Radio Interview with AM 970

Imagine having a powerful connection between your physical body—and the inner, intangible part of you called the “soul”—that allows you to do just about anything. You accomplish more at work. Lose unwanted weight. Sleep like a baby at night. Suddenly, your relationships are more satisfying. And, you’re in the best shape of your life. Sounds like a tall order, but not when you learn the elements of the Fit Soul, Fit Body way of life. Shaman healer, Brant Secunda, and world champion triathlete, Mark Allen, discuss an inspired approach to lasting physical, mental, and spiritual fitness—and vibrant emotional health.

reposted from www.cyacyl.com

Ironman Champ and Shaman Return to Boulder for a Fitness and Spiritual Retreat

After winning his first Ironman World Championship in 1989, Mark Allen’s family and friends were eager to learn what helped him pull ahead of his longtime triathlon rival, Dave Scott, in the final miles of the marathon.

The answer surprised them, said the six-time Ironman champ.

“I told them, ‘Well, I saw this picture of these shamans…'” he said.

Allen is slated to tell more of this story, alongside one of those shamans, Brant Secunda, at two events in Boulder.

The first is a talk tonight about the key points of the book they co-authored, “Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 keys to a healthier, happier you.”

Then, during a weekend retreat at Chautauqua, beginning Friday night, Allen and Secunda will delve deeper into the keys, they said.

Secunda said the ideas are simple — like how to connect with nature, how to let go of stress, nutrition. And he says you don’t have to be an athlete — it’s for anyone.

“We emphasize that what we talk about are tools that anyone can use, from losing weight, to getting more fit, to improving in a competition,” said Allen, who lived in Boulder to train for triathlons for about 12 years.

“They’re all things that we live every day,” said Allen, “and we’ve seen the positive impact they’ve had in our lives, as well as the people who come to our programs.”

Allen sought out Secunda after Ironman in 1989, and they’ve been working together ever sice.

“I saw an ad in a magazine for Brant,” he said. “It happened to be in my hotel room in Kona (Hawaii) before the race. It was talking about connecting with nature to empower your life.”

The ad showed Brant and his grandfather, don José Matsuwa, Allen said.

“They just looked so peaceful and powerful,” Allen said. “And as an athlete, you’re looking for that. In Kona, I certainly didn’t have that.”

In the ’89 triathlon, Allen was neck-in-neck with Scott in the run.

“I was at the point where I were ready to give up in the marathon, because he was really strong,” he said. “This image of don José came back to me, and it just gave me the confidence to go for it.

“Here I am, racing against Dave Scott, and he’s probably not thinking about the two greatest shamans to live on this planet, he’s probably thinking of his splits,” Allen added, with a laugh. “After that, I went to workshops in Mexico that Brant was giving.”

Secunda, a shaman in the Huichol tradition from Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains, said it was natural to meet the triathlete — he’s worked with many types of people over the years.

“He was very humble, so it fit into the whole Huichol paradigm of how to be a good person and a strong person,” Secunda said.

After Allen stopped racing, he and Secunda developed a program they originally called “Sport and Spirit: Connect the Power.” A few years ago, they put together the book “Fit Soul, Fit Body.”

Boulder triathlete Barry Siff said their book isn’t at all about how to win an Ironman.

“It reaches a broad audience,” he said. “It’s great for athletes, but it’s not just for athletes, it’s for everyday living.”

Siff said he’s thrilled they came to Boulder.

“I knew they did (retreats) in Santa Cruz, and I thought Boulder would be really receptive,” he said.

“The Chautauqua setting should be so idyllic for what they espouse. It’s the perfect place to grasp the power of nature.”

Reposted from coloradodaily.com

Healing Your Moods Naturally

The modern world is full of great technologies that save us time and reduce the physical demands of just about any task. But along with these savings comes an unspoken expectation that things will get done more quickly, and that each of us will be able to do more in a shorter period of time. Add on a huge dose of competitiveness for jobs, housing, and just about anything else you can think of, and the result is that a lot of us have less time experiencing a sense of peace and more time trying to keep up with the demands of life. This has had a negative effect on many people’s outlook. Three out of four of us describe the workplace as stressful. And for those under 18, the percentage soars to 85% who feel under stress. But take heart, help is here!

 

Fit Soul, Fit Body-Front Cover

If you’re depressed, stressed out, anxious, or fatigued, the cure might be right outside your door. New research from Holland shows that people who live near a park or wooded area experience less depression and anxiety. And a study from the UK found that a walk in the country reduced depression in 71% of participants. Scientists have long known that sunlight can ease depression – especially in winter.

When you tap into the regenerative power of your environment, it can have instant and profound effects on your mood, transforming negative emotions such as fear, depression, anger, and anxiety into a peaceful, happy state of mind. Just about every single person has gone for a walk at some point in their life. Have you? How did you feel when you finished? Probably much better than when you started!

Walking is an ancient tool of transformation. And the great thing is that you don’t have to specifically be in the wilderness or even a park, for walking to work its wonders on your mood. Even in the middle of a city, if you go outside and walk for a few minutes with the intent of disconnecting from whatever may be causing you stress or anxiety, those precious moments afford you the chance to feel the sunlight on your skin, to breathe in air that has not passed through an air conditioning system, and to feel your feet walking on Mother Earth. These three things will transform your mood naturally and almost instantaneously, just as it did for our ancestors thousands of years ago.

Of course, if you do have access to a natural setting, the effects are enhanced and can improve more than just your mood. Research has shown a number of great positives to spending time in nature. Children who are allowed to have unstructured play in nature, for example, develop an improved ability to focus on school tasks later. They also show a higher level of creativity than those who don’t spend time doing this in their early years. It has also been shown that walking on uneven ground raises intelligence. The mechanism is thought to be from an increase in pathway development between the various parts of the brain that are stimulated by having to stay upright on uneven ground. So if you want to be smarter, walk in nature!

But let’s get back to how profoundly positive even a small dose of time spent walking and being in an outdoor environment can be for your mood. Often because of tight scheduling and a job that keeps us mostly indoors, a lot of people in the modern world are actually ‘nature deficient’. This is because we are all designed to thrive in the outside world. Here is how it works. Our ancient genetics are set up to give us a positive mood when we move. The only time our ancient ancestors were sedentary for any length of time was when food was scarce; it was an advantage to not move around much. The adaptation that we all have in common to this scenario is that it causes a bit of depression. Depression is actually a survival mechanism. As we know, this mood gives us a feeling like being out of gas and being unmotivated to do much, which in ancient times conserved calories during the parts of the year when food was scarce. Walking and moving were signs that there was likely something to find to eat – and along with that came a positive outlook. We can get our ancient genetics to do their job to bring us a positive outlook simply by exercising, and when we do that in nature, it’s a double shot of espresso – courtesy of the inherent energy and power in the outside world.

We say that Mother Earth is always emitting love, which in the Huichol tradition (an indigenous tribe in central Mexico) is the strongest power of all. By walking outside on the earth, we absorb this power and it strengthens our bodies, our souls, and improves our mood naturally. You can activate this same sense of well-being anywhere outside. It could be by simply sitting next to a creek or the ocean and listening to the sounds of the water. It could be by watching a sunrise or a sunset and breathing the colours of the sky into your heart. This inherently makes us feel part of something bigger than just ourselves, part of something grand that has gone on for millennia.

One of the nine keys we write about in our book is Honour Yourself. Part of what this requires is that each of us takes the time to shift our moods using these simple tools. We honour ourselves by going outside when we feel the shift in stress go from manageable to unmanageable and just walk for a few minutes or sit quietly in a park or garden. Honouring yourself says, “I am not my bad mood or my anxiety.” It’s a statement recognizing that, deep inside, you have love for yourself, for life, and for others, and you will make the time each and every day to bring yourself back to this memory. The simplest and quickest way that we have personally found to do this is to boost our mood with nature.

When you tap into the regenerative power of your environment, it can have instant and profound effects on your mood, transforming negative emotions such as fear, depression, anger, and anxiety into a peaceful, happy state of mind. Try these techniques:

See the Big Picture
To bring fear or worry into perspective, focus on a positive event in nature that will continue whether you face your fear or not. Recall the colours of the last sunrise you saw, or think of the present season and its inevitable progression into the next one. You’ll see that such large events continue – whether you and your fears are there or not.

Embrace the Darkness
At night, find a place in nature where you’re not surrounded by things manmade and the only light is the stars. Get enveloped in the welcome darkness, listen to the sounds of nature, and connect to your world.

Get Lit Up
Set your alarm in time to get outside when it’s still dark. As the sun is rising, concentrate on the dawning light. The sun’s rays transform the darkness of night into the brilliance of day. It will brighten your mood naturally too.

Get ‘Soleful’ Love
As we have emphasized take a walk outside – someplace where you feel peaceful. Put one foot in front of the other slowly, and quiet your internal chatter. With each step, visualize the earth’s love coming into your body through your feet and dissolving any problems you have.

Centre Yourself between Earth and Sky
Sit or lie on the ground outside. Visualize the light of the sun entering the top of your head, filling your heart and body, and then going down into the earth. Feel the earth beneath you, and draw the love of the earth up into your heart and body, and then send it up to the sun. Feel your connection to all life.

Invoke the Deer Spirit
The Huichols use the image of the deer to represent innocence, gentleness, and clarity. To melt away emotional stress, visualize the image of a deer surrounded by a circle. Ask the deer, out loud or to yourself, to help you find harmony and balance, and help you to stand tall like a tree.

Fight Negativity with Fire
Transform negative emotions such as fear, anger, and jealousy by sitting before a fire outside or a candle inside and looking at the flame. Imagine your heart opening like a flower and see yourself breathing in the fire’s light. Do this for about 5 minutes. This technique also gives immediate relief to the part of your body that’s holding the emotion (e.g., your stomach).

Reposted from positivehealth.com

6 Ways You Can Boost Your Mood

If you’re suffering from the moody blues, anxiety or angry stress, the key to your mental health may be right outside your door. According to Brant Secunda and world champion Ironman Mark Allen, authors of Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You, connecting with nature not only brings beauty into your life, it can significantly boost your mood. Here’s what they had to say about the power of nature in improving your mental health.

 

RESEARCH SUGGESTS NATURE IS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION

New research from the Netherlands shows that people who live near a park or wooded area experience less depression and anxiety, and a study from the UK found that a walk in the country reduces depression in 71 percent of participants. Scientists have also known that sunlight can ease depression — especially SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, in winter. Secunda and Allen say that there are many reasons nature is so effective in lifting people’s spirits.

NATURE CONNECTS AND CALMS

The authors explain that people who live close to nature suffer from less depression because:

  • They are connected to life, to the beauty of all of life and the majesty of creation.
  • Being a part of a sunset or sunrise makes our soul happy, therefore also affects our body.
  • Taking the time to simply experience nature can calm our nervous system.
  • By being close to nature we feel a part of life, we feel connected to the birds, the flowers, the trees, and the earth.
  • This process of being connected helps take away depression and other negative emotions, bringing us more happiness that will carry us every day of our life.

NATURE ENCOURAGES EXERCISE

People who live close to nature also have a much higher chance of being active outside, moving around and exercising. Think about it — would you rather be running on a tree-lined trail with birds singing overhead or pound pavement next to cars or run on a treadmill going nowhere? Secunda and Allen add, “We all know how moving our bodies — exercising — is one of the most potent tools for combating depression.”

6 WAYS NATURE CAN BOOST YOUR MOOD

Going outside is the first step in connecting with nature, but your intent will significantly enhance nature’s positive effect on your mental health. Here are a few techniques from Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to Healthier, Happier You.

1“Breathe in” the sound of running water

Go to a river or stream and breath in the sacred sound of running water. This simple act helps to make your spirit beautiful. Just think of your plants at home — when they get watered they look beautiful.

2“Breathe in” the ocean sound

If you live on the coast, a good technique for washing away loneliness, depression or anger is to go to the ocean and breathe in the beautiful sound. Then as you breathe out, visualize your exhale letting your problems go.

3Connect to “Father Sun”

Sit on the earth and feel the sky above you and imagine the light of the sun coming in through the top of your head. This helps take away anger and loneliness by helping you feel connected to something grand. It helps you feel a part of life all around you.

4Connect with loved ones — in nature

A deceptively simple tool is to just go out with friends and family to a beautiful place in nature and talk, laugh or even discuss problems.

5Be a part of nature

Go for a walk, run or hike in a natural setting. While you are out in nature, look around at the world going on around you. Forge a connection to the trees and plants and animals around you as you move through this setting whose elements are almost eternal. This can take your focus off your own challenges and help you see that there is a whole world that is enduring and wondrous. It helps us see that, ultimately, even with life’s challenges we are part of this amazing circle of life.

6Draw energy from the earth

One way to draw energy from the earth when you feel depleted is to walk outdoors with intent, and with each step you take, try to visualize Mother Earth’s power rising into your body. The power of Mother Earth is love. Imagine love coming into your body, making your body strong. Love is a tangible power and emotion that many indigenous cultures consciously work with, and it can help all of us living in the modern world.

Reposted from sheknows.com

Fit From the Inside Out: Secrets of a Soul Practitioner

Before Mark Allen was a world champion athlete, he was a loser. His goal? To win the Ironman Triathlon, considered the most difficult one-day sporting event in the world. It starts on the Big Island of Hawaii with a treacherous 2.4 mile open-ocean swim, followed by 112 miles of hard-core cycling, finishing with a full marathon — 26.2 miles on an extremely challenging course in brutal hot weather.

“My first six years racing at the Ironman varied from moderately disappointing to outright disastrous,” Allen writes in his new book. Flat tires, dead legs and internal bleeding were just a few of the obstacles that sapped his energy and blew his cool.

“After so many failed attempts, my patience and confidence were failing,” writes Allen. “I certainly had the desire to win. But desire has a shelf life of about three hours under the intense sun and wind of Hawaii. I began to realize that it wasn’t a failure of my body that was keeping me from winning, it was a failure of my mind.”

Enter Brant Secunda, a shaman-healer who’d spent 12 years living with the Huichol people of Mexico, an exceptionally healthy and happy tribe with secret knowledge about many transformative practices, including the strength and serenity that comes from connecting with nature and uniting body and soul.

Hold on a minute. What does your soul have to do with your ability to run faster, bike better, overcome weakness and develop a more positive outlook on life? Everything, according to Secunda, who started working with Mark in 1989, teaching him the Huichol system of health and healing.

The result? Mark started winning. Between 1989 and 1995, Mark Allen won the Ironman Triathlon six times. Now he and Brant Secunda have collaborated on a fascinating book filled with insights and exercises that can help all of us deal with our own versions of Ironman challenges.

“He (Secunda) helped me change pain into joy, inner struggle into gratitude, impatience and fear into calm and courage,” writes Allen, who came to a whole new understanding of fitness once he started training the Huichol way.

“The reason we fall short of our goals so often is that exercise is part, but not all of the answer. True health and happiness is about developing a sustainable lifestyle where you not only achieve long-term physical health, but also long-term emotional and spiritual health. This is what we call having a fit soul and a fit body.”

No surprise, that’s what shaman-healer Secunda and world champion Ironman Allen named their book — “Fit Soul, Fit Body” (published by BenBella). It’s a helpful how-to for people who want to train their mind as well as their body — who want to be, as the co-authors say, “fit from the inside out.”

A lot of the advice in the book will be familiar — set goals, check your heart rate, eat modest portions of real food. But the most interesting advice is the least familiar, the Huichol-inspired exercises that use nature to boost your mood, lower your stress and develop your soul. Here are two from the book to get you started:

— To connect with Mother Earth’s love, the strongest power of all, start by taking a walk. In the city, the country or the wilderness. Feel at peace. Stop all thoughts and internal dialogue. Walk slowly, quiet your mind. With each step, visualize Mother Earth’s love coming into your body through your feet and traveling to your heart. Do this for 15-20 minutes. Feel her love flowing into your body, and empower yourself with it.

— To bring balance and energy into your life, to become centered between Earth and Sky, sit or lie down on the ground. Feel your connection to the sun and earth. Visualize the light of the sun throughout your body and in your heart. Imagine that light going down into Mother Earth. Draw the love of Mother Earth up into your heart and throughout your body. Send that love to Father Sun. Feel your connection to all life.

Sound crazy? Even impossible? So does winning the Ironman six times.

Reposted from womanpokerplayer.com

Fitness Served Fresh

It’s spring. Do you know where your ribs are?
There’s one layer of padding that can be easily shed when it gets warmer, and one that cannot. Yes, when your winter clothes are put away, you can’t blame your extra bulk on a hand-knit sweater. Time for action. Our friend, triathlete Mark Allen, shares some tricks that we swear will help you get into an exercise groove:

• Change up your usual walk. For instance, try going the opposite direction on the other side of the street. “Downhills turn into uphills, you’ll notice new things, and you’ll be more mentally engaged,” says Mark. “All of that will make your workout go by faster.”

Reposted from mybestyou.com

• Take advantage of the additional daylight hours by doing an activity in the morning or after work, such as a walking club or boot camp.

• Get on the bike. Mark suggests, “Make it a rule that any errand under a mile from home gets done without a car.”

• Build a walk into your commute. If you take a bus or subway home, get off a few stops early and walk the rest of the way.

Find your energy, lose the sweater.

Blog Talk Radio Show with Brant Secunda and Mark Allen: Fit Soul, Fit Body

Dr. John Deri, a Psychiatrist in Mill Valley, CA interviewed Mark Allen, a six-time Ironman and Brant Secunda, a Shaman and healer. Mark Allen and Brant Secunda published a book “Fit Soul, Fit Body”. During this Radio show they discussed how we can become truly fit from the inside out and experience joy, happiness, and fulfillment like never before. Mark and Brant know how to get people into the best shape of their lives- both mentally and physically. They have been motivating and inspiring people for decades. Brant and Mark continue to work together at events and retreats teaching a unique roadmap for fostering optimal health, happiness, and wellbeing. Many people around the world learn from them how to live a healthy life filled with lasting joy, happiness, and contentment.
Reposted from happytipsdaily.com

Chicago Tribune Interview

Beat the Seasonal Blues

Have the whiplash weather changes of this season left a mark? Need a mental health boost? According to Ironman champion Mark Allen and shaman Brant Secunda, co-authors of “Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You” (BenBella Books. $14.95), beating the seasonal blahs could be as easy as connecting to something greater.

Jenniffer Weigel: Your new book talks about lots of ways you can stay healthy and happy. Why did you collaborate on this?…

Read the Full Interview

Fit Soul, Fit Body

Fit Body, Fit Soul

Shaman-Healer Brant Secunda with six-time world champion Ironman Mark Allen

Brant Secunda and Mark Allen
Authors and Collaborators, Fit Body, Fit Soul

Shaman-healer and MacArthur Award finalist Brant Secunda and six-time world champion Ironman Mark Allen provide insights into how to forge stronger connections between our physical fitness goals and our spirituality.

Brant and Mark travel worldwide and teach seminars on fitness, health, and well-being. Their new book, based on the approach they developed, is Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You.

Join Andie now for a great discussion with Brant and Mark and learn how their divergent life paths crossed coincidentally to bring us essential insights inherently understood by indigenous peoples.

Reposted from wisdomradio.org

7 Ways to Use Nature to Boost Your Moods

If you’re depressed, stressed out, anxious, or fatigued, the cure might be right outside your door. New research from Holland shows that people who live near a park or wooded area experience less depression and anxiety. And a study from the UK found that a walk in the country reduces depression in 71% of participants. Scientists have long known that sunlight can ease depression – especially SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, in winter.

When you tap into the regenerative power of your environment, it can have instant and profound effects on your mood, transforming negative emotions such as fear, depression, anger, and anxiety into a peaceful, happy state of mind. Try these techniques:

See the big picture.

To bring fear or worry into perspective, focus on a positive event in nature that will continue whether you face your fear or not. Recall the colors of the last sunrise you saw, or think of the present season and its inevitable progression into the next one. You’ll see that such large events continue – whether you and your fears are there or not.

Embrace the darkness.

At night, find a place in nature where you’re not surrounded by things manmade and the only light is the stars. Get enveloped in the welcome darkness, listen to the sounds of nature, and connect to your world.

Get lit up.

Set your alarm in time to get outside when it’s still dark. As the sun is rising, concentrate on the dawning light. The sun’s rays transform the darkness of night into the brilliance of day. It will brighten your mood naturally too.

Get “soleful” love.

Take a walk outside – someplace where you feel peaceful. Put one foot in front of the other slowly, and quiet your internal chatter. With each step, visualize the earth’s love coming into your body through your feet and dissolving any problems you have.

Center between earth and sky.

Sit or lie on the ground outside. Visualize the light of the sun entering the top of your head, filling your heart and body, and then going down into the earth. Feel the earth beneath you, and draw the love of the earth up into your heart and body, and then send it up to the sun. Feel your connection to all life.

Invoke the deer spirit.

The Huichols use the image of the deer to represent innocence, gentleness, and clarity. To melt away emotional stress, visualize the image of a deer surrounded by a circle. Ask the deer, out loud or to yourself, to help you find harmony and balance, and help you to stand tall like a tree.

Fight negativity with fire.

Transform negative emotions such as fear, anger, and jealousy by sitting before a fire outside or a candle inside and looking at the flame. Imagine your heart opening like a flower and see yourself breathing in the fire’s light. Do this for about 5 minutes. This technique also gives immediate relief to the part of your body that’s holding the emotion (e.g., your stomach).

Shaman-healer Brant Secunda and world champion Ironman Mark Allen teach seminars worldwide on fitness, health, and well-being. Their new book, based on the approach they developed, is Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to Healthier, Happier You (BenBella Books). Find out more at www.fitsoul-fitbody.com.

Reposted from healthnewsdigest.com