
Our good doctor would have a soldier doing such a thing.

• Day 1: Heart rate and breathing go WAY up.
• Train the same soldier on the same treadmill for an hour a day
• Day 30: Same soldier, same speed, same treadmill: Heart rate and breathing are now much slower.

"Cardiovascular Fitness" is born! We all now accept that the heart and lungs are now more efficient at transporting oxygen to the body.
Hence, we dutifully "break a sweat" every day, getting our heart rate up for at least 30-45 minutes... Right? With me so far? OK.

So, what most of us DON'T realize is that this good doctor took his research a bit farther. He'd take the person who (after "cardio conditioning") did very well on the treadmill, and put them on a stationary bike. Guess what?- The heart rate and breathing went through the roof! He could put this supposedly "fit" individual on a stair-stepper/ elliptical machine/ nordic track... Heck even if he let this test subject run outside and his heart rate would go up!

Wait a minute... If the heart and lungs are more efficient, why are they only good at the treadmill?

It took years (and more sophisticated technology) to figure it out. However, we now know that the majority of change that happened from running on a treadmill was NOT in the heart and lungs. It was in the muscles!

By running at a specific speed, on this specific machine, he trained specific fibers of specific muscles to efficiently perform the very specific task of running on a treadmill... Thus reducing the amount of work his heart and lungs had to do... While performing that specific task.

So... Going back to the "mystery hike": By hiking on the steep, rocky trails around town a few times per week, my wife and I had unintentionally, and unknowingly conditioned our muscles to efficiently walk up and down steep rocky trails... Thus creating the illusion of superior "cardiovascular fitness" while performing that specific task! AND... I have very little doubt: If she and I had joined that group of runners on a run that day (instead of a hike) we would have had the worst day EVER... And they would have appeared to have amazingly superior "cardiovascular fitness"! While indeed we just had different types of "myovascular fitness"!

This starts to go into the explanation of the physiological advantages of strength training, HIT, crossfit, and cross-training, but we'll talk about that another day.
If you'd like to spend an hour learning a LOT about HIT, watch this talk by Dr. McGuff.


OK... Now go outside and play!

Much love, Mo the human.

Why I DON'T ice injuries.

Ice is for cocktails... NOT injuries!

Disclaimer: As with everything on this blog, I make no pretense of being a professional or "expert" on nutrition, foot health, exercise, etc. I'm a massage therapist, and a really good one (or so they tell me)... And I'd like to continue massaging people for years to come. Therefore, my scope of practice prevents me giving advice on what YOU should be doing. I'm merely sharing my own personal journey in health exploration.

Anyone who has had some training in sports medicine, first aid, or health care has heard the old "sprains and strains" acronym. RICE

1. Rest
2. Ice
3. Compression
4. Elevation

Personally, Though I heard this through so many of my trainings, I've never been a fan of icing injuries.

First of all:
 I don't like it. It feels awful to me. Perhaps I'm kinda selfish - I tend to avoid things I don't like.

Second:
Years ago, a good friend/teacher/mentor of mine explained that in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) they believe icing an injury stops the flow of "Qi"  or "Chi" (vital life energy) to the injury. Since qi this is what brings healing, we don't want to stop it, but would rather encourage flow of qi.

Third:
About a year ago, I felt so very much relieved when I saw a humorous, yet  quite geeky video post from one of my "virtual mentors" Kelly Starrett.
He finally gave me a solid, western medicine, biological explanation that's hard to ignore.

This explanation meshes perfectly with the TCM explanation, and that makes me happy... I like when we can all get along!

So, here's my "Plain English" lowdown:

Say, for instance, You just sprained your ankle/worked out really hard/bruised your shin... What's going on?

INFLAMMATION! (lots of extra blood flow/aka"Qi" coming to the area)

Lately, many folks see inflammation as a bad thing.
I agree that CHRONIC inflammation can be a serious issue. That's another subject for another day.

In the case of such an acute injury, acute inflammation is a necessary part of your body's natural repair process.
Torn, damaged tissues need loads of resources to repair themselves. Your body is miraculously bringing in all the necessary nutrients for repair while also removing the debris of damaged tissues.
This is the purpose of inflammation.

As the video says, (and I very much agree.) "There can be inflammation without healing, but there can be no healing without inflammation."
Let me say that again slowly. YOU. CAN. NOT. HEAL. WITHOUT. INFLAMMATION.

The whole purpose of icing an injury is to "reduce inflammation"by decreasing the blood coming to the injury. As these fellas put quite bluntly: "Do you honestly think your body is making a mistake by bringing more blood to an injury?"

"Groceries in, Garbage out." is Kelly Starrett's little phrase for what your body is trying to accomplish. Therefore, the idea here is that if we want to speed healing, we should speed the process of blood LEAVING the injury, not slow it ENTERING. Of course, the brilliant man offering the explanation in the above video is selling a high-tech and high dollar machine to do this. If you play on an NFL, NHL or NBA team, you and your trainers are probably already using one of these awesome gadgets.

Fortunately for the rest of us, we can "walk it off". Or, better yet... Get a massage! I know a really good massage therapist in almost every part of the USA, and even a few in other countries... If you don't see me, see someone. OK?

Furthermore, Dr. Starrett (aka "KStar") has come up with a new acronym to replace "RICE"...

MCE
Move safely when you can, what you can. Compress lymphatics and soft tissues (use bands, muscle contraction, clothing, normatec, etc.)  Elevate when you can.  MCE.

Now, to add further information for the biology geeks out there... a one-year later follow-up on the idea!

Tell me, fellow humans... What do you think?

OK, now go outside and play!  

                                                                                     Much love- Mo the human

Go for it! (The joy of being wrong.)

Like most people, I like the satisfaction of being right and getting what I want.

However, I love being wrong... That's when the really cool stuff happens!

When I was in college I signed up for the free "UNCC karate club" so I could learn better fighting skills...
I got something far more valuable. I learned the ability to keep a cool head and avoid getting in fights.

I once made a horrible mistake while snowboarding. I thought for a brief yet eternal moment (as I flew through the air) that I'd never walk again. I did fracture my spine and experience the most severe pain I can imagine, but that day changed me in very positive ways. Also, I was snowboarding again 6 weeks later.

I decided to not date anyone for a while so I could focus on massage school.
The woman who changed my mind became my wife and my best friend...  and I'm still MADLY in love with her 15 years later.

I took a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class hoping to regain my ability to "keep a cool head and avoid getting in fights." Well, that actually worked... But I got something even better in discovering a community of intelligent, fun, creative people and a joyful sport that challenged me and changed me in numerous positive ways. The good folks of I trained with are forever family to me.

I took up barefoot walking and running in the hopes of helping my chronic foot and knee pain. I was thinking I'd probably run a marathon someday. I thought I might lose some "middle age fat gain" too. I lost zero pounds in 2 years. Now I'm thinking I'll probably never run a marathon, and that's OK... My pain is gone, my feet and knees are happy, and I can run whenever I want for the sheer joy of it!

I tried eating paleo for a month thinking it would be bland and boring and might help my joint aches.
I've never enjoyed food so much in my life! The joint aches took a full month to go away, but they did -along with all that middle aged fat gain! Even better, I discovered a huge community of intelligent and open-minded people who are quietly creating a revolution in human health.

The point of all this late-night rambling?

If you're thinking...

"Oh, I could never do that." (Whatever THAT might be...)

Well, you're probably right.

So long as you think you can't... You won't be proven wrong.

But maybe, just maybe, you're thinking, "Maybe I can?"

In that case, whatever it is... GO for it!

Maybe you'll get lucky! Maybe you can.

Or... if you're really lucky, maybe you'll be wrong,

and you will discover something even better.

OK, now go outside and play!  Love, Mo the human

What IS "paleo"? (No loincloth required...)

What IS paleo, anyway?... It's probably not what you think.
When it comes to "eating paleo" my first month of trying it out blew my mind!

As it gains momentum, and more people begin looking into it, I expect that many folks will attempt to define it in varying ways. As someone who has been exploring it for almost 4 years (a "newbie" by some standards) I feel a need to add my voice to the online conversation.

As with anything that threatens the current norms, "Paleo" (aka the Ancestral Health Movement, aka Primal, Real Food, Clean Eating, etc...) is quickly dismissed by many as a fad: "You know, that silly caveman diet."...

 Except that it's growing, and doing so quite rapidly. Thousands of people are finding vitality, energy, and health that they previously thought impossible. Of course, we will expect some backlash. Some people are already calling it a cult. Obviously, none of these people have actually looked into it much:

Paleo is the OPPOSITE of a cult.

A cult is a group of people who unquestioningly follow a leader. The members of a cult look to the leader for their answers. A cult worships a specific deity... A specific "truth" of how the world is.


Paleo is a COMMUNITY.

We question everything. Not just "DIET and EXERCISE" but all aspects of how we live our lives. There are some mothers, farmers, biologists, doctors, writers, coaches, playful movers , acupuncturists, diabetics, and nutritionists who are major contributors to this community... and the list keeps growing! There is even a network of paleo physicians. However, since there are no "leaders", Paleo is completely decentralized. We (including you, if you're actually reading this) are a large, and rapidly growing worldwide community. We come from different religions, ethnicities, political alignments, etc. We are a diverse group of people who are willing to ask a simple question:

"What if we are wrong about this?"

This question leads us to seek real answers from a multitude of sources. Yes, we ARE learning from our grandparents, but also from much further back in time. We are looking at more than just how we eat. We are learning not just from our ancestors, but also from the latest scientific breakthroughs. We are also learning from looking at the remaining societies of "primitive" cultures today. We are trying these various ideas out, and seeing if they work (or not). We are taking control of our own health, with seemingly miraculous results. And, I might add... having a GREAT time doing it! There are huge, international Facebook groups, and small, local ones. In a matter of seconds, you could find one in your town. Those of us in Asheville, NC have a great resource in Synchronicity Wellness.

Many folks in what is now often referred to as the "Ancestral Health Community" give credit to Weston A. Price as being the father of this movement. He was a dentist who travelled the world and noticed that so-called "primitive" cultures had far greater health than the "civilized" folks. Anyone with rural farming roots knows this.  Many of us have very old relatives who had glowing health despite eating "all the wrong foods". And NO, we don't hate vegetarians... many of us used to be vegetarians!

For many people, they find paleo through crossfit. (Which, by the way, is also NOT a cult, but a community of people who love what they do and constantly question the details of their beliefs and methods in regards to exercise.)

My introduction to this shifting, formless community was through vibram five fingers and the barefoot movement people. (also not a cult.)

My introduction to the nutrition aspect was from Robb Wolf's book "The Paleo Solution." Robb Wolf presented a very appealing challenge to me. It was roughly this:

"Don't believe anything I say... God love people who think! Prove me wrong... Try it for a month, and see what happens!"

So... There you have it.
Make caveman jokes if you want to, (we think they're funny too).
But, seriously... Don't knock it 'till you try it.

Could too much exercise be killing you?

I love to run.

Those who spend time with me in daily life see it in my daily activity. I run from the car to work, I run in the woods with my kids. I run to get somewhere if I'm in a hurry. However, I almost never go for a long run, and I never see it as "exercise". To me, running falls into the "play" category, and generally only happens in short spurts. (see 1 minute video below if you like...)

Thanks to Ken Bob Saxton's Book  and a load of other resources I was able to run again for the first time in years without any pain in my knees and feet. I have never been fast, but that's not the point... to me -it's just joyful, childish playtime. I've never run a marathon, or even a half marathon. Heck, I've never run a race at all! (Did I mention I'm not very fast?)

Now, don't get me wrong... I'm NOT saying it's healthy to be inactive. Exercise is good. However, a growing body of evidence is suggesting that too much might be just as dangerous as not enough.


In the past few years (since re-evaluating all I thought I knew) I have been learning more and more that tells me... it's a really good thing I never caught the competitive bug! A growing pile of research is showing that "chronic cardio" is actually causing some serious damage to the heart muscle and coronary arteries of many runners... regardless of their "good form". Even if their knees, hips, feet, and back aren't being destroyed, it appears their hearts may be. It seems that, contrary to the overriding message of the book "Born to Run", too much exercise can actually INCREASE the effects of aging! Now, nobody is saying exercise is bad. However, too much seems to be.

I now have good reason to believe the same thing could also be happening to hard core cyclists (which I was for many years), cross-country skiers, etc...

Would you rather be a healthy "tortoise", or a dead "hare"?

I have to give a BIG thanks to cardiologist James O'Keefe for simplifying most of what I've been learning from various sources into an 18 minute video that in my opinion is well worth watching.

Thanks for reading, Now go outside and play!

                                                                             Much love, Mo the human

PS if you have a taste for a more geeky version of Dr. O'Keefe's talk, go here.

No gym? NO PROBLEM!

I'm 42 and in the best shape of my life... Really.

When I say I'm fit, I am not referring to my appearance, but more so to my functional ability in daily life, and my overall health and energy. According to my wife, I have never looked better. (I consider that a nice bonus!) See below for a cheesy snapshot she took of me while I was doing yard work:

I "work out" for about 10-20 minutes... once per week.

If you're saying "I don't have time to work out", I must humbly disagree.

I will admit, exercise plays a somewhat small part in the overall "fitness equation" of my current personal self-care plan. I really think nutrition makes up about 80% of what we call "Health and Fitness" for most people, but for now let's address exercise.

First of all, let me say... I don't like "exercise" very much. Plenty of people do. I have lots of friends who love to go to the gym. Many folks I know and respect are big time fans of crossfit.  I do plan someday to write a post: "Why I love crossfit. (Even though I don't do it.)"

I really LOVE movement.

Ah, yes... Sheer, playful, joyful movement! For me, this has at times been numerous martial arts, (especially BJJ), cycling, hiking, dancing, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, running, yoga, swimming, yard work,  etc.

But, truthfully,  I don't really enjoy exercise just for the sake of exercise...

If you want the accountability, safety, support, and community that comes along with it, you might hire a trainer, take a spin class, consider crossfit, powerlifting, pilates, yoga, or any martial art or dance form that appeals to you.  I think there are some great active communities to be found out there.  Here in Asheville, we have a truly great BJJ/MMA/Judo facility that I hope someday to have the time to go play in! My wife teaches at an amazingly beautiful yoga studio, and we have quite possibly the best pilates instruction anywhere... Oh, and may I add... as of August 2014: I am now available for personal wellness coaching though Synchronicity Wellness !) Yipeee!!!!

I'll go into my mental separation and joining of work, play and exercise later, as this whole subject is very dear to my healthy and happy heart.

That being said, I do see the medical benefit of exercise. Therefore, in my busy life, I follow a "Play as much as possible, exercise as little as necessary" plan. There are thousands of books and blogs out there on the various theories of exercise. So far, my favorite book on the physiology and biochemistry exercise is Body By Science by Doug McGuff, MD (review to come later, eventually).

If you'd like to save yourself countless hours on a treadmill, by watching one talk… HERE is a great talk by Dr. McGuff explaining the cellular biochemistry of exercise.



If you are self-motivated, Drew Baye's Project KRATOS offers a great way to get effective training done with bodyweight exercise, and very little equipment (or none).

Also, there is a great no-gym option that will fit in your pocket! If you have an iPhone or iPad, this $3 app is money well spent for some no-gym workouts. Android users can get theirs here.

Ok, now go outside and PLAY!
                                                                       -love, Mo the human