the magic of human touch

Greetings, fellow humans!

We humans were born to touch. Photo credit: Warner Photography

As social animals, the very core of our survival has always relied on being part of a supportive group. More than words, the sense of kind touch from another person lets us know on a deep level that we are safe and secure. When we are sad, a good hug often does something for us that nothing else can. When a child is upset, the calming cuddle of a parent or trusted friend is the best medicine. The therapeutic effects of touching each other have been proven by countless studies, yet most of us in western cultures still do not get enough positive touch in our lives. Many of us get loads of “virtual contact” through social media, text, email, and we even have the occasional face to face interaction. Physical contact, however, seems undervalued in modern western society.

So… Where do we start?

1. Hug your friends, family, and anyone else who won’t get offended. (There’s no need to creep out strangers, right?)

2. Cuddle your kids, grandkids or your partner.

3. Get a massage! Much as an opera singer has devoted their life to perfecting the human voice, a trained massage therapist has devoted theirs to perfecting the skill of therapeutic human touch. A skilled therapist can help calm your mind and body to allow your true self to shine!

If you want to schedule a massage with me, contact Synchronicity Wellness, or find me on my facebook page

OK... now go hug someone!

                                                       Much love, Mo the human

Grace in every step: Regaining our natural human gait

Disclaimer:
As with everything on this blog, I am not telling anyone else what to do. I'm merely sharing my own experiences in exploration of human health. Think. Learn. Be your own teacher.

If you live in the Asheville area, you are lucky for a wide variety of reasons. One of them is that Synchronicity Wellness has gotten in the habit of hosting monthly "Paleo Potlucks" which are announced on the "Paleo Asheville" facebook page. At these events, I've met some wonderful people and had some truly amazing food. No wonder some folks call paleo eating "the foodie's diet"!
 I have also greatly enjoyed the various talks given at these potlucks. Each speaker has brought to the group a whole new perspective on a different subject. It's really cool to see how this "paleo thing" is encompassing so much more that just the classic diet and exercise stuff!

In October I got to give a talk at one of the potlucks regarding natural human gait.
The "lecture" is about 12 minutes, followed by a lengthy and somewhat funny Q&A/ discussion.
To watch the video click here:

If you watch, please let me know what you think. 


If you'd like some additional resources, including loads of shoe options that I consider healthy for our feet and Books for runners... Click here:

A simple exercise I have used with considerable success to regain a gentle, natural human stride is what I like to call...

The “Sobriety Test” Exercise:

Teaching Your Brain to See with Your Feet

by Mo Goldstein, happy human

Expect this to be a joyful, but possibly very slow process. Different people learn at different speeds. Approach this as if you are gardening. You cannot force a plant to bloom. As such, do not force your feet or brain to adapt too quickly. Let this be a short time you take every morning to experience the sensation you brain has been hungry for since childhood.

1.     Start completely barefoot on a flat, hard, smooth surface such as a wood or stone floor.

2.     Stand for a moment and gently shift your weight from foot to foot without lifting either foot off the ground.

3.   While looking forward (not down) with a soft gaze, begin lifting each foot very slightly, then gently placing it onto the ground as you lift the other foot.

4.     Gently place one foot just barely in front of the other foot, then WAIT for the front foot to “invite” your weight onto it. This will involve some gentle contraction of the Gluteal and hamstring muscles in the back leg.

5.     As you shift your weight to the forward foot, gently lift the back foot without “pushing off”.

6.     Repeat at a slow, gentle pace. If you are “thumping”, slow down.

7.     Try the same movement walking backwards. Notice the sensations in your feet.

After some time, you may wish to experiment with some different textures: rough surfaced concrete, dirt, etc… eventually even gravel. Do not rush this. With patience you can avoid possible injury as you slowly regain a very gentle and joyful gait. In time the muscles, tendons, and bones of the feet will become stronger as your brain-foot connection becomes “smarter”.

OK, now go outside and play!

                                                                          Much love, -Mo the human

Attention Diabetics: I know nothing

I'll  admit it... When it comes to diabetes, and how to prevent and/or reverse it. I know nothing.

I have read LOADS of books and blogs on the biochemistry of hormones and glucose, taken numerous college courses on human anatomy and physiology, Worked as a teaching assistant for anatomy and physiology classes AND nutrition classes... Watched "FAT HEAD" by Tom Naughton, Read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes...

Yet, Since I myself am neither diabetic, nor certified by anyone to talk about such things, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING about diabetes.

Luckily for all of us...

Steve Cooksey does! (AND he seems to have a growing number of "proper" dieticians supporting him now.)

This man lives in Charlotte, NC and is royally upsetting the ADA and many other folks who seem intent on NOT curing diabetes. Therefore, since I hope to not make any enemies, I'm asking you to keep taking drugs, and don't listen to anything this happy, healthy, used-to-be diabetic says.

Thanks, that is all.

Now go outside and play! Love, Mo the human.

Caramelized Sweet Potato Recipe

"Heat, Oil, and Neglect" are all you need for delicious sweet potatoes!

1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees while peeling and chopping sweet potatoes into cubes of about 1/2" to 3/4".

2 Spread cubes out single layer in large baking pan and toss a few spoonfuls of coconut oil on them (about 1 or 2 tablespoons per large sweet potato).

3 Put pan of cubes and oil in oven for 5 minutes to melt the oil.

4 Stir to coat all sides of cubes with oil, bake for 20 minutes.

5 Stir cubes again (scraping from pan with a stiff spatula), bake for 15 more minutes.

6 Scrape cubes from the pan as soon as you pull them out to prevent sticking... Watch your family devour the toasted marshmallowy, caramelized crunchy sweetness!

Enjoy! Love, Mo the human.

perfect paleo pancakes!

Greetings, fellow humans!

This recipe has moved to my new blog on MoTheHuman.net!

Click anywhere on the text to find it. Thanks so much for your continued support.

           

        Much love and respect, Mo the human

You're going to die of a heart attack! a.k.a. My intro to paleo eating

"SPSHHHHHHHHhhhhh...." The smell and the sizzle were wonderful.

The worried look on my sweet wife's face was not so wonderful.

It was early in the morning on June 1st, 2011.

I was cooking my first intentionally paleo meal.

The cooked pile of grass-fed ground beef was waiting on a plate. I was sauteing a huge pile of purple cabbage, sliced carrots, and a few slivered almonds in the copious layer of beef fat that remained in the cast iron pan. This, along with some fresh dill from the garden, carrot sticks and an apple, would be my breakfast and lunch for "Day 1 of  trying to prove Robb Wolf wrong."

It was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had.

Eating paleo was to be an experiment for me. I had just read "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf, and decided I would call his bluff; I would try eating this way for one month... Just to see what would happen.

Over my shoulder, I heard in a tone of dread,

 "Honey, I'm afraid you're going to die of a heart attack!"

My wife was genuinely concerned for my well being. Like most folks in our culture, (and like myself prior to reading this book) she thought saturated, DELICIOUS animal fat was the fastest way to slippery-slide yourself straight into the morgue.
We had a half-full bottle of organic, expeller-pressed canola oil that I was refusing to use... You know, the "heart-healthy" stuff! However, Robb Wolf makes some pretty good arguments, and I figured it was worth a shot to try it out, despite scaring my sweetie with my seemingly insane food choices.

Within 2 days, my chronic, ahem.. "digestive issues" (you know... the kind that would wake my wife up at night.) had disappeared!!!

Seriously, she had been putting up with my nasty, gassy, bloating guts for years. (What a kind, patient and wonderful soul she is.) The gas was GONE.

"Maybe the risk of heart attack is worth it," She said.

In her typical, understated sense of humor, she had given me approval to continue my seemingly dangerous experiment.

By the end of the month, The results were astounding:

-I had lost 15 lbs without trying.
I was back at what I used to call my "fighting weight" in the days before we had kids... (Back then I rode my bike daily, practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 5 or 6 days per week, contact improv and yoga twice per week.)
-My energy levels were soaring.
-The mild "old man aches" in my joints were completely gone!
-I was sleeping better.
-The chronic chest and sinus congestion that I've had for 20+ years was gone...
-Essentially, I felt like a 19 year old! (with a tad more emotional maturity, I hope...)

As I stepped out of the shower, my kind and previously skeptical wife said, "Ok, You didn't look that good when we met. I need to read that book."

Needless to say, within one month, her transformation was amazing as well:
-This mother of 2 who had been teaching yoga for a decade had to buy new jeans. (Her old ones were falling off!)
-She was STRONGER! Strong enough to do yoga poses she had never had the strength to do.
-Her PMS and cramps were gone... GONE! This was good for everyone.
-The bloating and discomfort she used to have after every meal were all GONE.
-Like me, her energy levels were soaring!


What did we eat? It's very simple... This is NOT a complicated thing:

-Veggies (not corn, it's a grain.)
-Meats (Primarily pasture raised mammals and birds, and wild caught fish) and "good fats" (coconut oil, fat from healthy animals, avocados)
-Eggs
-Fruits
-Nuts (not peanuts... They are beans)
-A little full-fat dairy for her, but not for me. (More on that later...)

Pretty much in that order of volume... picture it like a "paleo food pyramid"
 The bottom is animals and plants.
The top is fruits and nuts.


What was NOT on the plate?
sugary beverages (including juice)
Grains (ESPECIALLY Wheat!)
Beans (except a few green beans)
Sugar and other refined sweeteners.
"vegetable" oils. (actually industrial seed oil. Has anyone ever actually gotten oil out of a vegetable?)

Does this look like a restrictive diet to you?

This meal was a delicious, local grass fed beef burger, oven- roasted veggies, and an avocado fried in the high-quality beef fat left behind from the burger... YUM!


At this point, we've settled into a nice "paleo-esque" groove. We're not super strict paleovores, but that's basically how we eat.

The truth is, I have enjoyed food more in the last 2 years than ever before! (and those of you who know me know how I love good food!)

So far, no heart attack, and my bloodwork is quite impressive!

"Praise the Lard!" (Pasture-raised, of course.) -Mo the human

I should have worn a black trenchcoat and mirrored sunglasses to my health screening.

If I were much cooler than I actually am, this would have been me:

My employer gave a free (mandatory) employee health screening as part of the health insurance program. Needless to say, I rocked it. (Despite eating "all the wrong foods" and working out 15 minutes per week.)

 I hope the nurse who did my bloodwork will read my blog, as she was a very nice person.

Triglycerides: "Should be less than 150" Mine was 50.

HDL aka "Good Cholesterol": "Should be at least 40" Mine was 97.

LDL aka "Bad Cholesterol": "Yours didn't show up on test because the triglycerides were so low."

Total Cholesterol: 222    "A little high." (I am NOT worried, BTW!)

WHY am I not worried about my "high cholesterol"?

First of all, most of what we think about how to "fix" our cholesterol is flawed.

Second, Higher total cholesterol is potentially a good thing!

Third, if you are really concerned about heart health, or are on statins, you might consider reading this new book by Jimmy Moore

Fourth, LDL is not BAD! If it were, why would our body make it?

Praise the lard! (pasture raised, of course...) -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.

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