What Makes Us Human with Tony Riddle #71
Natural lifestyle coach Tony Riddle discusses rewilding behaviors to live in sync with human biology. He emphasizes the importance of movement, functioning feet, and nature connection for thriving in modern urban environments.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Introduction to Tony Riddle and Natural Lifestyling
Defining Rewilding Behaviors and Environmental Generational Amnesia
Understanding the Concept of 'Human in Suffering'
The Detrimental Effects of Chairs and Importance of Ground Rest Positions
Relearning the Squat: Techniques for Adults
The Critical Role of Foot Health and Impact of Footwear
Hanging as a Foundational Movement Practice
It's Never Too Late: Adaptability and Small Steps for Change
Practical Lifestyle Adjustments for Office and Night Shift Workers
Mindful Eating and Breathwork for Optimal Digestion
Tony's Barefoot Running Challenge: Land's End to John O'Groats
Barefoot Running on Tarmac: Debunking Surface Myths
Final Tips for Feeling Better and Living More
7 Key Concepts
Rewilding Behaviors
This concept involves finding ways of living that are more in sync with human biology, drawing inspiration from natural beings and places to counteract the effects of modern urban environments.
Environmental Generational Amnesia
A term describing how each successive generation is born into a new social norm, progressively losing connection to wild nature and wild human behaviors as more of them are removed from the planet.
Human in Suffering
This describes a state where individuals experience symptoms of ill-health because their fundamental physical, social, and spiritual needs are not being met by their environment or learned habits.
Ground Rest Positions
These are the approximately 100 natural resting postures on the ground that humans, especially children, instinctively adopt. They act as 'micronutrients' for the 'macro skill' of standing upright, nourishing physiology and preventing issues caused by prolonged sitting.
Kinetics vs. Kinematics
Kinetics refers to the study of the forces involved in movement, such as running. Kinematics, on the other hand, describes the shapes and patterns the body makes as a result of those forces, which are influenced by underlying posture and micro-elements of movement.
Growth and Protection (Bruce Lipton)
This biological principle states that cells behave in two ways: promoting growth or initiating protection. If the 'petri dish' of our environment is filled with natural, supportive elements, it fosters a growth-promoting state; if it's filled with compromising elements, it triggers a protective state.
Parasympathetic State of Breath
This is the 'rest and digest' state of the nervous system, which can be activated through specific breathing practices, such as nasal breathing with a longer out-breath. It helps calm the body, improve digestion, and reduce stress.
9 Questions Answered
A natural lifestyle involves rewilding behaviors, meaning finding ways of living that are more in sync with human biology by looking to the natural world for solutions, rather than conforming to modern social norms.
Tony removed chairs because prolonged sitting is detrimental to posture, locks joints like hips and ankles, and prevents the body from utilizing the 100 different ground rest positions that are essential for developing and maintaining a strong, upright physiology.
Adults can relearn by starting with squats where heels are allowed to lift, using a table for support, or placing a thick book under the heels and gradually reducing its thickness over time until a full flat-footed squat can be achieved as a rest position.
Feet are the base of support for all upright movement, containing 26 bones, 33 joints, over 100 muscles/tendons/ligaments, and up to 200,000 receptors that feed vital information to the brain, influencing ankle mobility, knee stability, hip mobility, and overall posture.
No, it is never too late, as demonstrated by Tony's 72-year-old client who transformed his health by adopting ground living, barefoot practices, and hanging, emphasizing that small, consistent steps can lead to profound changes.
Office workers can improve health by incorporating movement breaks (e.g., 3-4 squats every 25 minutes), taking short walks, bringing living plants to their desk, wearing amber glasses if working late, and practicing short breathwork sessions.
Mindful eating, including a breath practice before meals and thorough chewing, prepares the digestive system by engaging enzymes, improving nutrient absorption, and fostering a healthier relationship with food, preventing issues that arise from eating in a stressed state.
Barefoot running on hard, smooth surfaces like tarmac can be beneficial because it forces the body to become more compliant and tap into its natural tendon elasticity, unlike running on rubberized surfaces which can lead to stiffness and injury.
A good starting point is to simply 'check in' with your breath throughout the day, taking a nasal inhale and exhale. For a more structured practice, aim for three minutes of nasal breathing with a longer out-breath (e.g., 3-second inhale, 6-second exhale) to induce a parasympathetic state.
37 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Fundamental Needs
Recognize that suffering stems from unmet fundamental needs (movement, biologically normal food, nature connection) and prioritize meeting them for yourself and your children to enable thriving.
2. Align Actions with Values
Act with integrity by aligning your actions with your knowledge and values, even if it requires significant life changes, to avoid feeling like a ‘fraud’ and to foster personal healing.
3. Be a Behavioral Example
Model desired behaviors (e.g., healthy eating, reduced screen time) for your children and others, as learning primarily occurs through observation rather than verbal instruction.
4. Embrace Rewilding Behaviors
Actively seek ways of living that are more in sync with human biology, observing nature and natural cultures for solutions to thrive in the modern world.
5. Remove Chairs from Home
Eliminate chairs from your home to encourage natural movement and ground rest positions for yourself and your family, fostering better posture and physiology.
6. Practice Ground Rest Positions
Regularly incorporate various ground rest positions (e.g., kneeling, squatting) to nourish physiology, improve posture, and enhance overall movement skills, as they are nature’s cure for many physical ills.
7. Accumulate Daily Squatting
Aim to accumulate 30 minutes of squatting daily, starting with short, comfortable durations (e.g., 30 seconds to a minute) and gradually increasing, until squatting feels like a rest position.
8. Relearn Squatting Gradually
To relearn squatting, begin by squatting with heels elevated (using support like a table or book) and gradually reduce the heel support until you can squat flat-footed, addressing ankle stiffness.
9. Rewild Your Feet
Perform exercises (like ‘Toga’ or those from Vivo Barefoot) to restore natural foot shape and function, which is foundational for proper posture and efficient movement throughout the entire body.
10. Go Barefoot at Home
Remove shoes and walk barefoot at home to re-engage your feet with the ground, enhancing sensory feedback and promoting natural foot mechanics.
11. Choose Minimalist Footwear
If not completely barefoot, wear minimalist shoes with a wide toe box and minimal sole (like Vivo Barefoot) to provide protection while maintaining ground feedback and natural foot movement.
12. Avoid High Heels
Do not wear shoes with heels, as they compromise foot function, ankle joint response, and can negatively impact the knees and hips.
13. Integrate Hanging Exercises
Incorporate hanging exercises to improve wrist, elbow, shoulder, and scapular strength and mobility, leveraging our arboreal heritage for a stronger upper body.
14. Practice Nasal Breathing
Learn and integrate a breath practice (e.g., 4-second nasal inhale, 8-second exhale, or box breathing) throughout the day to manage stress, maintain calm, and access lower lung capacity.
15. Breath Work Before Meals
Perform a 3-minute breath work routine before meals to activate the parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ state, aiding digestion and nutrient absorption.
16. Chew Food Thoroughly
Chew solid food thoroughly until it becomes liquid-like before swallowing to optimize digestion and nutrient absorption, preparing enzymes for processing.
17. Chew Liquids
Even for smoothies and juices, ‘chew’ them in your mouth to stimulate digestive enzymes and improve digestion, rather than just ’necking’ them.
18. Morning Gratitude Ritual
Start each day with a morning ritual of gratitude for your life, family, friends, and the natural world, acknowledging the amazing beings that walk before us.
19. Be an Opportunist for Movement
Utilize everyday environments (e.g., public transport, office) for opportunistic movement (standing, hanging, squatting) to counteract prolonged sitting and integrate physical activity.
20. Designate ‘Behavior Practice’ Day
Choose one day a week (e.g., ‘Tuesday’) to consciously practice desired new behaviors, allowing them to gradually integrate into daily life and become new habits.
21. Office Movement Breaks
For office workers, set a timer for every 25 minutes to perform 3-4 squats at your desk (with support if needed) or take short walks around the office to reintroduce movement.
22. Enhance Workspace Environment
Improve your personal workspace by adding a living plant (e.g., peace lily) and taking responsibility for good air quality and lighting to create a growth-promoting area.
23. Wear Amber Glasses
If working late or exposed to blue light from screens, wear amber glasses to mitigate melatonin suppression and support sleep, as blue light can significantly impact melatonin levels.
24. Energize with Upregulating Breath
During an afternoon slump, use an energizing breath practice (e.g., Wim Hof style) instead of caffeine to upregulate your system and get more oxygen on board.
25. Spend Time Outdoors Daily
Set a timer to spend at least 10% of your day (e.g., 2 hours, 24 minutes) outdoors in nature, such as a local park, to reconnect with the environment.
26. Use Nature Screensavers
Use nature scenes as screensavers or look at images of nature to induce a calming, parasympathetic state, as studies show this can reduce stress.
27. Conduct Walking Meetings
Suggest and conduct walking meetings outdoors to combine movement with work, potentially fostering creativity and a more relaxed discussion environment.
28. Build Community
Actively build a community around shared interests in well-being and natural living, as social connection is a fundamental human need.
29. Start with Small Steps
When implementing lifestyle changes, begin with one small, manageable step and gradually build upon it to avoid feeling overwhelmed and ensure long-term success.
30. Advocate for Healthy Environments
For those in positions of influence (e.g., developers, school administrators), design environments that naturally promote health and well-being, recognizing their profound impact on human health.
31. Teach Kids Fundamental Needs
Educate children about their fundamental needs (movement, biologically normal food, nature connection) to empower them to thrive and nurture their innate abilities from a young age.
32. Model Healthy Eating
Consume biologically normal food groups to model healthy eating for your children and support your own digestion, as kids learn from observation.
33. Improve Running Posture
When running, maintain a stacked posture (head, chest, pelvis aligned) with feet landing underneath the body, practicing flat-footed bouncing to develop rhythm and minimize injury risk.
34. Practice Nasal Running Breathing
To improve nasal breathing during running, consider taping your mouth (if safe and comfortable) and initially reduce pace/distance to allow your body to adapt to pure aerobic breathing.
35. Cultivate Compassion, Not Judgment
Develop compassion and empathy towards others’ lifestyles instead of judgment, understanding that unmet needs often drive suffering in people.
36. Health Ensues from Environment
Recognize that health can be a natural outcome of living in environments that support well-being, rather than something that must be actively pursued as a separate goal.
37. Don’t Despair Over Past
Don’t despair if early childhood experiences or past habits were suboptimal; adults can still reconnect and rewild, viewing it as an empowering and transformative journey.
7 Key Quotes
We are a species that is destined to be innately empowered, wild, and connected, yet our modern lives are removing us from this natural state.
Tony Riddle
The closer you can get to having your physical, social, spiritual needs met, the closer you are to being more human, the more you can be on those magic numbers of compassion, again, empathy.
Tony Riddle
If you don't have a good ground rest position, ground resting game on that's strong and up into a squat and can't squat to stand, squat to stand, I tend to say, I would cut back on mileage and start to address those things first.
Tony Riddle
70% of runners are giving up through injury. That's the American College of Sports Medicine.
Tony Riddle
If you eat organic food, right, you have organic movement.
Tony Riddle
The harder and smoother the surface, the better in a way, because it's like the beginner's model.
Tony Riddle
We're born with all the gear. We just have no idea how to use it.
Tony Riddle
4 Protocols
Relearning the Squat for Adults
Tony Riddle- Start by attempting to squat with your heels up, holding onto the edge of a table or banister to maintain balance and keep your chest upright.
- Gradually progress by placing a thick book or support under your heels, squatting down, and over time, minimize the thickness of the support until you can squat flat-footed.
- Accumulate 30 minutes of squatting throughout the day, breaking it into small, comfortable increments (e.g., 30 seconds, 1 minute) rather than one long session.
- Consider using online tutorials that guide through ground rest positions, as these are micro-elements that nurture the squat position.
Office Worker Health Improvement
Tony Riddle- Set a timer to go off every 25 minutes as a reminder to move.
- When the timer goes off, perform 3-4 squats at your desk, holding the table edge if needed and allowing your heels to lift.
- Take a short walk from one end of the office to the other to break up prolonged sitting.
- Introduce a living plant, such as a peace lily, to your desk to improve air quality and connect with nature.
- If working late, wear amber glasses to block blue light and support melatonin production for better sleep.
- Practice a 3-minute breath cycle (e.g., nasal inhale for 3-4 seconds, exhale for 6-8 seconds) to activate the parasympathetic 'rest and digest' state.
Mindful Eating Practice
Tony Riddle- Before consuming food, engage in a 3-minute breath practice, focusing on nasal breathing with a longer out-breath (e.g., 3 seconds in, 6 seconds out) to transition into a parasympathetic state.
- Sit in a posture that allows your rib cage to lift, enabling your lungs to operate at their full potential and supporting digestion.
- Chew your solid food thoroughly until it becomes a liquid consistency before swallowing.
- Even with smoothies and juices, 'chew' them to stimulate digestive enzymes and improve absorption.
Barefoot Running Retraining
Tony Riddle- Understand the correct running posture: keep your head, chest, and pelvis stacked, with your feet landing underneath your body.
- Practice jumping on a line on the ground, landing flat-footed with soft knees, jaw, and shoulders, maintaining a relaxed, rhythmic bounce.
- Progress to single-legged hops, starting with 10 hops per leg, then gradually reducing to 8, 6, and 2 hops per leg.
- To enforce nasal breathing during runs, consider taping your mouth shut, initially reducing your pace if necessary to maintain the nasal breathing pattern.