The Raw Food Bare Foot Athlete

Raw Food and the athlete, Barefoot running and the benefits of correct running form. Raw food is not a religion, we debunk a few ideas about the 100% purity message from certain elements of the raw food cultists. We do beleive fruit is an athletes friend and the connection of the earth with our bare feet is one part of elements from the REM lifestyle design. Understanding the raw, energetic, mindfulness and developing a state of equanimity in your life is a strong platform to live life from.

Last Raw food Barefoot Athlete Podcast Hey Crew, We decided that as educators of a lifestyle we have seen benefit many people and their lives….including ours, the title of the show did not accurately represent the total message that we want to share. We are building out a new site at www.thefreeradicals.com.au where we want … Continue reading Last Raw food Barefoot Athlete Podcast →

Campfire Barefoot Chat   I know the audio is not as good as we can get it but this is recorded by the campfire and we just wanted to get some sort of podcast up and out there. Not for the sake of wasting your…… the listeners time with no appreciation that you tuned in, … Continue reading Campfire Barefoot Chat →

Okay I will admit it …..running on manicured grass and mown tracks is a darn sight more enticing than a gnarly rock strewn trail if you are a barefoot runner. Training and Race reports    Maleny X-Country event was a cold and challenging course but as far as X-Country courses go is an awesome venue. … Continue reading Barefoot and Golf courses →

Racing views and training New course PB  at Sandgate park run Jeff Galloway method of wall run walk implemented, 10 K +  21 K distances done. Difficulty with getting nutrition dialed in, Ingredient the week Sesame seed. And how pleasant it is to research information of what we would believe is a truth about plant … Continue reading Datorade and Barefoot Nutrition →

Is a raw diet optimal   My question is, where is the evidence for this extraordinary claim?  Is a raw diet optimal this claim is constantly repeated by the raw foodism movement  but I have never seen anyone provide 100% scientific evidence that would substantiate the claim. We  share a bit about our personal journey … Continue reading Is a Raw Foodism Diet Optimal →

   Justification and Complacency   I am more than aware of the naysayers that continue to tell me how unattainable the save the whale and keep the rain forest ideas are, When you stand up and make a point that the production of meat is far more "expensive " than sourcing plant based nutritional needs, the … Continue reading Justification and Complacency →

Raw Marketing your passion   When you look at your passion and play with the idea “is there a business opportunity in it”, The evil specter of commercialization raises it’s head from what could be fundamentally, an idle moments fascination for either yourself or others mildly interested in whatever your passion takes the form of.   Race … Continue reading Raw Marketing Your Passion →

Does Selling Need To Be Sexy If we ask  do different genders react to sexualized advertising? The question should be why does the need to be sexy have anything to do with worth or value no matter what the age or gender. Promoting thigh gap as a marker of following a 100% raw food diet…. … Continue reading Does Selling Need To Be Sexy →

  By being frugal and mindful are we contributing to the resistance against living a consumer marketing driven, cash cow life. I hope that is an obvious resounding yes. In this weeks podcast Races and training Sonya has started her lead in to the Mt Mee Marathon one of the toughest of road marathons in Queensland. I am still sitting on the sideline with a leg injury from last weeks park run. Unshoe get another thumbs down for our latest purchase from them. Ingredient of the week Chia seed Whats on and whats happening Heading down to Sydney.. 19th to 21 st Manley to be precise so if there is any listeners who want to catch up for a run, hit me up on twitter @ watzzupsport  or facebook page Topic of the week                5 tips on Frugal Raw Mindfulness   1  Know your budget   Being frugal means: Caring about your money, and trying not to waste it like paying your bills late when you'd get a discount for using direct debit buying in bulk foods when they're on sale. Use your local library instead of buying every single book new. Cutting out things which are convenient but over priced IE. takeaways . 2. Understand Your Goals   It's about valuing your money by translating it to life expenditure,  spend on the things which you really want. You wouldn't say "no" to having more money in the bank, without having to work extra That's what understanding frugality can bring you – even if you're of a low income. You earn hundreds of thousands, and still end up with financial problems if you've got no idea about how to control your spending and what controls your impulse to spend. "The way to wealth depends on just two words, industry and frugality." (Benjamin Franklin) – 18th century Being frugal isn't some 21st century idea. It's been known in many forms as a way to live a happy, rich life. The conspiricist in me wants to shout out " Beware..Beware " about the consumer driven lifestyle that the modern western world wants you to believe is the accepted and best way to to lead a live full             of " success and hapiness" 3  Expand your creativity.   Frugality Doesn't Mean Being Cheap, not all of the motives that keep people from overspending are positive Cheapness is different from frugality, Cheapness is when you have enough money but you still Buy shoddy, low-quality goods – that can cost you more in the long run. Take time and refuse to spend money on things which you don't really or think you "need" , take time to examine how else could you get it. Take time to examine other ways to get what you want without just handing over your cash. 4 Reassess Progress   I know people who just can’t bear to spend their money on, anything at all. That's not what I am talking about. People who understand the idea of being frugal have a number of motives that help keep their spending under control. Some people are forced to live pretty spare lives for a number of reasons, let your reason to be mindful of your income in, income out, be based around getting the best purchasing power for things that are important to your health and well being. Being not tied to a consumer spending dictate, then you are not in any way being cheap, but you are allowing yourself  not  to get caught up in the accepted and consumer driven marketing messages that bombard us all. Which, is why I find it so baffling that some people take this route of, takeaways, having the latest electronic gadget, buying  glossy magazines, purchasing fashion statements,  yes, how you spend your money is up to you, but when those decisions are governed by marketing dictates I don’t think it’s much of a choice. After a short time you can quickly replace the sound of money fluttering away with the sound of ka.. ching money/ life energy saved. 5 Celebrate   For me the idea of going on " holiday" does not have a great deal of appeal as a celebration,

Social Implications Of A Raw Food Lifestyle Generally it is not you that is the one feeling awkward. It is most likely the host, and other guests as there are very emotional-ties to how we see the partaking of food. We continue to be swayed by t...

Running with headphones good or bad The common comment I hear is " when I am in training for my Marathon I need something to help me through all those K's " Stop it then, don't do it, I have no connection with you.  For me Marathon running is for people who have other goals and aspirations, other than achieving a level of the fitness that I aspire to. Marathon running is an event not a sport, same as Ironman triathlon. Good morning, Good evening, Good afternoon, wherever you are on this bright blue bubble in space we call our world Training and races Mt Mee Marathon,   Hills, distance and speed Ingredient of the week Desiccated Coconut What's on and what been happening Developing relationships for the next RBAW Essential oils, Kombucha TEA making, Minimalist Shoes Topic of the week Is It Dangerous to Run With Headphones  It’s a dangerous practice and doctors have definitely seen an increase in the number of runners who had accidents while wearing headphones, so the question is running with headphones good or bad Results There were 116 reports of death or injury of pedestrians wearing headphones. The majority of victims were male (68%) and under the age of 30 (67%). The majority of vehicles involved in the crashes were trains (55%), and 89% of cases occurred in urban counties. 74% of case reports stated that the victim was wearing headphones at the time of the crash. Many cases (29%) mentioned that a warning was sounded before the crash. Conclusions The use of headphones with handheld devices may pose a safety risk to pedestrians, especially in environments with moving vehicles. Pros for having earphones on  Music can sometimes make running feel easier. Studies find that music reduces your perception of how hard you are running by about 10 percent. An external stimulus such as music can actually block some of the internal stimuli trying to reach the brain—such as fatigue-related messages from muscles and organs. When these messages are blocked, this reduces a runner's perception of effort, so you feel like you can run farther, faster. Cons for running with headphones One big problem is that listening to music can remove you from the other sounds that running produces, such as breathing and foot strike, which are essential cues. They give you feedback on your effort. Running while listening to music also removes you from the environment you're in, which can be unsafe. And in races, it makes you oblivious of other runners and you can't hear the directions being given by officials. WHO NEEDS MUSIC Serious athletes tend to be associators, which means they focus intently on internal cues such as breathing, heart rate, and muscular tension. This type of athlete tends to not derive as much benefit from external stimuli such as music. Then there are "dissociators." Your average active person falls into this category. For these people, music can be a motivational force. Dissociators will seek it to distract them from the boredom often associated with exercise. So why do you run   For me I like to run and listen to my body and sometimes I go and just run, just like the saying "sometimes I sit and think sometimes I just sit" The ability to be at peace and be calm is something we've lost in our culture; we've lost it in favor of multitasking. I would agree that listening to music, podcasts or audiobooks during running is a form of multitasking. When In the "flow state," which is complete immersion in the task at hand, time almost seems to stand still. You're enjoying what you are doing, you feel at one with yourself. This is why I am a proponent of a barefoot raw food lifestyle stripped down simplicity The common comment I hear is " when I am in training for my Marathon I need something to help me through all those K's Marathon running is an event not a sport, same as Ironman triathlon.

The Raw Food Barefoot Symphony  We are a carbon lifeform with an energetic component that is as finely tuned to our environment as is a individual instrument in an orchestra.   This week we have our Race Reports and training We discuss how we have started the training regime into first peak, for our competitive running season Ingredient of the week Sonya tells us how evil oats are What's new what's happening Decisions on new purchases IE blenders, somebody blew ours up..........again. Ongoing work editing the release of videos and PDF's from the  weekend's Raw Food Barefoot adventure content Topic of the week I wanted to say a few things relating about the last weeks topic of being the expert It is always you find yourself in  a quandary when you find yourself researching a topic and you get opposite poles of points of view. Each one claiming their correctness and viability of argument, and you have to find the element of "truth" to stand with. It is not my intention here to tell you that we have the answers and everything we say is true and correct. What I hope I can say is "yeah I looked at that, and of the answers that I found this one worked for me " It is far too easy to use an urban myth or a "truth" that has been around so long that it's become a truth just by the fact it gets repeated so often. What started me on this topic was conversation on alkaline foods for PH balance of your blood. Foods don’t influence our blood pH as a singular element There are certainly circumstances in which the blood is more acidic than it should be, and this does have serious health consequences. However, you more likely find this state of acidosis is caused by pathological conditions such as chronic renal insufficiency. I have seen enough information to feel pretty confident that your blood pH is hovering around a comfortable 7.4. by more inputs than whether you choose to eat a salad or a burger at a meal. I am not a medical person and I do not diagnose anything or claim to have any great insight What I do recognize is when information is being slanted to fit some message that the dispenser is trying to coerce you to believe, even if it may be with the best of intentions. This Balance i see distorted with enzyme theory, the 100% rules, cooked food = death rants. We are complex pieces of art put together in an organic compound with an energetic component that is as finely tuned to our environment as is a individual instrument in an orchestra. Trying to explain it with an energetic structure that may make sense, I use the analogy of an orchestra playing a Symphony  together If the third violin goes out most likely the player sitting next to him is going to pick up on it quickly and will subtly compensate,  reacting in some manner, but tuba player at the back is not going to know about it. The compounding effect of the one instrument left untuned will eventually impact the tuba and the rest of the orchestra. It would end up being an unholy racket of disharmonious waves of the energy/ vibration as one player tried to compensate with the other while still trying to play music creating an experience very different to a harmonious symphony sound. This where balance and sensitivity come into play the more of your decisions that are made from a consciousness and sensitivity of the totality of what makes up life, the easier it is to find the balance needed to tune in to the symphony of your life as a beautiful sound. Learn to play your own Raw Food Barefoot Symphony As  always If you want a Question answered leave it in the comments or start up a conversation on the facebook page or on the the Mindfulness and the Zest for life Google + community page.

  Raw Food Barefoot Adventure Subtitle  What makes an expert ? After our successful launch of the Raw Food Barefoot Adventure weekend Sonya and I had time to reflect on all that led up to the decision to hold such an event. We had all the human frailties going on in our consciousness of fear and judgment, but I realized that I didn't have to be an “expert,”  it’s just a concept that has been made up and then given a status that is flawed at its best. All we had to do was share what we know.  We did not have to be 100% right, possess flawless enunciation of words, or be perfect presenters. Podcast content : Race Reports and Training we actually did some training this week   :-) Ingredient of the week Walnuts What's on and what been happening lessons from our successful Raw food Barefoot Adventure launch Over the next couple of weeks I will be editing the video we took and will be sending out links to a PDF  with the handouts, recipes, and references sources to material covered over the weekend.   Topic of the week What is an Expert? Expert is taken to have a meaning of being proficient and knowledgeable about a certain topic. It doesn't mean you have to know everything. If you're teaching something advanced, then you may need to know a bit more, but you will never know everything. Some of the synonyms for expert are: Skilled, Trained, Adept, nowhere does it say infallible or all knowing. I realized that I did have something to say. Just because I could have the thoughts I had nothing to teach people didn't make it true. None of my doubts were as important as the realization that what I had in my own life had helped me. It was based in good science, been experientially lived and shown to be effective. There’s a reason you feel driven to do what you feel you must do. It’s only a thought that stops you from starting. What if you stopped trying to second guess an outcome and simply took action, could you make a difference if you simply shared what you knew. Take action and see what happens, for us it was to put on our Raw Food Barefoot Adventure weekend If you are passionate about what you want to share, the results will always be a learning. At first it may not go as you would have imagined. Being that you are excited and passionate about your "thing", you will get to understand it’s all part of a learning curve for what you were meant to do. Part of my early development in understanding thoughts and beliefs was from  Gregory Neville  in his book "Effective Counseling" there I read material that had great impact on me. Understanding that we are here to have an influence upon the lives of people who need to encounter us and we are  not individually the center of the universe. By my decision to do, I am at the right place for my personal growth to occur, not by any willpower of mine, but just by acting within the factors that exist in the universe; we have not caused the events that we encounter in our life but rather these events are the result of other factors in the universe making sure that we encounter the situation we need to grow. We are so very grateful to all participants of the weekend for your decision to attend.  Sonya's meals were such a hit there is already another uncooking event on the calendar before our next planned event in June As  always If you want a Question answered leave it in the comments or start up a conversation on the facebook page or on the the Mindfulness and the Zest for life Google + community page.

Mindfulness and Equanimity   During mindfulness meditation we observe everything that passes before our attention, yet not get caught up in our thoughts - instead,  staying aware of what is going on in the present moment, Introduction Race reports and training Mental imagery Ingrediant of the week Almonds Whats new and whats on this wekend event, trip to lake wyvenhoe Topic of the week Mindfulness and Equanimity Acknowledge  your thoughts and then just let them pass by. The breath is used as an anchor to the present moment, but, apart from that, no attempt is made to direct the attention. Equanimity is a fundamental skill for self-exploration and emotional intelligence. Mindfulness has no dogmas nor commandments. Mindfulness is about exploring reality and how to relate to it in a harmonious manner ie minimizing suffering and maximizing deep long-term Equanimity It is a deep and subtle concept frequently misunderstood and easily confused with suppression of feeling, apathy or inexpressiveness.   Equanimity comes from the Latin word aequus meaning balanced, and animus meaning spirit or internal state. How to Develop Equanimity Developing equanimity involves the following aspects: Intentionally creating equanimity in your body attempting to maintain a continuous relaxed state over your whole body as sensations (pleasant, unpleasant, strong, subtle, physical, emotional) wash through. Creating equanimity in your mind in each moment to be present inviting ourselves to interface with this moment in full awareness with the intention to embody as best we can an orientation of calmness mindfulness and equanimity right here and right now.… This means attempting to let go of negative judgments about what you are experiencing and replacing them with an attitude of loving acceptance and gentle matter-of-factness By noticing when you drop into states of equanimity and by exploring the state, you are training your subconscious to produce the state more frequently when feelings are experienced with equanimity, they assure their proper function as Correct motivators and directors of behavior as opposed to distorting behavior. Equanimity plays a critical role in changing negative behaviors Equanimity frees up internal energy for responding to external situations. As  always If you want a Question answered leave it in the comments or start up a conversation on the facebook page or on the the Mindfulness and the Zest for life Google + community page.