Yesterday’s Primal Move workshop in Ocala, Florida was a TON of fun. We had a smaller group than some of the other workshops I’ve led before, but that ended up being just fine given the size of our location. Everyone who attended was very engaged, asked wonderful questions, and worked together as a great group. I’m curious to see what they come up with in their own training, and that of their clients. Towards the end of this particular session, because it was smaller, they each had the chance to come up with a small form (3-5 movements) for us to mirror. I was impressed with both the high level of comprehension and retention that everyone demonstrated. Needless to say, their clients and group classes are soon to be in for a real treat. Primal Move is one of the most fun and engaging formats to expand on mobility, build coordination, and all kinds of useful stability. Not to mention games 🙂 Everyone loves games it seems!
During the much-needed lunch break, a few of us ventured off to a nearby large health food store to grab some favorite snacks. On the way there, we passed a local farmer’s market and noticed that there were actually a LOT of people carrying signs about GMOs, labeling, etc. as part of the “Occupy Monsanto” march which had been organized on a national level for May 25th. It was very interesting to see the wide variety of people who are now concerned enough about where their food comes from that they were willing to give up a part of their Saturday to march with signs. What was especially encouraging and interesting was the fact that whole families were involved, and many people who seemed like this might be part of a turning point or awakening in their relationship to food (at least that’s my hope).
The foods we eat, everything we ingest is so important. I used to joke that food was my largest expense, but it isn’t a joke, what I spend on food is a kind of investment. Every bite, ever sip you take can work for or against you. Physically and oddly enough psychologically in some cases. Regardless, you and your health deserve great nutrition without poisons, pesticides, and hormone disrupting chemicals. Seeing many people representative of mainstream America willing to march with signs on a Saturday was encouraging. And yes there were a few tin-foil-hat-wearers and the requisite “guy with the hand drum” (which I believe is required for a march to be “legit”, right?).
In my backpack I had a nice selection of favorite snacks – Beyond Organic Cinnamon Pecans, Beyond Organic (made from sprouted seeds) Gingersnap Cookies, and the new BBQ flavored Beyond Organic Beef Jerky. My friend and local HKC, Jeremy Neufeld had several Paleokits with him as well. At the store we chowed down on some Hail Merry Miracle Tarts (Bud Jeffries told me that calories don’t count on workshop days… and I’m not one to argue with that). Everything we ate was organic, which has become the norm for me (no, I don’t shrivel up and die in restaurants, but I do try to choose them wisely while traveling,when possible).
I want it to become normal for more and more people to eat organic foods regularly. The first response most people have is that organic foods are too expensive. I won’t argue that they are not.. BUT you can do many things to offset that cost. The first of which is to reach out in your community and see if there are any local organic co-ops who work with local farmers and families to make organic produce more accessible. Many times there’s a discount membership, and in many cases you can receive very deep discounts by volunteering to help out at the coop. That also puts you in touch with other people who may have similar concerns about food safety and quality. The recipe swap potential is also quite high. A little creativity and networking can go a very long way in finding affordable local sources of organic produce, eggs, meat, etc. Of course I would also encourage you to check out the offerings from Beyond Organic – I’ve been extremely happy with their meats, cheeses, kefir-like Amasai (watch the little video below and make sure to unmute the audio for more info), and raw food snacks.
Which brings me to my next point, if you’re a fitness pro, or just someone very concerned with food quality and safety (with a lot of friends) you can really offset the price of your Beyond Organic orders–not to mention potentially earn nice big commissions too by becoming an Beyond Organic Independent Mission Marketer (click here to join my team specifically, I love to share tips and additional materials with the team, we also have a special google group for sharing ideas!) You can now even get your commissions direct deposited to the bank account of your choice!
Ok well enough sales pitch, you probably get the point — I love the foods from Beyond Organic and think you will too. Here’s a little workout to help you work up an appetite – my kettlebell small group particularly “enjoyed” this wicked blend of basic drills and new “toys” we recently added a portable pull up bar and a lighter mace to our collection (not to worry, the 10lb ones go in and out of stock regularly…).
As always, we began with our Primal Move warm up, then 5 meticulous body weight only get-ups per side. Next was 5 rounds of:
- 20 Heavy kettlebell swings (heavy is what’s heavy to you, but still managable for good form)
- 20 Hanging knee raises (ala Convict Conditioning)
- 20 Light Mace swings of your choice (360s or 10-2s)
- 20 burpees
- 30 Russian twists (choice of light kettlebells)
Whew! After that a Primal Move cooldown was very very welcome!
Other goodies – in case you’ve been missing out! Recent inteviews I’ve conducted for Dragon Door:
And the two new, chock-full of awesome official Dragon Door blogs which you should just go ahead and bookmark right now:
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