The Raw Food Bare Foot Athlete

Ya gotta get Ya meat you vegan "expletive" This is a tamed down comment that has been left on my youtube channel. Unpleasant for sure but the greater unpleasantness is the sad ignorance and blatant lies that evolve around the myth of "needing" meat to survive as a species. In this dialogue is the " Vegan " label and all that it suggests in people's minds.When does being a "vegan" start to mean activism and unbending attitudes. Introduction       Race reviews and results Not much to report as we have had a weeks break doing other things Ingredient of the week Maple syrup Whats On / whats happening The 1st Raw Food Barefoot Adventure Feb 8th and 9th 2013 Link to The Weekends Itinerary  REM Lifestyle Design   Topic of the week " Ya gotta get Ya meat you vegan F##ktard " I have observed and experienced the single mindedness of an observance to an Ideal, being as destructive as the original thought meme it was opposing. As a loose observation of something I saw on the raw food thought leaders blog of Frederic Patenaude was the reference to when does observance to an idealism become a cult mentality. He proposed that it's a cult when Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished. That is something you find online if you are not part of the party politics of a forum or group you get deleted. I understand that there are plenty of trolls on the internet that are just haters and dissenters. It is good house keeping practice to nuke them, such as the hater that left the comment on my youtube channel.   Though I left the comment there,  as I am not "trying " to change anyones mind or operate  with the its my way or the highway type of attitude. Whenever you hear a raw food expert talk, you can get the feeling that it’s “Their way or the highway.” Everyone else is stupid, but they have the absolute truth. If you don’t get the results, it’s because you didn't follow their advice properly. There is no room for compromise or questioning, and anyone who does is kicked out of the group. As for the questions that arise from the lack of understanding to the nature of nutrition and it sources. The Internet is a wonderful tool  in this day and age you can glean all sides to a story from the data banks and vast repositories of information that is available to us all. The REM lifestyle design As The REM Lifestyle suggests, there is more to a balanced life than just the diet and nutrition that goes into our body This is the area of discernment that I would like my message to resonate with those who I get to influence in any form or manner. You will not convince a person of something with only skilfull words,  you can only point in the direction of your truth with your words. You then show commitment and integrity by being a truthful representation of your ideal through your actions. You may become the lesson that person needed to see. " Not enough protein in the vegan diet" As for our angry friend and his assertion that we need meat,  one of the important areas that I do address for those encouraged to lead a plant fueled lifestyle is understanding the role of Vitamin B12. You often hear that you can only get B12 From animals , if this were the case why is it that B12 deficiencies show up in non vegetarian/ vegan diets. It is a shortage that is found in meat eaters as well. B12 is an important vitamin. BUT you don't need to eat animals or their byproducts to get it. It can be found in certain cereals, soy milk , tempeh, seaweed, and some yeasts. Bacteria is actually responsible for making B12 and is found in things like dirt. Where do you think the animals get it from? It's from what THEY eat. And yes, if you are still concerned about getting your B12 then take the vitamin supplements. I have used a Vitamin B 12 injection and I commit to to take a sublingual  B12 over a 1 month period per year. Last year I did not.

Mindfulness Meditation and Behavior Topics of podcast today timestamps @ 6.00 Ingredient of the week 14.50 direction of content 15.00 Raw food Mythology 16.00 Kayak trip what's on what's new 18.00 Raw food Barefoot adventure meetup 20.00 Sonya discusses recipes 21.00 play with your food 22.30 Mindfulness and habits Race Reviews/ Results Ingredient of the week Whats new , whats going on updates Topic of the week   Ingredient of the week Dates their important role in raw food nutrition and recipes. Dates A quick powerhouse packed in a tiny portable package.as the date is full of dietary fibre it works well as a bulk laxative Dates help and protect the colon mucus membrane as well as binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon. Due to their easy digestibility they are a quick source of energy making them excellent for athletes. Dates are alkaline and help in neutralizing acidity. Used in un-cooking it has many applications as a sweetener and a binding agent to hold ingredients together. Because dates are full of soluble and insoluble fiber they are able to fill you up and keep you regular, ideal as a snack. Mindfulness, Meditation, and Behavior A number of studies have demonstrated that systematic mindfulness training, as well as brief meditation practices in novices, can influence areas of the brain involved in regulating attention, awareness, and emotion Another key element of mindfulness is the cultivation of equanimity, or non-reactivity. Specifically, mindfulness meditation teaches one to pay attention to and acknowledge both one’s inner experience and the outer world, without necessarily reacting. The ability to simply observe and accurately sense thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations – without having to change them, or act on them – can be instrumental in breaking habitual behavior patterns that can harm one’s health, such as smoking a cigarette when feeling stressed, eating comfort food when feeling sad or “empty”, or turning to alcohol or other substances to “numb out” when feeling overwhelmed. One key element of mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to the present moment, on purpose (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Clinical studies have found 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation training (MBSR) gave an increased ability to orient one’s attention to the present moment. Other clinical studies found that 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation training significantly reduced ruminative thinking in persons with a history of depression (Ramel et al., 2004). Together, these studies indicate that mindfulness appears to involve reshaping ways of thinking that engender improved emotional well-being. Mindfulness scale development research has found that people with higher natural levels of mindfulness – irrespective of formal meditation training – report feeling less stressed, anxious and depressed, and more joyful, inspired, grateful, hopeful, content, vital, and satisfied with life Research further suggests that people with higher levels of mindfulness are better able to regulate their sense of well-being by virtue of greater emotional awareness, understanding, acceptance, and the ability to correct or repair unpleasant mood states Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), or MiCBT Overall, it appears that focused, concentrative meditation practices can increase one’s ability to maintain steady attention on a chosen object, like the breath or another person, whereas open awareness meditation practices can increase one’s ability to flexibly monitor and redirect attention when it becomes distracted (Lutz et al., 2008a). Based on these findings, not only is it possible to train the mind to change the brain, but, in fact, one’s ability to do so may get stronger as one gains meditation experience. AS alway love to hear from you all please connect through the social channel of your choice, or leave a comment here.  

Organics or Natural Our training and race reviews are a bit thin as we have not been very active at races of late, though Sonya gives her review of the version of Unshoe racing flats she is using now. Ingredient of the week this week is Cashews a very versatile nut with lots of uses in the kitchen. The topic we discuss this week is The distinction between Organics and natural. The organics or Natural landscape can be a confusing place to understand. With the vast number of symbols, certifications and labels it can be difficult to understand. How do we as consumers really understand the similarities and differences between organics or Natural What are the differences Is there Similar qualities? how do you think about organics or Natural, as a consumer it will depend on the different levels of knowledge regarding organics or Natural . The buying decision will be driven by different consumption patterns and should be made on factors ranging from price and comparability to authenticity and any environmental impact. With a minimal involvement in the world of organics the distinctions between organics or natural can make the buying decision difficult and that is what part of the message here is about It does not have to be difficult to have a healthy lifestyle. The most common confusion is the origin versus attributes, related to production and processing. “Organic” is seen at to be what happens to food at origin (e.g., the farm, the plant, the animal), while“natural” can be described as to what happens (or doesn't)in terms of production and processing after the farm gate. Generally the use the term "organic" can relate to farming practices the simplest form organic means “grown without pesticides.” Absence of pesticides, is the one large distinction, organic can also mean a variety of other things. Organic is also understood to indicate an absence of herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics as well as genetically modified foods.This is all connected with the growing process and are applied to whole foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, etc.). These properties are strongly associated to mean organic than as to natural. When you are looking to an ideal of natural that would mean that the food and beverages you buy are healthy, whole, real, and minimally processed.The term " natural" can be understood to be what happens to the food after it is grown, by referring to the introduction or absence of processing steps. The perception is “No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives” has more to do with natural than with organic distinction. This again is the perception about the term natural being connected to production and processing. While you can associate “natural” with an ideal of minimal processing, it does not mean that the word “natural” ensures that foods and beverages live up to the definition you may seek. Natural means wanting less processed,natural products to be healthy. unfortunately there are many products out there labeled natural that are clearly not a healthy choice. All products labeled natural,that are high in fat, sugar and/or sodium should be understood as being unnatural, regardless of the words on the package. A Healthy choice should be a product with a short, recognizable ingredient list with nothing artificial, no preservatives, additives or fillers. The closer you can get to having your food nutrition come from a place that has minimal additives and maximal impact for sustainable agriculture the better off we all will be. I have behind production time again as the technical gremlins still plague me, though it is getting better. If you have been following along for a while you will have seen how the blog design has changed. This is not what I want to end up with, it is something I had to throw up to get the site to work, I will be working to get the design easier to navigate.

New Year resolutions, who's driving the bus  Hey Crew sorry to keep you waiting on the next episode, problems I have been having with the site, really hit the fan last week  causing all sorts of problems and another learning curve for me. I had to deal with the technical side of getting a website and podcast to play nicely, after a piece of malicious code got its way into the internals and corrupted everything......sigh... what a way to launch into a New Year. Though it does tie in with the idea of the topic  New Year resolutions, who's driving the bus. When setting our athletic goals for the year or just setting an expectation to have a lifestyle change this year, it pays to bring to mind what are the drivers behind our motivations and desires. This episode I encourage a mindfulness about what is your measuring stick and motivator, is it coming from a good place. Irrespective of the result that you are looking for, may have noble result behind it; what is the internal source of motivation you will be calling on to actualize the goal . Is the goal set only with the sense of accomplishment at the outcome, or is the resolution to enjoy the journey as well. What  are the drivers behind your expectations and planning, where is your real happiness on your journey and your arrival. We have a minimalist shoe review of  the Unshoe A round up of the training and race reviews. The ingredient of the week  is Coconut milk, and Sonya has her say about keeping the budget in a Raw food kitchen Thanks for taking the time to visit hope you enjoy the audio                                                   please head over to the facebook  page                                                                  and say hi or                                                     leave a comment here always love hearing from you all.  

In the podcast today discussion about Mindfulness matters, Floating breasts, Race reviews and results and a rushed new segment Ingredient of the week Caccoa ------- ka-cow Mindfulness matters...the need to observe a state of mindfulness is not only one of a meditation guru stance sitting cross legged in a ashram but the every day observance of of our thoughts and decision making. It has been said of the thousands of thoughts we have each day the vast majority of them are the same thoughts just going around an around often dwelling in the past or the future, obsessing about mistakes we might have made, battling guilt, planning ahead or worrying. You find yourself drifting into fantasy, fiction and negativity. Your mindset set by your thoughts governs your actions, which lead to your results in life. A mindset that limits your potential, will likely lead you to accept limited results in many aspects of your life. An interesting observation to me is that the whole " we have up to 60,000 thoughts a day " idea is a great example of mindfulness matters. Where does the research come from to back up the claim. If you are interested in such matters you would have read the many references to this " fact " and it would have become part of your way of viewing information and initiating your responses toward the idea. You are influenced by many and varied things....from societal precepts Such as " put some shoes on....... you can't go out like that " " Act your age " " do the right thing " Including how act around events such as the Christmas festivities we are experiencing now. I am not on a scrouge rant about....bah humbug... Christmas though I do not buy in to what the majority's concept of Christmas festivities are. This is a minefield of emotional responses and ethical issues. Those of us who have chosen to live with the practice of only consuming a plant-based diet you will be thrown up against the gluttony of feasting on meats of all description and generally consuming far more than is necessary. On a personal note I do not make an issue of animal rights as applied to slaughter-house practises, or take a judgmental stance against an animal flesh consumer. Though with the combination of consumer purchaser gluttony, it becomes an energetic field that is of sadness frequency to me. Again no judgment just a mindful action to not participate in the energetic field that is passed off as a time of sharing, giving and celebration of peace and goodwill. For me the wonderful concept of being mindful and living with a state of mindful response is to be able to understand and be okay with the way other people will be responding to the same event in my timeline. Their choices are based on their thoughts, it is not something I can control I have no responsibility for their actions. I often quote something I heard from Byron Katie "There is 3 types of business your business, someone else's business, and gods business" How I interpret that is, of things you worry about or obsess over the result, you are better off understanding that someone else's business is just that "Theirs " Whereas you may be able to have influence or some input, they are going to deal with it as their thousands of thoughts a day reactions and their own mindfulness or absence of will allow them to. Gods business is just that, however you perceive "God " the unknown unseen hand of human existence goes about Gods business with the mathematical precision that has probability, impossibility, and immutability, all wound up in the inevitability that you are going to receive what ever is in store for you. So that just leaves you with only one thing to concern yourself with, and that is your business. You deserve and are required to make your business the first and foremost of your thoughts and actions,

Testosterone, Breast Cancer, and Slippery Suckers  On my journey  I have read many things, experienced many trials and have been at time at a loss at times to make my […]

Barefoot Raw Minimalist Lifestyle Today my Co- host and I get back in the chairs to chat more about  our Barefoot Raw Minimalist Lifestyle, a topic that keeps coming up for us lately is the question " How do you run without support " we chat on the subject giving you our perspective. The science tells you, muscle, ligament components of the body atrophy if not used, the foot is a wonder of  bio engineering that deserve more attention than being strapped into shoes that are touted to fix us as the broken runners, the marketing messages spruke to us. The Barefoot Raw Minimalist Lifestyle, is asking you to examine what you are accepting as truth from the system as it applies to your life. I often state going barefoot is not only about what you take off, there is the shift to an awareness that you can put on, opening up your life to possibilities and ways to examine issues or circumstances in your life that you  may not have had an insight into. With the awareness of the components of the REM Lifestyle design you are able to apply yourself to the present moment of your life, sustainable nutritional choices, mindfulness and exercise will lift you to an energetic relationship with yourself and the world around you. The result is the state of equanimity that is the gift of the union of physical senses and spiritual harmony.     As always let us know how you are doing and any Questions you have about Barefoot Raw Minimalist Lifestyle

Bare Foot Transition and Best Food Prices Today Myself and Sonya my Co-host have a chat about Bare Foot Transition and Best Food Prices. Sonya has been transitioning over the past few weeks and has been logging up the K's and shares how she is going. We also tackle some of the cost benefits and basic fundamentals that are in a Raw Food lifestyle. When you are looking at a sustainable lifestyle based on plant based nutrition best food prices are always a consideration. If organic is to expensive or hard to get, fresh local and seasonal produce are what you want to look for. Food miles Or Kilometers is a good metric to work with when making sustainable buying decisions, the closer it is to your home the better it is as an environmentally sound choice. Our tweaking and testing of the Raw Food treats we are going to be having at our Raw Food BareFoot Adventure in February is in full swing  

Bare Foot Transition   The Kawana park run is the background for this next podcast journalling entry of Sonya's bare foot transition story. The up sell of a life change is always found not in the most immediate of the effects but in the longer term ongoing position that the change will gravitate you towards. Speaking of the transition from depending on running shoes to get you into the mode of being a bare foot runner or an active participant of life , where as in reality you have all the appendages you need is just a tip of the iceberg of preconceived and at times carefully manufactured belief structures. You just need the permission by way of a societal mindset to be an athlete ...a runner,, a marathoner.. take your pick, but with the statement that you are going to get off the couch of doom and perform the act of running, you are not found to be serious or prepared unless you have the latest and greatest foot fetish sport apparel on. So is there many a scenario that he barrier to change is the need for a permission based accoutrement or permission slip from the relevant authority to feel good about any change you want to bring about in your life. The more resistance to the concept because it not the done thing is a fairly good indicator the translation is....... there is no money in it that's why you don't get to hear of the health or positive lifestyle changes that can be gained from the activity .. Not that I am say there is a conspiratorial theory attached to every marketing message or elaborate ruse that gets passed of as authoritative  information on the subject... bless the internet if you are connected to the goggle you can be an authority on just about any  subject. The difficulty is avoiding all the marketing messages that go along with the deep pockets of the companies that are using you as the cash cow in a consumerist society wending it way to the bottom of the evolutionary scale with the Zombie breed now running neck and neck with the obese and chronically ill denizens that feed from the umbilical cord of debt based consumer spending and assisted life experiences though TV reality and filtered news. The good news is you can choose to take your shoes off, go for a run, with the knowledge you are physically capable of preforming the act with out needing to strap on to your feet what is going to end up as a piece of  toxic land fill. This mindful conciousness is what you need to bring to your life each and every day, each action and belief that you operate with needs to be examined once in awhile and see if it stands the test of if it is a worthwhile pursuit. The more your life gets full of busy, the less full your life gets of the real connection to the earth and the more you live the story of busy. Raw food nutrition, energetic practices with mindfulness, form the REM life style design, a simple three part  platform to live a balanced life from. I hope you can spend sometime to ask a question or examine your lifestyle and see into what built in responses and prepared truths are served to you. Challenge the ones that take you away from living with enthusiasm for this time we have here together on this earth.  

Raw Food Bare Foot Mindfulness  It has been a very busy week or so in the realm of all things Raw and Bare foot. Sonya's transition to a natural form movement running is going well and she shares her experiences on this weeks show. I have been having a few technical difficulties getting the show into Itunes  for some reason, it used to be an automatic process but it seems to have gone of the rails somewhere at the time of publishing this post, so I hope you are able to listen by streaming or downloading from the website player. The Raw Food Bare Foot Adventure weekend clinic is announced and the variations of delightful dishes to present are getting larger so I have been having to taste test many treats....such a hard life :-) I try not to make the information sound like raw food, or going  bare foot is the critical path to life's success, though I totally believe nutrition based on an unprocessed plant based regime, with energetic connections to the earth and a life conducted with mindfulness training is a most wonderful platform to life from.    

Sonya continues her Newbies barefoot transition to natural form running, increasing in confidence, form and performance. The decision to change from a shod runner to a barefoot natural form running is a challenge if you are used to getting your runners high from lots of distance under the feet. To embrace a safe  Newbies barefoot transition you have to cut back on the distance and focus on form listening to your body tell you when to go longer and harder.    

This is another audio journal entry of the transition of Sonya from a shod marathon runner to an all terrain bare foot natural form athlete. We talk a little about food, feelings and focus as we share the journey.   The journey into barefoot running is is easy and is complex as you want to make it. This corresponding series of the podcast is all about the journey that Sonya is going through and the audio journal of her introduction to barefoot running.   We are going to expand a little on the content if you have any questions please leave them in the comments area and if you have a couple of minutes to spare..... please head over to the Facebook page and start a conversation there. Do you like the short format or do we make it longer to cover more stuff.

This series of podcasts is the chronology of the transition to barefoot running or natural form movement of a Sonya Carr who has taken a challenge from a marathon Madam to a 5K quickie her aim is learning The finer points of barefoot transitioning Learning natural form running or as it's called barefoot running can take some time and can be as complex or easy as you make it. In the vernacular of the minimalist running movement, barefoot running has a different context to the actuality of running with no shoes. The transition from a shod runner to what I call a natural form movement needs to be done with a degree of mindfulness and body awareness. Listening to the body and what its demands are, give you the best return on a training advice. If your feet are too sore to run then don't run simple as that. Consistency and simple demands on your body will return you a better result then you not listening to what your body is telling you and you overdoing everything.

Having the ability to run injury free is a blessing I am most grateful about, after a challenging couple of years I finally got through a xcountry series that I have hd to abandon many times because of injury woes.After the disappointment of my running gear failing on me I am going to look around for other minimalist footwear options. Another quick rant and ramble about Unshoes and the 100% raw philosophy that has the fear factor working overtime that if you look at a cooked food meal it will kill you. Understanding the need for fresh local based and unprocessed foods should be the basis of a balanced healthy diet, there is a lot of variables on the pathway to health and an individuals personal journey. Had gear failure today as my running sandals blew out, bit of a shame and inconvenience but hey..shit happens . The blessing of applied mindfulness is the ability let things be just what they are and move on without engaging.

I love my xcountry or trail running and always take any opportunity to get out on the tracks. Like many things its the eye of the beholder that sees the how to describe an event, or pass an opinion on an idea and you will always get better in depth knowledge if you are a participant. So many people want to pass a judgment on things they know little about or have narrow views on. For a raw food barefoot runner the term minimalist means what ? It is a term bandied around a bit same as 100% raw... Silly really