I was at the children’s playground one day with my niece and nephew, and being the big kid I am, I decided to climb a tree. You’ll never guess what happened…
There’s no doubting the importance of free range time for children when it comes to learning and discovering the world around them, but I believe there’s something much less spoken about, albeit equally important. Their thoughts, behaviours and beliefs are largely influenced by their parents. Parental actions, words and behaviours play a huge role in kids’ development and are highly beneficial in all aspects of life.
Children are the world’s biggest sponge.
They observe you, the babysitter, the TV.. all the words, beliefs and actions and will mimic a lot of it.
Do you have doubts about this? Then, have you ever seen your child cling to your mobile phone like you do? Or drop the occasional swear word… just like daddy (of course)? Or do something around the house the way you do it?
While we have to watch what we do around these little spies, we can use it to our advantage, to give them a good start in life, physically and mentally. The best part is we really don’t have to teach the children anything! Just be mindful of our own actions and words, let them observe what we’re doing and the lessons we want them to lean, and allow their curious nature to do its thing.
Some positive things that you can deliberately teach your children through allowing them to observe you are:
Less screen time
The importance of outdoor play for children and adults. Remember that the “I’m too big to play” line is burning an impression into their brains
It’s ok to fall over. In fact, you can make it quite a celebrated achievement, and therefore confidence around it, with the right attitude!
It’s ok to get wet and dirty!
How to handle adversity. The “she’ll be right” attitude to help them get over upsetting situations quicker and be less impacted in the future
Empathy for themselves and others
Balancing and agility, jumping, climbing… basically more confidence moving in everyday life
How to build and fix things
Conflict resolution
More appreciation for nature and the environment
How to form and grow positive relationships
Really the list of positive things you can let your child observe is endless. Children are watching and absorbing information regardless of whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. We might as well take it into our own hands as much as possible and not the media’s
Oh and about that tree I was climbing… Once I had enough of climbing, I decided to sit down. I must have left quite a big impression because not long after I’d sat down I noticed the number of kids who left the real playground equipment to climb trees.
This disclaimer governs your use of Under the Primal Influence Blog. By using this website, you accept this disclaimer in full. If you disagree with any part of this disclaimer, do not use Under the Primal Influence Blog or any affiliated websites, properties, or companies. We reserve the right to modify these terms at any time. You should therefore check back periodically for changes. By using this website after we post any changes, you agree to accept those changes, whether or not you have reviewed them.
All information and resources found on Under the Primal Influence Blog are based on the opinions of the author unless otherwise noted. All information is intended to motivate readers to make their own nutrition and health decisions after consulting with their health care provider. I am not a doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, therapist, or your mother, and I don’t play one on the internet.
The author of this site encourages you to consult a doctor before making any health changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition. No information on this site should be relied upon to determine diet, make a medical diagnosis, or determine treatment for a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice.
NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.
None of the posts and articles on Under the Primal Influence Blog may be re-printed without express written permission of the author. Primal Influence will respond to written requests to re-print parts of posts and excerpts/quotes (10% or less) may be reprinted with attribution as long as all links are left intact.
The very first Family WildTime Camp event was held 31 June – 2 July 2017 on the Sunshine Coast, and it was absolutely fantastic!
We’d worked with our co-host Carly from Natureweavers previously and we all knew we just had to organise a sleep-over version of what we all do and love with our regular services and programs. So we made it happen!
The goal was to provide families with a true nature camping experience, including some ‘wild’ elements with the environment around and the activities, plus some ‘luxury’ by doing all the cooking, washing and organising for them so it was an ‘easy’ camping trip for them and they could get the most out of the workshops and time there.
On the Friday afternoon we welcomed 16 campers to our semi-wild space camp facility in the beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland, helping them set up their tents and bedding, sat their camp chairs around the fire pit, showed them around the property and kicked off the activities with Clint’s Primal Play Class for the kids to join in on.
Because it’s Winter the sun set fairly early so dinner time crept up quickly. We were a little late getting the roast chickens from Cotton Tree Meats and veggies into the camp ovens but when dinner did finally come campers had a selection of plain roast chicken meat or freshly picked lemon myrtle flavoured, alongside a variety of hearty Winter veggies.
Dessert, of course, was marshmallows! And because the food element of this event was themed around ‘healthy and simple’ eating, the ingredients used were Paleo-friendly meaning this usually ‘naughty’ fun camping treat was actually healthy! Bonus!
The kids had earliersearched for the perfect marshmallow stick so were well equipped for optimal toasting and eating!
Some campers were tired after a big day of driving and playing so they hopped into their cosy beds in their tents while a few stayed up to chat around the fire. The fire area is where some really fantastic conversations are had and connections are made – a hugely important element to any camping trip.
Saturday morning campers bellies were filled with beautiful campfire-cooked foods including bacon and eggs from Piggy in the Middle , cooked veggies and yummy Eclipse Organics Paleo muesli with coconut milk, raw Hum Honey drizzled on and some fresh fruit. Oh and of course plenty of hot coffee, tea and hot chocolates were made!
Everyone all fueled up, the sun shining, Carly and Tanya took the kids for a nature adventure where they learned how to make fire and build cubby houses!
While the kids were off having fun the adults were invited to join in on Clint’s Natural Fitness Class where he introduced them to a variety of natural human movement activities and fun games. Our littlest camper Tilly also joined in, being held by mum Madeleine during some of the activities, as well as Clint, and giggled throughout the Pool Noodle Jumping games! It was so cute, and everyone had a lot of fun moving and playing.
Trying new games like those played in the class can be daunting for some adults, whose perception of adult play and also their own capabilities being quite limited, but every parent got in there and had a go. With the laughter I could hear from the kitchen and the smiles on faces as they walked down the hill after class, Clint’s goal of ensuring everyone had a great time was achieved!
Before the kids were due back we utilised that time for the parents and gave them the opportunity to learn some healthy camp meal ideas, getting stuck intoPaleo Burger Making which would be everyone’s lunch.
Each person helped with preparing the different elements of the burgers, including making melting ‘cheese’, Paleo mayo, slicing up the salad ingredients, stacking the huge cos lettuce leaves (used as buns), slicing the Paleo Rolls buns and cooking the Highbrit Beef patties over coals so everything was laid out and ready to assemble as desired come lunchtime.
It wasn’t a sneaky ploy of mine to have the campers make lunch as one less meal for me to do, but it was nice having others chip in to get it done and enjoying the process as well.
The small tribe still weren’t back and the parents realised it was the perfect chance to feast before having to worry about their kids’ meals. Smart thinking! They made their burgers, dug in, and finished eating just in time for the kids’ return.
Then the littlies tucked into goodies and everyone was fed and happy!
For an hour or so it was then ‘free-range’ time; campers could do whatever they felt like.
Some of the kids played in the creek, some explored the bushes around the camp area, some made up games to play with each other, and adults chatted, napped and relaxed.
The day wasn’t over though, there was still plenty more fun to be had!
Tanya held a fantastic Lantern Making Workshop where the kids and their parents could sit together in a shady part of the property and learn how to make beautiful lanterns using simple household items. A great way to recycle, work together, and use creativity and imagination.
Later the fiinished creations were hung from trees with tea light candles placed inside so they could be seen come nightfall.
That morning’s Fire Making adventures had been really successful so now it was time for the kids to show their parents what they’d learned about making fire and keeping it going.
Carly chatted to the parents about what this activity was all about, the benefits, the challenges, and the parents were able to see it firsthand.
Some frustration and impatience were noticeable but one of the main points was to allow the kids to work through and overcome these emotions.
All of them achieved fire, eventually! Yay!
And they were excited to be able to toast a marshmallow or two on the fire they created! What an exciting moment!
Of course, while all this was happening, dinner was being made and we knew it was going to be a cold night so we wanted to ensure campers had a big plate of hot food and mugs of hot drinks to warm them up.
Oh and a toasty fire to sit by too!
On the menu on Saturday night was Cotton Tree Meats grass-fed diced lamb with veggies cooked in the camp ovens for a few hours to become nice and soft and mushy.
Marshmallows were enjoyed again (not too many, they are made of honey and too much sugar right before bed is not fun!)
A very cold start to Sunday saw early risers heading straight for the jugs of boiled water at the drink station to make hot drinks to warm up with, as well as congregating around the fire egging Clint on to make it bigger!
Hands were warmed, brekkie was had, hot chocolates with marshmallows were downed, bellies were filled with food, and a morning full of activities was about to begin…
Carly and Tanya took the kids for another nature adventure where they explored the area just outside of the property, identifying useful plants, and becoming more aware of their natural surroundings.
The parents stuck around to learn about all the bushfoods in season at the time, being able to forage for and taste them, ask questions, and get ideas for native edible plants they could perhaps grow at home.
We’re very lucky to have access to this beautiful property that just happens to be covered in bush tucker plants thanks to the owner who’s a local bush tucker guru.
The group found and tried Lilly Pilly, Finger Limes, Wild Currants, Lemon Myrtle, Aniseed Myrtle and a few greens as well. Unique and interesting flavours and a unique and interesting experience!
To round off the activities, the parents then were able to benefit from some Forest Therapy and a Rock Stacking Mindfulness Workshop at the creek. Forest Therapy is basically about using all of our senses, preferably in a forest setting, to absorb a huge dose of earthing and healing from nature to greatly benefit our health. It’s also a form of meditation without actually ‘meditating’ as it’s typically performed, and it’s time-out to unwind and de-stress from our busy lives.
Once everyone felt calm and relaxed the rock stacking activity was for them to stack rocks however they desired and then to look back over the whole experience noticing their thoughts and behaviours. Not to judge or try to change those thoughts and actions, but to simply recognise them and get to know themselves better – how they handle challenging situations, how they go about achieving tasks set out for them, what their attitude is, and how they find joy. Awareness is key.
Each person approached the activity differently and it was really insightful to hear their thoughts about that afterwards.
It was a lovely way to end the weekend and as if on cue, the kids ran back just as we finished!
Then it was time to pack up <sniff> so we could hold a Closing Circle around the fire, where we drank some freshly brewed billy bushfoods tea, Carly gave out small gifts to the kids, and we thanked everyone for coming along to the first ever Family WildTime Camp.
Wow, what a weekend! Even though we experienced a few ticks and ant bites, dirt, dropped gooey marshmallows, and cold nights… everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Phew! And hey, that’s bush camping right?!
We hope our campers have implemented some of what they learned throughout those days into their regular lives and noticing changes and benefits. We sure learned a lot and are grateful for the experience, especially meeting so many wonderful people and being able to bring them to this beautiful space and enjoy a stack of nature for a few days.
If you liked the sound of this event and would like to attend one in the future simply register toPrimal E-newsto stay up to date with all of our nature-based events and activities. And feel free to get in touch with us, we’d love to connect with you!
A HUGE thank you to all of our amazing sponsors (mentioned above) who kindly supplied us with top quality food and products, plus Sunshine Coast Spring Water for our delicious drinking water!
Also, thank you to our helper Sarah who gave a lot of valuable time with the cooking and washing.
And thank you to Carly (and Tanya) from Natureweavers for all of your magic! Clint and I love you!
Aimee (and Clint!) x
Nature-based Health, Fitness + Food Coaching
I’m pretty excited to say I have my first Private Kids Coaching 1-on-1 student! Yay!
So I thought I’d take this opportunity to explain in a bit more detail what I do.
From a distance, it may simply look like two kids just playing (me being the big kid!) but the reality is there is so much more than just play happening.
The first contact I have before I start working with a child is with the parents. This initial chat helps me understand who I’ll be working with; such as the child’s personality, health challenges, general likes and dislikes as well as gathering information around why they think their child needs to train with me. Communication with parents is an extremely important element of the children’s training so we know we are working towards the same goals and are on the same page.
We then tee up a 30min intro session where I meet the child, chat with them and introduce them to some games and natural movements. This is a chance for me to get to know them, to make a connection, and to see where they’re at physically and emotionally with movement – I can see what they’re capable of and what needs improving.
From the first moment I meet the children, I am mentally taking notes of how they interact, for example, are they shy, excited, tired, uninterested etc? This initial meeting often dictates how I am going to interact from then on. Say they’re really shy, I need to back off a bit to try and build rapport and earn some trust. If on the other hand, they’re excited and friendly, I need to match my intensity with their excitement level.Once I think I’ve established some rapport with them I start to introduce them to my games. These games are suitable and modified to suit their current needs and ability level. At this point again my mental notepad is working over time. I’m noticing how they’re responding to the game, if can they do it easily or with difficulty, if they’re getting bored or frustrated, and how they’re moving in general. If I detect some consistent movement struggles, I will give some suggestions on how to move a little better, than allow them to try again. I find with children, it’s not about movement perfection, but allowing them the space to develop better skills. One of the goals of the sessions is to get children outside playing and having fun increasing fitness and
Once I think I’ve established some rapport with them I start to introduce them to my games. These games are suitable and modified to suit their current needs and ability level. At this point again my mental notepad is working over time. I’m noticing how they’re responding to the game, if can they do it easily or with difficulty, if they’re getting bored or frustrated, and how they’re moving in general. If I detect some consistent movement struggles, I’ll give some suggestions on how to move a little better, then allow them to try again. I find with children, it’s not about movement perfection, but allowing them the space to develop better skills in a less structured and specific manner.
One of the main goals with these sessions is to get children outside playing, having fun, increasing fitness and self-confidence. It’s not about gaining really specific skills and techniques.
This mental note taking continues through the whole session as I continually change, adapt and modify the games according to the child.
Once the session is finished we sit down and have a casual chat. Here I often find out what they liked most, what they didn’t like and why. This allows me to change things around for next week’s session to help achieve maximum results and create a general program in my head for the amount of time we’ll be working together.
From the outside it may look like play, but in reality every game, every movement and every conversation is working towards the bigger picture of helping them achieve their maximum potential.
I really enjoy working with kids, and find it both challenging and rewarding working with those experiencing behavioral issues such as ADHD and Autism. I don’t specialise in these areas but I’ve seen positive results and received fantastic feedback from parents when I’ve worked with these children and it’s made me realise how beneficial what I do is for them.
I recently introduced Private Kids Coaching to my list of Health + Fitness Coaching services and am so excited to have started working with local kids. I’m looking forward to meeting and working with many more!
If you have any questions for me about what I do please contact me via email info@primalinfluence.com or via the website here and I’d be happy to chat to you.
Thanks for reading!
Clint
Natural Fitness + Lifestyle Coaching | Visit our website: Primal Influence | Follow us on socials: Facebook + InstagramDisclaimer:
This disclaimer governs your use of Under the Primal Influence Blog. By using this website, you accept this disclaimer in full. If you disagree with any part of this disclaimer, do not use Under the Primal Influence Blog or any affiliated websites, properties, or companies. We reserve the right to modify these terms at any time. You should therefore check back periodically for changes. By using this website after we post any changes, you agree to accept those changes, whether or not you have reviewed them.
All information and resources found on Under the Primal Influence Blog are based on the opinions of the author unless otherwise noted. All information is intended to motivate readers to make their own nutrition and health decisions after consulting with their health care provider. I am not a doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, therapist, or your mother, and I don’t play one on the internet.
The author of this site encourages you to consult a doctor before making any health changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition. No information on this site should be relied upon to determine diet, make a medical diagnosis, or determine treatment for a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice.
NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.
None of the posts and articles on Under the Primal Influence Blog may be re-printed without express written permission of the author. Primal Influence will respond to written requests to re-print parts of posts and excerpts/quotes (10% or less) may be reprinted with attribution as long as all links are left intact.
Movement. It’s what we have a brain for and it’s fundamentally who we are.
Without movement we’re dead.
And with very little good movement and so much time spent being sedentary and in poor posture, we’re sick, injured, sore and tired.
So, if this is the case, why do so many people have such a hard time getting movement into their day and week? Why is the world around us setting us up with opportunities and means to do less movement than ever before? One thing I know for sure is it’s making us sicker and weaker. Sure our overall life expectancy has risen, humans are living longer, but what kind of life is it if we struggle to move our body in the most basic of ways? I’ve decided I am definitely not going to go down the path of limited movement and becoming decrepit when I’m in my older years. I’ve made a conscious choice to take control of my life and become a “movement hunter”.
A movement hunter is someone who actively seeks out opportunities to move, compared with most humans who let modern comforts and laziness rule.
Every single person living right now has the opportunity to become a movement hunter!
Most people today have limited movement opportunities throughout their day and think that movement needs to be in the form of exercise to be effective and drive results in the improvement of health and fitness. For example, it’s a general belief that 30 mins gym time a day is required, or 20 mins a few times a week at home performing pushups, crunches and following a workout DVD is essential, or that going for a 40 minute run with the heart rate being in a particular range is the key to good fitness and weight. These people are stuck inside a box and these perceptions are flawed and limiting.
It’s sad humans nowadays need to make an effort to seek out general and truly beneficial movement, but it’s just how it is. And more people need to be aware of this.
So many of us as adults are lacking imagination and creativity because of our lazy lifestyles and how quick and easy we access what we want to have thanks to the internet and modern comforts. But it really doesn’t take much searching to find more ways to enjoy more mindful movement in our day!
The best thing about becoming a movement hunter is that you open your eyes up to the endless movement possibilities. Really the only limit to movement is your imagination and the more movement you do now, the better off you’ll be in the long run. So allowing yourself to generate curiosity, imagination and creativity when it comes to movement, which may feel kind of challenging at first, will be worth the effort later on.
Becoming a movement hunter really isn’t a hard task, but it may cause some minor inconvenience and may slow you down a little. But is that really such a bad thing in such a fast-paced world? We think not!
For a year or so now, Aimee and I have been seeking ways to gain more movement within our day-to-day lives on top of the times we set aside specifically for play and natural movement sessions.
Some of the ways we’ve adopted the movement hunter lifestyle include:-
Sitting on the floor more often and sitting on the lounge less often. Sitting on the floor forces our bodies to change positions frequently as floor sitting can become uncomfortable quicky. Removing the ‘prop’ allows our body to give us accurate feedback and signals of when adjustments need to be made. We’re not relying on the comfort of a lounge to do all the work for us, our muscles, joints and mind are getting a workout while we sit on the floor, and the muscles, joints and mind benefit greatly from that!
Sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor. This makes us get up from a lying down position instead of just putting our feet down onto the floor. It means our joints are getting more full-range movements and we’re more capable humans because we can easily get from lying down to standing whenever we need or want to.
Walking to the shops instead of driving. We often leave the car at home and walk to the grocery store, markets and butcher. This allows us to get the benefits of walking, fresh air, good conversation time and we see and experience more because there’s always something interesting to see when out and about!
Adding to that one.. we carry a basket at the shops instead of using a shopping trolley, then carry our groceries home in eco-bags.
Putting the washing basket on the ground outside while hanging wet washing instead of on a trolley at waist height. This makes us have to bend down to pick clothes up so we get a full range of movement in from such a low position to then high when reaching to peg washing to the line.
Placing pieces of string between door frames, forcing us to step over each time we want to enter and exit the rooms. This stepping over motion is great for the hip joint, lower back, ankles, knees, basically the entire lower body, as well as the brain because we have to stop and think about it each time. The brain like this!
And just for fun and as an experiment… placing pieces of string between walkways to then be able to crawl under to get to where we want to go. We did this recently for a week in the lounge room so every time we wanted to get to the lounge area we had no choice but to crawl. It wasn’t the most convenient method of getting more movement but it was challenging, enjoyable and beneficial. We’re going to use this tool as a sometimes option, taking it down when we want to but making a conscious effort to place it back up and crawl regularly.
As you can see adopting a movment hunter attitude is really easy to implement. There are many more ways in which you can do it other than the ideas we’ve mentioned above, you just need to switch that creativity on in your brain, get it working and come up with some ways you can add more functional movement into your own life.
One of movement ‘gurus’ we look up to and greatly respect, Rafe Kelley, coincidentally, posted a video to his Facebook page while I was writing this blog post, about this very same topic. Talk about timing! Watch here for more inspiration on how to add more movement to your day
The challenge though is to stick with it. After time these adjustments will become second nature, if you let them.
Don’t become/stay a slave to laziness and the negative effects too much comfort can have. Hunt some more movement, enjoy the journey and reap the benefits!
If you decide to become a movement hunter I’d love to hear about it! Please share any photos on our Facebook page or tag us in Instagram!
Thanks for reading!
Clint
Natural Fitness + Lifestyle Coaching | Visit our website: Primal Influence | Follow us on socials: Facebook + InstagramDisclaimer:
This disclaimer governs your use of Under the Primal Influence Blog. By using this website, you accept this disclaimer in full. If you disagree with any part of this disclaimer, do not use Under the Primal Influence Blog or any affiliated websites, properties, or companies. We reserve the right to modify these terms at any time. You should therefore check back periodically for changes. By using this website after we post any changes, you agree to accept those changes, whether or not you have reviewed them.
All information and resources found on Under the Primal Influence Blog are based on the opinions of the author unless otherwise noted. All information is intended to motivate readers to make their own nutrition and health decisions after consulting with their health care provider. I am not a doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, therapist, or your mother, and I don’t play one on the internet.
The author of this site encourages you to consult a doctor before making any health changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition. No information on this site should be relied upon to determine diet, make a medical diagnosis, or determine treatment for a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice.
NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.
None of the posts and articles on Under the Primal Influence Blog may be re-printed without express written permission of the author. Primal Influence will respond to written requests to re-print parts of posts and excerpts/quotes (10% or less) may be reprinted with attribution as long as all links are left intact.
“Gluteus maximus is the largest of the gluteal muscles. The general functions of the muscle are believed to be extension of the hip, adduction, and external rotation. There is also evidence pointing to the significant role of glute max in force closure or compression stabilization of the SI joint. While there is some debate in the medical literature of the role of glute max, it is fairly obvious it is an important hip stabilizer.” -Breaking Muscle
At the Aware Relaxed Connected workshop on Sunday, hosted by one of our mentors and friend Craig Mallett, we learnt a terrific glute activation technique. Yes, there are a lot of them out there; any physio, chiro or PT will have half a dozen you can do on your lounge room floor. And that’s great. And we’ve been given and tried many ourselves over our years within the health and fitness industry as both coaches and also as clients/patients.
What we liked about Craig’s approach on the weekend though was the truly holistic (whole-istic) perspective. Instead of just lying down to perform a select few leg raising exercises, or some standing up, Craig explained the usefulness and true functionality of activating the glute muscles in ALL movements and angles. From getting up off of the floor in all different ways, standing upright and bending in different directions, to walking up and down stairs. Why set limits?
That was the theme of the day really… move well in ALL directions. Be a ‘generalist’ with movement. Adapt to different positions, angles, heights, environments so you can better handle being in different positions when needed, or when you want to. This really blew our minds! By the end of the day we were happily overwhelmed with this new (but not really ‘new’) concept and have been incorporating this idea into our everyday lives ever since.
So anyway, back to the glute relevance!
The workshop started with us practising glute activation in all sorts of different positions, heights and movements. We want to share a couple of them with you guys that you can easily start implementing and hopefully benefit from.
SOME GLUTE ACTIVATION IDEAS FOR YOU TO TRY:
Standing position with straight back: bend knees slightly, keep back straight, lean forwards bringing your chest toward the ground. When you feel your butt is at full stretch stop. Then, concentrating, squeeze or ‘turn them on’ and as you continue to keep them switched on, slowly raise your torso back to standing position but take it slightly further by pushing your pelvis forward to finish. Repeat this 10-20 times to get the hang of it.
Standing position different angles: this is similar to the previous movement but instead bend the knees at different angles, feel the stretch in one or both glutes and stand to upright position squeezing them the whole time. Play around with every possible angle you can come up with, including a rounded back.
Standing from sitting on the ground: sit on the floor/ground in all different positions, activate your glutes as much as possible in each position, then get to standing position keeping the glutes on the entire time. This is a tricky one and takes a lot of concentration (which the brain likes because the brain and body work best together, not separately).
Step ups: this one you can do with stairs in your home (we often use 2 at a time to get the full glute stretch) or anything stable you can step up and down with. Simply place one foot up on the step, concentrate on squeezing that glute and stand upright keeping it squeezed the entire time. Do this a few times on one leg then swap to the other leg. Then play around with different foot positions and knee angles. If you automatically step up with your knee facing inward, try breaking that habit and step up with it outward a few times. Change the step height when you can and vary this movement up as much as possible.
Easy peasy!
We’ve been making a conscious effort to do these at home. It’s hard, they’re not something we were doing previously so to add the movements into our day has taken some mental effort. But even when we think of it sometimes and just do a few standing with straight back, or we remember to stand up with glutes on from sitting on the floor watching TV, then that’s something. And that’s all you need to do. Practice as many of these as you can manage and you’ll be doing your body some good. Especially your pelvic stabilisation, which is so important.
Remember to check out Craig’s website Aware Relaxed Connected for lots of great resources, grab the current videos on the Tutorials page and check back regularly for new videos. We urge you to spend a few bucks on them and benefit from the content. All the money Craig receives from the purchase of videos and workshop attendance goes toward him learning more from his own mentors and teachers. Eventually that seeps back to all of us.. so it’s really a positive cycle!
Let us know if you have any questions and have fun with your new movements!
Clint & Aimee
5 things we’re grateful for today:
Attending Craig’s brilliant workshop last weekend
Forest play time
Meeting new lovely people at all of our recent free library talks
You guys reading our blog posts!
All the cherry tomatoes we’ve been picking from our container garden lately
Disclaimer
This blog provides general information and discussion about medicine, health and related subjects. The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, he or she should consult with an appropriately-licensed physician or other health care worker.
Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this blog or in any linked materials. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 000 immediately.
The views expressed on this blog and website have no relation to those of any academic, hospital, practice or other institution with which the authors are affiliated.
Well.. you and I might realise that kids absolutely need nature for their health and happiness, but sadly.. not everyone does.
So we are on a mission. To organise a FREE screening of the doco Project Wild Thing on the Sunshine Coast, with the hopes of reaching lots of parents, educators and anyone else who cares about the health of our kids’ so we can spread the awareness around nature being so crucial for children’s long-term health and wellness.
One of the ways we’re doing this is by raising money at events we hold. On Sunday we held the first… a FAMILY FUN AND PLAY DAY at Point Cartwright. We had about 20 or so people there over the course of the morning and it was a great day out!
We started with a group of kids and adults joining in on Clint’s Primal Play session on the beach; all barefoot, all getting sun and fresh air, all moving their body’s naturally, and all having lots of fun!
Luckily the sun came out for the occasion and with it came some humidity so the location was perfect for play on the sand then a swim to cool off!
Clint took everyone through a variety of natural movements and games including Up Down No Hands, Hip Tiggy, Partner Tug O War, Crab Walking, Crawling, Tiggy and more. It was suitable for all ages and all fitness levels and it was great to see so many people from all walks of life joining in and having a great time!
After the beach fun we headed to the park, found some shade and set up for a Sensory Connection activity.
It’s easy to have a good time outside in nature when playing at the beach or going for a bushwalk and to head home feeling happier and rejuvenated but most people don’t realise we can get even more health benefits from nature, that can have a longer lasting effect, by making more of a connection with what’s around us.
I wanted to show everyone how they can use nature and simple natural objects to fully indulge the senses and get a more beneficial and uplifting experience.
I’d gathered some items I found on the beach and took the group through a full sensory indulgence session to help them learn to engage their brain in a positive way, without electronic stimulants, in a way that’s really natural and innate for humans. Everyone seemed more relaxed but also more focused afterwards which was terrific and hopefully it’ll help them get more benefit from nature in the future.
Next… it was time to FEAST!
We were lucky enough to have some fabulous food donated by some very generous and kind local small businesses and we all enjoyed a delicious healthy picnic lunch!
Paleo sausages from Off the Bone Butcher and onion on the BBQ with some Free Organic coconut oil went down a treat!
It was great to see everyone chatting and getting to know each other. Des from Off the Bone Butcher and Andrea had a good chat, while Des’s partner Naomi and Matt from Peachester Farm pastured chickens formed hopefully a new working relationship behind. Matt provided us with a few roast organic chooks which were absolutely amazing!
With the whole point of the day being to raise money for Project Wild Thing we were delighted to see the jar filling up with cash! It helped too that Off the Bone Butcher donated a $50 voucher to raffle off!!
Dig in everyone, grub’s up! Salad from Sunshine Organics, paleo sausages, organic roast chickens and yummy bars from At One.. what more could we ask for?!
My plate! So good, I was so full after!!
And the winner of the raffle is… <drum roll> … Brenton! Who happens to be Clint’s client and was at another event next to ours but bought a ticket on the day!! Congrats Brenton, enjoy your meat buy!
We packed up at about 2pm, with full bellies, pink noses from all the sun, and hopefully all feeling happy! With $150 in the jar, Clint and I are really grateful for everyone who came along and their generosity, including our amazing sponsors and the families who joined in on all the activities. Thank you everyone!!
Just $350 left to raise now, so if you’d like to contribute you can keep an eye out on our Facebook page for more events to come along to, or book in for the Primal Trial Pack with Clint of 2x 30 min intro sessions for $10 here
Find out about the movie here
Help spread the word so we can get this screening happening on the Sunshine Coast soon.. share this blog post with your friends, family and colleagues!
I ‘ve followed The Fitness Explorer Darryl Edwards for quite a while now. I remember browsing through fitness websites on the internet a few years ago and coming across the The Fitness Explorer website. Straight away the movements and games Darryl played and taught resonated deeply with me and I wanted to implement some of the ideas into my own training and in my clients sessions.
One of our all time favourite paleo books
It was mine and Aimee’s pleasure to finally meet Darryl last year when he was in Australia promoting his book Paleo Fitness and after spending some time with the big man we were definitely not disappointed; he has a wide knowledge base when it comes to the Paleo lifestyle and he’s an all-round nice guy.
Fun at Primal Pantry
We’re excited Darryl has a new book out! It’s called Paleo from A to Z which we’ve been lucky enough to read and also have a copy to giveaway! Competition details at the end of this post.
My thoughts on Paleo from A to Z
“Cholestorol ISN’T the enemy? Wah?!” So much great info in this book
It’s been described as “the go-to reference for all things Paleo” and that’s exactly what it is. In fact just recently we had a friend over for dinner and we were talking about what tapioca is, so we grabbed the book to find some info about it and sure enough on page 258 “Tapioca- A starchy food made from cassava roots. Tapioca is gluten free but has very little nutritional value. Some Paleo recipes use tapioca flour as a substitute for wheat flour”. We found exactly what we needed when we needed it!
This book is a brilliant resource for anyone who is new to the Paleo lifestyle and confused with all of the jargon, through to the seasoned Paleo veteran who wants to touch-up on their knowledge, learn something new, and help others learn too.
I believe it’s a must-have in your selection of Paleo books. This book is a permanent feature on our coffee table and, as strange as it sounds, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed randomly selecting pages sometimes and reading up on each topic on the page. Something you might find fun to do too!
Darryl was kind enough to give us some time for a Q & A while getting ready for his next trip to Brisbane for the screening of the We Love Paleo movie.
Hanging out with Darryl…
US: You’re known as The Fitness Explorer www.thefitnessexplorer.com all over the world and creator of ‘Primal Play’. How would you describe ‘Primal Play’ to the uninitiated?
DE: The Primal Play Method is a unique combination of primal movement with solo, partner and group-based activities that are engaging and transformative. Designed for those who have forgotten the joy of movement.
US: As a paleo lifestyle advocate what are your top 3 tips for people wanting to transition?
DE: Research as much about the lifestyle as possible, but keep it simple.
Set goals which are realistic, meaningful and life-enhancing.
Focus on long-term success rather than competing a series of inordinately difficult short challenges.
US: You have a new book out – “Paleo from A to Z” – What inspired you to want to create this?
DE: It was written to help people navigate the wealth of information out there about the Paleo lifestyle but placed in one handy reference. A Paleo lifestyle encyclopaedia if you will. This book was designed to be a glossary of terms for those new to the Paleo lifestyle, but also with over 500 topics it has enough detail and research citations to ensure even Paleo veterans learn something new. It was intended to be non-intimidating and written in plain English. It has also been recently translated into Spanish. Sign up to my mailing list and you can download a free excerpt of the book: www.PaleofromAtoZ.com
US: You travel a lot for Paleo lifestyle events, book tours etc. How do you stay healthy and balanced with nutrition and play with all the travel you do?
DE: I travel hack to get the best travel experience I can especially when travelling long haul, I sleep hack to optimise my sleep when travelling across multiple time zones and to mitigate against jet lag. I also plan ahead to ensure there are no issues with nutrition. It’s not about achieving perfection but about making the best decisions I can and weighing up the costs and benefits at the time. In terms of Play? I aim to always be in a playful state and fortunately there are many people I have met on my travels who resonate with this.
US: What’s next for Darryl Edwards – The Fitness Explorer?
DE: Launching PrimalPlay.com in the near future and working on other exciting projects to bring Primal Play and the Paleo lifestyle to a larger audience.
Thanks for the chat Darryl and for the opportunity to read your book! We know you’ll have a tonne of success with your new projects and adventures and hope to catch up with you in person again soon for some PLAY!!
Aussies.. you can WIN a copy of Darryl’s amazing new book!!
With the sudden onset of this current cold snap throughout New South Whales and southern Queensland it seems like Winter has finally arrived, especially because up until this point we were experiencing pretty mild temps really. In general though, the colder months and shorter days tend to make even the fittest person want to roll over in bed of a morning to stay warm under the blankets or to reach for the extra helping of warm comfort foods during the day.
I call this period of lower motivation the Winter Blues!
Today I want to share 5 quick tips on ways you can overcome the Winter Blues and to make the most out of this time of year…
Sun time – Yes the days are short and cold, but when you manage to get yourself out in the sun sure are in for a treat!
Spend some time each day lying in the sun. This sun not only helps to warm us up but it’s a great way to get that vitally important Vitamin D; something a lot of people are missing out on in the cooler months of the year.
You can get a really cool phone app called D-Minder which helps track how much Vitamin D you’re getting versus how much you need.
D-Minder is a great app we use often
If you’re brave and have a private spot to sun yourself, consider doing what Daniel Vitalis is promoting at the moment… the #NakedSunTime Challenge (check it out on social media)! The aim of this is to expose your whole body to the sun and have no visible tan lines. Not for vanity reasons but purely for the amazing health benefits.
naked sun time on the balcony
Play outside – Instead of going to the gym, how about attempting to get outside to play or exercise? This again gets you outside in our natural surroundings and is far more beneficial then working-out inside.
Even if you only do this in your lunch break it’s a great way to get the body used to the colder weather.
playgrounds aren’t just for kids! take advantage of one near you
Stuck for ideas on what to do? Click here for some inspiration
Expose the body to the cold – Yes, you read that right! More often than not people feel the cold and rug up as much as possible to make themselves feel toasty warm. Why wouldn’t you?!
I enjoy doing this too, of course, but this year I’ve made a conscious effort to let myself be exposed to the cold weather more often than usual. I do this by going barefoot outdoors, trying to minimise the use of my jumpers and even jumping into the cold water at the beach.
barefoot…
to watch the sunrise on a chilly winter’s morning
The reason I do those things is to build up my tolerance to the cold weather. It’s a new thing for me this year and already I’ve noticed my usual sissy attitude to the cold has improved.
So why don’t you give it a go?
Work-out and play in a group – It’s much easier to face the cold and work-out if you’re with a group of people. The motivation you can give each other, the ideas of things to do, team work is really helpful at this time of year!
get your friends involved for some fun outdoors
Find a group of friends who are willing to face it with you and get moving together. If you don’t have keen friends or colleagues, you can always join our Primal Fitness Class
Warm up by a fire – This is one of my favourite things to do in Winter! If you have the space at home outside, consider getting yourself a brazier or fire pit and sit around it at night.
It’s a great feeling to sit around with the orange glow in the night. It’s a terrific way to have some down-time from the busyness of our daily lives and helps us reconnect and converse with friends, family and our loved ones.
a brazier like ours is about $20 from Bunnings
For bonus points head straight to bed after a fire without turning the house lights on. The orange glow of the fire will make you nice and sleepy so you should be out like a light. By avoiding the bright unnatural indoor lights your melatonin levels stay balanced.
You could also consider making healthy marshmallows and roasting them on the fire. Who doesn’t enjoy that?! It’s a nice treat to help you enjoy the experience even more. You can grab the recipe in Aimee’s Sweet Goodness with Gelatin e-book here.
These are a few of my favourite ways to beat the Winter Blues and I hope they help you in some way. We’d love to hear from you if you have any great suggestions to add to these!
Whenever our niece and nephew are with us we go to a playground for a play. We don’t just stand on the outside and watch them and all the kids climbing, swinging, running, hanging etc. We get in there and climb, swing, run and hang too. Why? Because acting like a kid isn’t just for kids!
It’s INNATE for humans to do these things. But for some reason in this day and age most of us disconnect from this natural behavior as we go from adolescence, through our teens, to adulthood and there’s a noticeably large void between what children and adults should be doing in terms of movement and fun.
Well lucky for the two of us we’ve tapped into this inner desire and we absolutely love moving and playing as kids do. And we highly recommend you give it a go for yourself if you haven’t already!
When our niece visited recently for her first sleepover with us we took the chance to take her to the forest for the afternoon. We knew she’d enjoy it and we knew we would too. We didn’t need to encourage her to get her shoes off, walk barefoot, balance, climb, explore… she already had the instinct to do those things.
We didn’t need any encouragement either, we do this on a regular basis. In fact if we don’t get out in nature, totally immersed in it, at least once a week we go a little crazy and find we really crave it!
Having said that though… this visit to the forest, having a kid in tow, was even better than our usual forest explorations because we had a mega boost of imagination and creativity along for the ride. We actually saw things differently.
The bright red toadstools and the holes in the tree trunks were fairy homes (ff course though fairies don’t come out until night-time when they know humans are asleep!), we we saw signs they lived in the forest which was exciting and we talked about it, igniting our imagination. Also when we took an old pool net into the water and caught a couple of shrimp it was more exciting than usual, just watching our niece’s expression and joy in the whole experience. So even though we’re usually pretty imaginative and have fun, we had even more fun, felt even better afterwards, and used even more of imagination having a child with us. Just magical!
What we’ve realised as we’ve been spending time with our little niece and her younger brother over the last couple of years as they’ve grown through toddler and prep ages is that there’s really a simple way all adults can engage more in natural movement and play and have even more enriching and magical experiences outdoors…
By just following a kid around for a few hours.
That’s it. Seriously!
Watch them; you’ll notice they run around a bit, they get excited by ‘small’ discoveries, they explore their surroundings with enthusiasm, they hop, jump and skip, they climb and hang from things, they crawl around on their hands and knees.. all of which are natural human movements – for any age of existence, not just for adolescents.
Watch their behaviour and learn from it. Use it so you can have just as much fun and benefit as they do!
Notice another thing while you watch them move around.. they’re having fun aren’t they? Life’s usual big dramas don’t seem to affect them. They have a more relaxed and happy attitude. They use their imagination. Then compare these to how you spend most of your day.. worrying about bills, feeling sad about the world news in the media, walking and driving places in a hurry, spending time in stressful environments and around stressed people getting yourself even more stressed.
The kid way sounds better doesn’t it?!
Even just spending a few minutes barefoot on the ground closing your eyes and breathing deeply can be incredibly relaxing and rejuvenating to the mind and body. So imagine how much benefit you’ll get from bringing in play, imagination, creativity, exploration, climbing, hanging, running, crawling… all of those things kids just do naturally.
Surely by now you’re getting our drift! Child-like play and movement may seem only suitable for children because of our attitude and perception in this modern time. But it doesn’t mean it’s accurate and how we’re meant to live!
So if you’re a little out of practice and would like to get back to being a kid but as an adult then take our advice…
head to a forest or any other huge chunk of nature you can find, kick the shoes off, walk barefoot, explore, use your imagination, climb a tree, explore a creek or rock pool, notice your surroundings and let your inner child guide you.
Don’t over-think it.
Just be.
It’ll come to you 🙂
Clint & Aimee
5 things we’re grateful for:
1. spending time in nature
2. exploring creeks
3. barefoot in the dirt
4. having forests and beaches so close to where we live
5. spending time with our niece and nephew and playing
One of our fave things is camping. We love it. We’d pack up and be permanent campers if we could! We have our dream 4×4/roof-top tent set up in our minds and it’s a very nice sight! And we’d love nothing more than to spend our days traveling all around Australia and exploring this amazing country.
But until that’s an option, we’ll settle for exploring the region we live in. And it certainly ain’t bad! The Sunny Coast is surrounded by varieties of scenery and camping options. Because we host the Sunshine Coast Paleo/Primal/Real Food Meetup Group we thought why not organise a meetup camping trip?! So we did!
Unfortunately out of all the members who initially said they were keen, very few could actually come the weekend we had to plan it for. But that’s ok, a few did come and it was a super fun weekend!
We headed to Kenilworth Homestead about an hour’s drive from the middle of the Sunny Coast. Clint and I took my mum along who hadn’t camped since she was a youngster. She was a bit apprehensive about it but she had a great time! We knew she’d enjoy a few days out in the country!
the view as we arrived at the camp ground
The other campers were .. a friend and her 2 boys, and a friend and workmate of Clint’s with her daughter. It was a great bunch of people; friendly, fun, open, not-afraid-of-nature which always helps when camping! The friend and her two kids hadn’t been camping before so it was great to share that new experience with them and they all seemed to have a really good time. So yay!
We’d decided to make it an almost-totally-paleo weekend, with the exception of beverages. Ie. alcohol! Clint and I enjoy drinking alcohol when we occasionally get to go camping and we knew mum would want to take some wine, while Clint’s colleague would have some alcoholic drinks with her too. So that was fine and we totally succeeded with the food side of things! Brekkie, lunch, dinner, snacks.. everything was paleo-friendly.
Here’s some pics of where we camped…
campsite set up and ready to go
mist over the hills
sun and mist rise together in the morning
the old homestead
dew on the web
It wasn’t only cool to have a weekend away, eating good food but not having to worry about how ‘crappy’ (literally!) you’re going to feel the days following. It was also great to be spending time out in the country, with gorgeous sunrises, misty mountain views, the smell of fresh air, green grass to play on, creeks to explore in, no computer and TV to create distraction, gorgeous sunsets and the smell of a camp fire going.
<sigh> bliss!
We definitely enjoyed eating well and here’s some pics of what we took along and created that weekend…
Clint gets the fire ready
brekkie day 2: free-range bacon, pastured eggs, goat cheese and avocado
local sweet and juicy pineapple, yum!
brekkie day 1: paleo-friendly wraps with bacon, egg and avocado
Egg-free wrap for Aimee’s mum, with tomato, bacon, avocado and goat cheese
getting coals ready for tonight’s camp oven dinner
love a crackling fire at night
and camp oven meals! roast chicken in one and veggies in the other, yay!
So the food so far looks alright hey! For lunch on the second day we actually ate paleo sausages and jaffa panna cotta!! Why not?! You can do that when you’re camping!
paleo sausages. so simple and so good
Apart from eating, which is obviously a great part of camping, there’s also plenty of time for fun, games, exploring, relaxing and we all did all of that!
Clint pretending to throw Georgia in the creek
Larissa taking time out to catch up on some reading
Clint slacklining. There wasn’t two suitable trees nearby so the bullbar came in handy!
Georgia practiced a lot and kept getting better and better
Now Larissa’s turn!
Exploring the creek nearby; skimming rocks, wading, walking… re-naturing!
Beautiful flower on a fierce-looking thistle plant along the riverbed
Just sitting, chilling, smiling.. how camping should be!
Magical sunset ending a fun second day
We did try and not have our phones on us 24/7 so there’s not a photo of every meal we had but they were all definitely paleo-friendly and delicious. Nothing beats a camp oven roast, tea and coffee using a billy over the fire, bacon and eggs cooked on a gas stove, good company, beautiful scenery and being surrounded by nature.
When was the last time you went camping?
Have you ever attempted to do it paleo? If you haven’t yet but want to, now you know it’s definitely do-able.
Tell us about your paleo camping trips, we’d love to hear from you!
It was amazing!
Under the Primal Influence 