HEALTH IS OFTEN JUST COMMON SENSE

Food, movement, and relaxation are all interrelated. You can’t fully talk about one without talking about all three. Good health can be simplified as Eat—Move—Relax. Many health experts agree that the majority of the physical issues we have are completely preventable through simple positive health habits.

  • Good, balanced eating

  • Daily, full body movement

  • Consistent, restorative sleep

  • Healthy sun exposure

  • Fresh air and full breathing

  • Ongoing stress management

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Instead of worrying about nutrients, we should simply avoid any food that’s been processed to such an extent that it is more the product of industry than of nature.
— Michael Pollan

tre / fASTING

It’s not a “diet.” It’s not about calories in/out. It’s about internal state rhythms, hormones, and circulation.

wHOLE fOODS

A variety of minimally processed, nutrient dense foods creates synergistic health benefits.

mICROBIOME

Optimize nutrient absorption, minimize inflammation, and regulate overall body chemistry.

 

What, How, and When you eat

Of course, what you eat is important, but how and when influences body chemistry more than what you eat. Stress response and circadian rhythms determines the body’s priorities.

How

Stress response overrides all other body functions. Inflammation increases and nutrient absorption decreases. The healthiest foods won’t help if you’re eating while stressed.

When

Circadian rhythms influence body chemistry and microbiome. This shapes optimal eating times and the body’s response to food. Healthy food at the wrong time is worse than less healthy food at the right time.


The context in which a food is eaten can be nearly as important as the food itself.
— Michael Pollan

 

Whole foods feed the Microbiome

Realize that everything you eat feeds the microbiome. The types of bacteria you feed determines body chemistry and overall health. Fiber-rich, nutrient-dense, whole foods feed the beneficial bacteria in our gut. A healthy gut creates a strong immune system, prevents chronic disease, and stabilizes the emotions.

 

HAVE A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD

Diets don’t work in the long term. Forced restriction creates an antagonistic relationship between you and your food. That just creates more stress. What and how much you eat can vary greatly. Don't believe in cookie cutter solutions. Listening with awareness helps determine how you feel and what your body needs. Don't be fanatical about any one thing. Enjoy your food — don't fight it. Take the time to feed the heart and cleanse the soul. All together you get a synergistic effect that has a huge influence on your current state of health. 

 
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We can’t wait to learn the rest of the spinal sequence.
We have been doing the exercises everyday and
it has made my lower back feel so much better!
— Mother, Lawyer, 47

Breathing

Breathing is the doorway to controlling the body, regulating chemistry, and shaping the psychological state.

Recovery / Mobility

Heal from old and current injuries, large and small. Regain lost range of motion and clean up movement patterns.

Movement 

Movement feeds the joints and tissues of a healthy body. It stimulates circulation, hormonal response, and body chemistry.

Breath First

A comprehensive breathing education is required. Breathing involves all aspects of the human experience. It cannot be reduced to simplistic techniques in isolation. Healthy movement and breathing go hand in hand. Breath control is the beginning of honest engagement, with awareness, sensitivity, and control. Successful training requires patience, variety, and consistency.

Circulation affects everything

Movement allows our cells to breath and our tissues to be fed. We move too little, on top of dysfunction, without respect to our biology and health. Symptoms distract us into thinking there is a single factor cause and a single factor cure. It’s not one factor, it’s more like a constellation of factors connected together. Circulation is movement, and connects all systems of the body.

 
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 RESTORE A HEALTHY AND BALANCED BASELINE 

After years of neglect the body has a large debt of built up tension, poor circulation, and dehydrated fascia. Deep work is needed to re-educate the nervous system and clean up accumulated damage. When we calm the nervous system, improve circulation, and stimulate the tissues, the body is able to recover from chronic injuries and dysfunction.

 

PRACTICES AND HABITS FOR EVERYONE

Movement Daily principles apply to all of us regardless of our current physical condition. Whether we are struggling with basic health or training for peak performance, we can use these principles to improve our health and restore lost function.

Restoration

  • Heal pain and dysfunction

  • Recover from injuries

  • Address chronic conditions

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Skills

  • Integrate breathing into all movement

  • Develop awareness, sensitivity, and control

  • Build functional strength

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Challenge

  • Push boundaries and create optimal surplus

  • Increase durability and prevent injuries

  • Improve performance

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Play

  • Enjoy spontaneous freedom of movement

  • Discover new possibilities

  • Effortlessly integrate skills

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I have to say a huge thank you!!
I haven’t slept so well in months, and woke up feeling like a new person!
The smallest amount of joy has returned, and it feels fabulous!
Thank you so much!
— Mother, Communications Manager, 42

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress management is essential to increase energy levels, shift internal chemistry, and stay focused on priorities.

sLEEP

Sleep is the first and primary way we regulate physical and psychological stress. Poor sleep compounds all problems!

cIRCADIAN rHYTHM

Respecting circadian rhythms is the key to correcting our overstimulated, overworked, frantic lifestyles.

Chill out!

Stress management skills — such as meditation, movement, engaging in social support — are essential to finding patience, acceptance, and gratitude in our daily lives. Stress overrides all other health factors. Without adequate stress management, all bets are off. Stress changes chemistry and circulation, which affects cellular health and triggers epigenetic expression. For example, a good diet with chronic stress is similar to eating a bad diet in terms of body chemistry.

 Respect biological needs

Depriving ourselves of sleep and playing chemistry lab to compensate feels arrogant and full of hubris. As much as possible, we should rely on healthy rhythms and restorative sleep to nurture ourselves. Remarkable healing is possible, but we need to start respecting our biology, rather than trying to hack or override it.

 
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