Ecological Fitness

14/09/2024

"Chongqing is a mountainous city; the centre is about 400 metres above sea level. My home is near the famous Gele Mountain. It has about 2,500 solid steps and the peak is about 678 metres. Just hiking up the stairs was too easy for me, so one day I decided to challenge myself by imitating an animal’s movements – I went up the mountain on all fours, like a frog jumping, and went down imitating a crocodile crawling. I call it the “jump up and crawl down” move, and it engages many muscles in my body. I have been doing it daily for 15 years."

When people see my physique, abs and mental state, no one can believe my age

24/08/2024

Jon delivers a refreshing perspective on how we can expand our awareness of nature to reawaken ancient, hardwired skills to grow our connection with each oth...

05/05/2024

A short documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson about this independent presidential candidate I encourage everyone to watch whether you're a fan of his or have already written him off (especially the latter). Many people have probably only heard the mainstream media's take on him, but I implore you to please listen to him directly and decide for yourself. ❤️

The Bobby Kennedy video Facebook doesn’t want you to see, narrated by Woody Harrelson.

28/01/2023

This is a big part of why there’s so much confusion about what constitutes a healthy diet. The government agencies charged with informing the public about healthy eating have been corrupted by Big Food corporations.

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The non-profit investigational group, US Right to Know, has recently compiled a report showing the revolving door between the big agribusiness industry and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly known as the American Dietetics Association), as well as receipts showing the financial relationship between the Academy and Big Food, such as Nestle, PepsiCo, Hershey, General Mills, Kellogg's (IFYKYK), and others. ⁠
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"'The Academy has appeared to be under the control of big food interests for “as long as I have been familiar with the Academy', said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist and public health advocate who wrote about the ties in her 2002 book, Food Politics. She said the financial ties raise 'fundamental questions about credibility'."⁠
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'How can the Academy advise the public to avoid ultra-processed foods, for example, if it is funded by the makers of those foods?' she asked. 'The issue of trust is critical to nutrition advising. The Academy looks like it represents the food industry, not the public interest.'"⁠
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Researchers and journalists have long been calling attention to the conflicts of interest from such an influential group as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and putting them under fire for their role in the obesity/chronic disease epidemics, as many of their big funders come from ultra-processed food corporations which are known to cause chronic disease. Many of these journalists have been called "quacks" and "conspiracy theorists" over the years, but data is clear: there is a financial and industry relationship between the people who create junk food and the people who tell us how to be "healthy." ⁠
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At what point does conflict of interest become full-on corruption? How can the public protect themselves from this blatant greed and lack of regard for public good?⁠
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/dec/09/academy-nutrition-financial-ties-processed-food-companies-contributions

20/12/2022

Beef for the win, literally 😆

17/11/2022

Who’d have thought that the food that enabled us to grow such large brains 🧠 and in many other ways shaped us as a species is in fact not bad for us? Glad to see the truth is finally coming to light after years of vilifying one of the healthiest foods you can eat.

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Most, if not all, of the studies put out vilifying meat and animal fat have been poor quality, biased, or outright fraud and more and more evidence is coming out to this effect.

     

30/10/2022

Wowzers! There’s some suggestions for ethically sourced chocolate at the website listed on the last slide.

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Food plays such an important role in all of our lives.

Yet, many of us are so disconnected from food production that we are unaware of some of the major social justice issues happening across the globe.

Most of us can agree that we don’t want others to suffer for our choices, yet we could be unknowingly supporting practices like human trafficking when buy our Halloween chocolate.

Most of the questions we ask about food are to find out how the food will impact our own bodies or our children’s bodies.

Rarely are we asking how the workers were treated, or wondering if that farmer was paid fairly for their produce.

Were children sold into slavery so that we can enjoy that chocolate bar?

How our purchases are affecting the lives of others rarely comes into play, and it’s mostly because we just aren’t aware of what’s going on in the world food system.

In my opinion, “Real Food” should encompass more than just how it will benefit your body, but its impact on the environment, farm workers and communities should also be considered.

28/10/2022

🐊

23/08/2022

There are so many health benefits to spending time at the beach, which should explain why they are such popular destinations during the warmer months, beyond simply beating the heat.

🌞 Abundant natural light which our bodies use in conjunction with cholesterol to make Vitamin D among other benefits
🌊 Cool salt water provides vital minerals which can be absorbed through our skin, not to mention all the benefits of cold thermogenesis through cold exposure that’s all the rage these days
🏊‍♀️ Swimming is a vital Natural Movement skill that’s undeniable useful in life but also incredibly good for you. Proper technique is a full body workout and great way to promote real world strength, aerobic capacity and coordination, among many other benefits
🦭 wildlife encounters like the group of seals I keep seeing at this beach offers nature connection that’s already heightened spending time in such a wild area. Just watch out for their predators! 🦈
🦶 Beaches are one of the few places where being barefoot is actually encouraged in Western society. Help strengthen the foundation of your body by waking and running barefoot at the beach, and take advantage of the direct connection to the earth this provides. Grounding, etc.
🏃‍♀️ Beaches are great places to practice a wide variety of natural movements like running, jumping, crawling on logs, lifting rocks, etc. Playing with a frizbee is also encouraged! Plus you can cool off in the water when you’re hot!

Spending time at the beach is a powerful health tonic, and I can definitely say that I was at my healthiest when I lived a short bike ride from the beach and could visit daily. I’m thankful to have had a chance to discover a new beautiful beach not far from where we live called Popham. I’ve been told by many Mainers it’s their favorite beach in the state and I can definitely see why! It’s truly a dynamic and wild place that absolutely transforms between high and low tides.

If you’re worried about excess sun exposure I would recommend cutting out all seed oils from your diet as they have a detrimental effect on skin health and our ability to stay protected from the sun. Covering up with clothes works well too.

31/07/2022

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most important environmental laws ever passed. The Clean Water Act, which sets water quality standards and requires permits for discharges, was championed by Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie. And one of the big motivators for Muskie? The Androscoggin River, one of the ten most polluted rivers in the country in the 1960s and 1970s that ran through his hometown of Rumford. The river has come a long way in five decades.”

“Back then, Craven said the water was yellow and brown, laden with toxic chemicals from paper mills, sewage treatment plants and farms and so devoid of oxygen that fish and other organisms couldn't survive. The stench of rotten eggs was overwhelming. Peter Rubins of the Grow LA River Working Group also recalls eight-foot drifts of yellow-brown foam at the base of the Great Falls that separate the cities of Lewiston and Auburn.”

Excerpts from a recent article by Maine Public: https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2022-06-21/the-clean-water-act-passed-50-years-ago-the-androscoggin-river-has-come-a-long-way-since-then

Didn’t realize it was the 50th anniversary! Pretty cool to see the awesome healing power of nature at work when it’s respected and allowed to do it’s thing.

13/06/2022

Finally made it down to the world-renowned Tracker School for the Standard Class this last week. “Awesome” is probably the word I would use to sum it all up in one word if I had to. But also fairly exhausting!

I had heard it was a full week but I didn’t expect it to be quite as full as it ended up being for the ~100 of us students. There was so much knowledge and wisdom offered to us that I’ll surely be digesting it and implementing it for years to come. Most days ran from 8:00am-10:00pm with only a few breaks for meals and 10-20 minute reprieves.

The instructors were exceptional at transferring the wisdom of tracking, bird language, shelter construction, friction fire, water procurement and filtration, animal processing and hide tanning, medicinal, utilitarian and nutritional uses of wild plants, awareness(!), camouflage, movement, survival cooking methods and so on. And the stories! Such amazing stories!

It’s difficult to put into words the effect of such an experience, but if this type of thing at all interests you I highly recommend making it down for a class if you can. I’d make sure to bring some extra pemmican bars like I did though! Trust me.

I didn’t use my phone for the week but I did manage to snap a few quick pictures while I was waiting for my ride back out of the Pine Barrens at the very last minute, so these pictures don’t tell much of the story of this past week. Imagine about 100 amazing people doing really cool things in these pictures if you want a better idea.

I’m very grateful to have had the honor of hearing some wisdom straight from the horse’s mouth as they as, from Tom Brown Jr. himself. Although he would say don’t think him, but thank Grandfather Stalking Wolf (his Apache mentor) for living his Vision and helping so many others reconnect with our Mother Earth and ourselves. Or something like that..

Excited for what the future holds!