In this episode of the Align Podcast, I have a wonderful conversation with Emily Fletcher where we dive into the semantics of meditation and how it's much more powerful than many of us may realize. It's not only a tool for calming our mind, but it physically transforms our mind and body.
We also dive into our childhood wounds, how it has affected us in our adult life, and what we have found to be successful in our healing process.
And as a bonus, at the end of the episode, Emily offers us a transformative 5-minute mediation practice that you
can use as a tool for yourself.
Emily Fletcher is the creator of The Ziva Technique and the founder of Ziva, where she developed the world meditation training program. She is also a best selling author: she wrote
Stress Less, Accomplish More - Meditation for Extraordinary Performance. She is one of my best friends and overall, a meditation legend.
What we discuss:
[00:08:16] How meditation calms our chaotic energy
[00:11:43] The cerebral processes that occur in meditation that make us more empathic
[00:12:29] Bypassing our emotions vs. allowing ourselves to feel them
[00:23:13] How the body is a record of our past
[00:24:13] How meditation is healing: de-exciting our nervous system
[00:27:15] 5-minute meditation exercise
Instagram: @emilystellafletcher
Website: zivameditation.com
Book: zivameditation.com/my-debut-book
What’s keeping you from claiming your true powers? Are you even aware of the powers you hold within you and how you can tap into them?
Today’s conversation is with one of my closest friends and widely known, Mr. Jim Kwik. We talk about his book, Limitless – a fabulous read! Jim’s main niche is about memory, focus, and accelerated learning, although the book content is much wider than that. While our imagination might make us think that being limitless is a synonym for perfection, in this episode, Jim explains it in a much more tangible and human way: Limitless is about advancing and progressing beyond what we believe to be possible.
Jim has created a three-part framework that he breaks down for us in this episode. This framework acts as a lens to see what holds us back and to construct our self-awareness to "unlimit" the areas that are in our way. Plus, we both talk about what makes us come alive and our purpose - both fundamental emotional factors for
reaching our full potential.
Jim is a renowned brain coach, a memory and speed-reading expert, international speaker, and a social entrepreneur. He has been featured in many programs and podcasts and his book, Limitless, became an instant New York Times bestseller and #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller.
What we discuss:
[04:45] Jim’s go-to practices for dealing with stress and anxiety
[05:53] Defining what it means to be "limitless"
[11:11] Why we need to have a sense of purpose in our lives
[15:36] What makes Jim feel alive?
[16:52] What makes Aaron feel alive?
[20:52] Opening our own mechanisms through the love towards another person
[27:03] The antidote for feeling stuck
[27:20] The 3 M’s: Mindset, Motivation, Methods
[29:06] What Jim would change in the current western educational system
Find more from Jim:
Website: www.jimkwik.com
Instagram. @jimkwik
Book: www.limitlessbook.com
Be sure to check out the Align Collection, including Align bands, pants, shorts, and more! Shop now here.
Do you know how to love? And more importantly, do you know how to let love in?
In this conversation, I sat down with the legendary Bobby Klein at his own awesome home in Tulum, Mexico who shares the most important life lessons he has learned throughout his 89 years of life, including why the bottom line of life is always love.
Plus, we explored the ideas of what this human experience is, our inner guidance and intuition, and how necessary it is to be brutally honest with ourselves.
As we go deep into what the hell we are doing here, he shared a handful of fascinating and badass experiences in his life.
Bobby Klein is a truly special guest: He carries a rare wealth of experience, deep compassion, and an arsenal of healing tools. He's a clinical psychologist, spiritual and psychological educator, writer, and intuitive Life Path Counselor. He was also a driving force in securing the legalization of acupuncture in America and became one of the first practicing acupuncturists in the United States. He is a true elder and a new friend I see as a mentor.
What we discuss:
03:53: Why 'fake it till you make it' is horse shit
05:09: What stands out that is different in the world today compared to the 60s?
06:06: How Bobby's relationship with death has transformed over the years
11:12: is fear the root of suffe14:28: Alcohol vs. psychedelics
21:30: How trusting someone can let them show who they really are
22:29: Do guidance systems exist? What are they?
29:40: The blueprint for cultivating a relationship with yourself
34:06: What it means to be wild
41:50: How Bobby got started with acupuncture
46:14: Healing and intuition
52:17: Is the concept of 'survivor' attached to the idea of suffering?
Find more from Bobby:
Website: bobbyklein.com
YouTube Channel: @bobbyklein
Be sure to check out the Align Collection, including Align bands, pants, shorts, and more! Shop now here.
What can we learn about ourselves when we go through a separation from another? It’s easy to feel strong when things are working, but what about when things aren't?
There is valuable opportunity given to us that only present themselves when relationships fall apart–The opportunity to navigate through the deep layers of ourselves. But how do we actually navigate through these layers?
In this conversation, Aubrey Marcus and his wife Vylana - two of my very favourite people - answer the questions I have on separation from someone you love (or feel deeply about), as it's something I currently am going through in my own life. Plus, they discuss why “wounds allows the light to enter”, and how truly loving ourselves is the best tool for facing a broken heart.
Aubrey is the founder of ONMIT, a NYT bestselling author, the AMP podcast host, and founding member of Fit For Service Fellowship.
Vylana is a sound alchemist, singer, Tahitian dancer, and medicine woman.
What we discuss:
[00:07:09] Aaron's current context
[00:12:17] Love autonomy
[00:18:56] Using the pain of a separation to growth
[00:22:35] Facing and accepting fear
[00:27:37] Self-love practices
[00:40:38] Trust in acceptance
[00:45:25] Expediting the process of accepting events within ourselves
[00:51:22] Why current life events show you where there is still work to be done
Find more from Aubrey and Vylana:
Podcast: https://www.aubreymarcus.com/blogs/aubrey-marcus-podcast
Program: https://www.aubreymarcus.com/pages/fit-for-service-fellowship
Instagram: @aubreymarcus
Instagram: @vylanamarcus
Our ability to connect and relate to each other is dependent upon how we feel. Which means, the food we eat has a strong influence on how we connect to each other. But one of the issues lies in the fact that the environment we have created around us is conducive and supportive to sickness, and is ultimately preventing us from experiencing deeper connections.
In this episode of the Align Podcast, I have a conversation with Shawn Stevenson on what contributes to deeper human connection, how the media affects our relationships, and why Shawn’s marriage has been successful.
Plus, he also discusses how nutrition plays a surprising role in sleep, his thoughts on the conventional medicine approach.
Shawn is a bestselling author of Sleep Smarter and has another book coming out, Eat Smarter, is a nutritionist, science educator, & creator of The Model Health Show, featured
as the #1 Health Podcast in the U.S.
What we discuss:
[00:06:15] Shawn discusses the relationship between social media and sleep deprivation
[00:09:07] How nutrition affects sleep
[00:11:32] What Shawn thinks of the conventional medicine approach
[00:16:47] How the environment plays a role in our behavior
[00:24:32] Who we are at our core vs. how we behave
[00:29:08] Romanticized media vs. our true needs in a relationship
[00:37:55] Being human: intuition and connection
[00:50:55] Our capacity of connecting to others is dependent upon how we feel individually
[00:56:12] How does our nutrition affects the way we relate to our significant other
Website: https://themodelhealthshow.com/
Instagram: @shawnmodel
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheShawnModel/
Book: https://eatsmarterbook.com/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-model-health-show/id640246578
How often do we extend the effort to connect with our parents as the humans they truly are? Do we really know who they were before their parent roles and who they are beyond?
This episode is truly special: My mother, Tina Louise Thomas, and I have a deeply intimate and vulnerable conversation that we initially were hesitant to release. Although, we decided if it helps even just one person connect more deeply with their parents or child, it's worth it.
We talk about holding in emotions (and why my mother felt the need to hide her emotions during my upbringing), accepting aging and death, dealing with regrets, navigating forgiveness, moving forward after divorce and so much more.
This has been a beautiful moment in which we felt deeply connected to each other, and probably one of the most important moments of my life.
What we discuss:
My mother is a brilliant and very musician and artist, former Miss Pennsylvania and Miss America scholarship pageant national talent winner and runner-up.
This to her music here: https://soundcloud.com/tina_louise_thomas
What impact did the dietary changes in humanity have on our bodies? Going back as far as our pre-historical ancestors hypothesize very interesting correlations. What does the wide research say about eating animal products and how that influences our brain size and capacity? Research shows we have shrunk our brains in the last 10-12 thousand years, very possibly due to relevant shifts in our diet and habits. These big shifts were forced by major planetary changes such as the Younger Dryas, which took place 12,900 years ago.
Dr. Paul Saladino, who is back on the Align Podcast, not only discusses why our brain is shrinking but also shares with us very interesting suggestions on nutrition and lifestyle through an anthropological lens. He discusses findings and hypotheses by significant figures throughout history that observed indigenous peoples and compared their aligned diet to the general western diet.
We also dig into our surroundings as a factor for stimulation, focus, and relaxation, and we pose the question of if we need to get away from common human behavior.
The outdoors provides us a natural way of life and we might be taking a step in the wrong direction, placing a burden upon us that is opposite to the way we have been designed to live. Being in nature barefoot and experience a shift in the microbiome, interacting with other humans, eating foods that are in line with our genetics: all is perpetually being relegated in place of living mostly in squared-line architecture.
Dr. Paul Saladino is the leading authority on the science and application of the carnivore diet, author of the “The Carnivore Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Optimal Health by Returning to our Ancestral Diet”.
What we discuss:
[0:02:48] Paul Saladino's upbringing
[0:05:35] Why we should always challenge our beliefs
[0:09:04] Earth's temperature correlation with periods of intellectual and cultural flourish and stagnation
[0:11:21] What happened on Earth 12,900 years ago that might have changed how we eat
[0:15:36] Three pre-historical species that relate to us and their diet
[0:17:26] Human's change from primates to Australopithecus: eating animals vs. eating plants
[0:20:31] Expensive Tissue Hypothesis: gut vs. brain
[0:22:58] Correlation between B12 levels and brain size
[0:28:15] Effects of chewing properly
[0:30:56] Could Vitamin A deficiency by under-diagnosed in most people?
[0:46:00] How architectural shapes and forms influences our state
Find more from Dr. Paul Saladino:
Website: https://carnivoremd.com/
Instagram: @carnivoremd
podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fundamental-health-with-paul-saladino-md/id1461771083
Products: https://heartandsoil.co/?ref=CarnivoreMD
Book: https://carnivoremd.com/book/
Grab your Align Pants: www.alignpodcast.com/alignpant
Do you wonder how your sex life can improve our relationships– with others and with yourself–either in a monogamous, a polyamory, or an open relationship?
In this conversation with Whitney Miller, we talk about the dynamics of monogamous vs. polyamory relationship, we go deep into details of sexuality within relationships and we discuss a very interesting pleasure exploration technique of the vulva: the vulva mapping.
In her past polyamory experience, she shares what she learned about herself to be able to thrive in it, namely understand why she got jealous, why she got sad, and how she was able to cultivate meaningful relationships with women by having to constantly have vulnerable conversations which allowed her to truly love the other women.
Often, relationships help us to open up a part of ourselves that needs to be exposed in order to heal and to know ourselves better: our thought processes, our patterns, and how we respond to challenges. Whitney tells us how deeply transformative this process was in her open relationship with Audrey Marcus and how that forced her to profoundly dive into herself.
She shares with us intimate details of her preferences with candid honesty, so if you are dating or looking to date women this could be a key to understanding what might arouse and please a woman before and during sex. And it’s not at all just about sex: asking the other person meaningful questions is likely to be a skill that enables them to open up. Whitney also tells us what are her own favourites questions, what she finds attractive in a man, and how playfulness is so important.
Whitney is a love, sex, and relationship coach: an expert in the realm of union between partners and sexuality. Former Miss United States and sports anchor Whitney Miller has found her true calling helping individuals and couples. Her experiential journey to self-mastery started 5 years ago with her well-publicized open relationship with her fiancé, Aubrey Marcus. Whitney has since joined forces with some of the leading scientists and researchers in the field, and now hosts talks and workshops around the world.
What we discuss:
[00:04:47] Letting go of how Whitney thought life should be has been making her more open to change.
[00:05:50] Where Whitney's need for protecting herself comes from.
[00:07:09] What permitted the sensation of safety to let people in Whitney's life.
[00:08:34] Why the relationship with Aubrey was fundamental to Whitney's self-discovery.
[00:09:09] How we receive superpowers and faults from our parents and our relationships.
[00:10:42] Why Whitney thinks there is usefulness in suppressing emotions.
[00:11:48] Whitney's latest Ayuashca experience showed her to go over one fear in particular.
[00:14:39] Making it through life instead of living life: "If you let out what is within you, it will heal you. If you hold it in, it will destroy you".
[00:15:57] Qualities in a man that are attractive to Whitney.
[00:17:18] What was attractive in Aubry from Whitney's perspective.
[00:19:06] Why Whitney and Aubrey were sincere about the constraints of their polyamorous relationship.
[00:20:31] What Whitney feel she learned from her experience in a polyamorous relationship
[00:21:39] Is polyamory sustainable and does it have longevity?
[00:24:27] Whitney's present terms of relationship preferences.
[00:29:38] How does a man show he holds the qualities of stability and safety?
[00:32:11] Is it possible to hold a certainty about the relationship course?
[00:33:21] What is the process of stepping back and re-access in a relationship?
[00:35:59] Whitney's experience in relationships in which one partner goes through change and the other isn't
[00:38:07] What good sex means for Whitney.
[00:46:14] How does a woman want a vulva massage?
[00:46:55] What is vulva mapping and how to do it.
[00:48:25] Butt play and anal sex.
[00:51:45] What is the perfect set up for sex?
[00:54:12] How does Aaron creates contact?
[00:56:01] How to ask meaningful questions about the other person.
Find more from Whitney:
Instagram: @whitnlove
Website: https://whitnlove.com/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-sex-wild-love/id1472061802
Relationships are complicated, no matter what kind of relationship you are in–whether it's with your partner, your family, your friends, or your co-workers. The biggest issues that arise within relationships stem from our attachment to needing others to validate us and make us feel whole, our inability to communicate what we are feeling and holding onto attachment, and struggling to stay deeply connected in a society that is built to pull us apart.
In this episode of the Align Podcast, I'm joined by the beautiful and dynamic couple, Miki Agrawal and Andrew Horn, who share insight into navigating through these issues and how they personally keep their relationship alive, happy, and healthy.
This episode is somewhat of a couples counseling session that Andrew guides us through and I'm simply just a fly on the wall.
Miki is a social entrepreneur who uses creativity and disruptive innovation to challenge the status quo and change culture. She is the founder of several acclaimed social enterprises: WILD, THINX & TUSHY (collectively valued at over $200 million).
Andrew Horn is a also serial social entrepreneur, speaker and writer based in Brooklyn, NY who is a frequent contributor to media outlets like MindBodyGreen, HuffPo and TheMuse. He focuses his writing on “The Art of Meaningful Conversation” – How to overcome anxiety, ask better questions and connect with anyone.
Find more from Miki:
Website: www.mikiagrawal.com
Instagram: @mikiagrawal
Find more from Andrew:
Website: www.itsandrewhorn.com
Instagram: @itsandrewhorn
Did you know nitric oxide plays a fundamental role in the optimal functioning of your body? Nitric oxide not only has an anti-microbial effect (it kills bacteria and viruses), but also has a series of preventive functions, such as hypertension, inflammation, and coronary-artery disease and heart attack.
Dr. Louis Ignarro is the 1998 Nobel Peace price winner in Physiology Medicine for discovering nitric oxide acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. And in this episode, he shares the knowledge he has cultivated from his 50 years of research on the topic.
So how can we boost this important molecule in our bodies? It’s surprisingly easy: by intaking antioxidants from fruits and vegetables and breathing through our nose! As Dr Louis said, inhaling has been thought of for thousands of years as being important, especially by yogis, but only about 15-18 years ago the physiological significance was discovered: as we breathe through our nose Nitric Oxide is carried to the lungs.
What we dicuss:
Find more from Dr. Louis Ignarro
Website: http://www.drignarro.com/
Instagram: @dr.louisignarro
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrIgnarro
Have you ever heard the term ‘humiliatrix’?
It might ring a bell and you can probably guess in which industry this profession belongs to. But the contours of it might surprise you!
In this episode, guest Ceara Lynch discusses her career: a niche in men’s fantasies and needs. She calls herself a Humiliatrix where she humiliates men, by request, in the most different ways.
During her career she has worked with all sorts of men and perhaps contrary to what many would think, there isn’t exactly an obvious pattern of men who seek to be professionally humiliated, which led her to gain a non-judgmental view of people. We also talk about Ceara plans for the future as a means to fulfillment and learning and how achieving life goals can have us spin into existential crises.
Overall, this was a fascinating conversation about the intricacies of being human.
Ceara Lynch works as a humiliatrix and had a curious start in the industry at only 17 years old. She is also the host of the Standard Deviation Podcast and an executive producer and actress on the fictional documentary ‘Use Me’.
What we discuss:
[00:03:01] What a Humiliatrix is
[00:04:31] How Ceara got into this line of work
[00:08:20] Is there a type of man that seeks this service?
[00:09:23] Do certain kinks come from trauma?
[00:11:21] How does usually one online session go?
[00:13:10] A client's fetish that surprised Ceara
[00:17:11] What Ceara has learned from her work that she applies to her daily life
[00:19:38] How Ceara sees her future
[00:21:41] How reaching one big goal led Ceara to a small-scale existential crisis
[00:23:18] Is the sensation of helping people the solution to an existential crisis driven by having enough money?
[00:24:20] Is Ceara's work in the line of pornography?
[00:25:12] What are Ceara's friends like?
[00:25:52] Are the common stereotypes about pornstars true?
[00:26:48] Ceara's talks about her documentary 'Use Me'
[00:27:27] How is the internet changing things for pornstars?
[00:29:05] Is Ceara an entrepreneur?
[00:30:02] How Ceara started to manage money differently throughout her career
[00:32:23] The key to be successful in the industry
[00:34:10] What Ceara's parents think about her profession
[00:35:50] Is Ceara's job an issue to her relationships?
[00:37:13] Is it fair to expect monogamy from most people?
[00:39:04] Standard Deviation: Ceara's podcast
[00:45:23] Are some exceptional individuals just products of their environment?
Find more from Ceara Lynch:
Website: https://www.cearalynch.com/
Instagram: @cearalynch
Podcast: https://standardpodcast.com/
Film: https://www.facebook.com/usememovie/
Is the lymphatic system the missing link in your healing? In this episode of the Align Podcast, Dr. Perry Nickleston guides us through the vital role of the lymphatic system in the functioning of our entire body.
In western medicine, we often use a bandaid to cover the symptoms that possibility are trying to make us aware of a larger, underlying issue. And by treating symptoms in isolation, without considering the entire system as a whole, it often results in long-term chronic pain and fatigue, a compromised immune system, and cancer.
Plus, Dr. Nickleston discusses our mental and lymphatic health in-depth, why he thinks of the human body as an aquarium, and the correlation of the body-mind relationship by showing how trauma and physical and emotional stress can manifest in our health
Perry Nickelston, DC, NKT, FMS, SFMA, is a Chiropractic Physician with a primary focus on Performance Enhancement, Corrective Exercise, and Metabolic Fitness Nutrition He is the author of the “Stop Chasing Pain” program, combining his expertise in myofascial, orthopedic, medical and trigger point soft tissue therapy. He uses programs designed to find your source of painful dysfunction.
He is an absolute wizard on functional medicine, functional movement, and the works of the lymphatic system.
What we discuss:
Find more from Dr Perry Nickelston:
Website: https://www.stopchasingpain.com
Instagram: @stopchasingpain
Are you ready for anything life throws your way?
In this episode of the Align Podcast, guest Kelly Starrett discusses how putting ourselves in physically stressful situations prepares us for the mentally stressful situations life throws our way. The example he shares is how the risk he emersed himself in doing high-level white water kayaking mentally prepared him for the risk he took to start his own business.
We dive into why taking risks and breaking ourselves against our fear doesn't make us more reckless, but actually makes us more responsible in the decisions we make in our lives.
Kelly is a physical therapist, author of Becoming a Supple Leopard, the founder of The Ready State, and to be honest, my preferred human of choice.
Kelly has had a profound impact on me personally, and I'm excited to have him back on the podcast in hopes of having a profound impact on you as well.
What we discuss:
02:25 - How does your bike affect your spine?
05:05 - How to implement biking into your life?
10:45 - What's actively challenging you in your life?
15:20 - Acknowledge bad behaviours and taking action
16:40 - The relationship between trying and doing
19:30 - The pressure of quarantine and it's social impact
22:10 - The value of experiences of being poor vs having too much abundance
27:00 - The relationship with tribalism.
32:45 - Breaking yourself against your fear
36:35 - How fear teaches you how to be in your body
40:50 - Why we seek dangerous behaviours
47:00 - The connection between physical risk and mental risk.
51:00 - Normal Accidents Theory
53:00 - Why it's easier to add to your diet than to subtract from it
Find more from Kelly:
Should cannabis be illegal? Is cannabis simply an escape? Does smoking it frequently makes us a “dud”? Should there be guilt and shame around using it? Or is cannabis a healing mechanism that allows you the opportunity to go deeper within yourself and become more in tune with the world around you?
In this episode, gust Eben Britton shares the history of cannabis, the truth behind cannabis, and how we can use it with the right intentions to seek a higher perspective and return to our true self.
Eben is a former American football offensive tackle who played six seasons in the NFL. His football career provided him with an in-depth, firsthand experience of dealing with immense pain and trauma which led him to learn and cultivate practices that allowed him to heal and restore. This is what led him to cannabis and since then he has become an expert on the topic. Cannabis has allowed him to seek hidden truths and bring him back to himself.
What we discuss:
4:30 - How Eben became a cannabis advocate
9:00 - Why cannabis is one of the most misunderstood plants
10:00 - Cannabis history, war on drugs, it's useful effects.
20:00 - The endocannabinoid system in our bodies
23:45 - The history of weed
27:00 - Propaganda and demonizing cannabis, why hemp farming was shut down, and the underworld that was created.
35:00 - Cannabis mythology
41:00 - My experience with cannabis vs. alcohol
43:00 - How cannabis is a mirror showing you a reflection of yourself
46:00 - Why cannabis isn’t always an escape
48:00 - How cannabis associates you with what’s truly real
55:00 - The Bible as a psychedelic experience
57:00 - Cannabis as the first step into plant medicine
1:01:00 - How and why Eben started with cannabis
Find more from Eben:
Instagram: @edsbritton
Website: ebenbritton.com
Podcast: The Eben Flow
People are less in touch with their bodies―and especially their breathing―than ever before. And ironically, people who take pride in taking care of their bodies actually put themselves at greater risk. Why? Because they’re asking their body to take on next-level demands, but failing at life’s most essential skill: efficient breathing.
Proper breathing is the world’s most powerful biohack.
In this episode of the Align Podcast, Belisa Vranich shares how we can master our breath to unlock more strength, greater endurance, sharper precision, faster recovery, and ultimately optimize our lives.
Belisa is a clinical psychologist, author of Breathing for Warriors, founder of The Breathing Class, and is here to give you a step-by-step guide on how to biohack your breath.
Find more from Belisa:
Instagram: @drbelisa
Book: Breathing for Warriors
Website: thebreathingclass.com
Disclaimer: This isn’t your typical Paul Saladino podcast episode on the Carnivore Diet.
I’ve had him on the podcast before where I challenged him on the topic. This conversation is more focused on how food has effected human evolution, why our brains are shrinking, the actual cause of visceral fat, what it would take to actually get the nutrients you need through plant-based foods. Plus, during the episode, he pulls up an assortment of different graphs and charts to validate his points which I found beyond fascinating. Be sure to watch the episode on YouTube as well to view.
One thing I respect about Dr. Saladino is the extensive research he does before putting his viewpoints into the world. I know for many people, believing we should only be eating animal-based foods sounds like the unhealthiest thing we could do for ourselves. Although, Paul has extensive studies to back up his claims and also does not believe you need to eat 100% animal-based to reap the benefits. And another disclaimer, he does not believe only eating conventional animal foods and muscle meat attributes to a healthy diet. And in the episode, he explains why.
I believe Dr. Saladino to be an important figure in the wellness community as he challenges the general narrative of nutritional dogma. He is completely going against the grain of most accepted modern concepts of having a balanced nutritional diet and goes more towards an ancestral approach utilizing animal-based foods for our nutrition.
What we discuss:
Be sure to checkout the newest version of his, The Carnivore Code, here.
Listen to our other conversation on the Carnivore Diet here where I give him a good challenge on his beliefs behind consuming an animal-based diet.
Our food is getting cheaper and cheaper, but at what cost? Not only are our current farming and food processing practices and systems deteriorating our health, but it's causing even more harm to our ecosystem.
The question at play in this episode is how can we create food for ourselves in such a way that actually restores the health and vitality of the soil of which we are producing our food?
In this episode, I am joined by Anya Fernald who has the asnwer. She is the founder and CEO of Belcampo Inc., a family of companies that encompasses Belcampo farms where they humanely raise organic meat (which I believe produces the highest quality meat I have ever come across in my life). Belcampo focuses exclusively on regenerative farming practices, which means it restores the land it uses rather than deteriorate it.
Anya is a brilliant woman and I was in complete awe throughout the entire interview learning from her about our food, where it comes from, and the impact it has on our environment.
What we discuss:
How we have “perfected” nature 5:00
The interconnectedness of nature (How we solve one problem but create another): 13:00
The different roles of animals: 18:30
How animal digestive systems work and how it’s integral to our ecosystem: 21:30
Eating non-socially acceptable parts of animals 23:30
Shocking foods fed to animals: 29:00
Animals in Confinement vs. Pasture-raised: 30:00
Why cow farts are harmful to the environment: 32:00
What is regenerative farming: 33:00
What happens when you farm on marginal land: 40:00
Is regenerative farming scalable?: 41:00
The shift in mentally that needs to happen in the value we place on meat in our diet: 47:00
Anya’s tips for what our first steps should be 53:00
Check out Belcampo here.
Follow Anya on IG here.