Reading books isn’t something I do enough of with the amount of daily reading I do on the phone and computer, but I crushed this book in record time for my typical reading style. While Troy went through a lot of crazy shit in his life to lead him to seek to fix his past mistakes there is a lot of great info in this book that anyone can take away and incorporate into their own life. Now, I’m pretty certain I’m not going to be drinking my own pee (he did this to fix lifelong gut issues) anytime soon unless I’m stuck out in the backcountry this winter, but I have already taken a few cold showers to start my day, made some additional food improvements, continue to get my 8 hours of sleep, and spend plenty of time outdoors. Drinking half my body weight in ounces of water is still a work in progress.
The book is broken up into his 9 Pillars which I’ll list below and then at the end of each chapter, he gives a summary which I will share.
If the information below seems like something you’d enjoy learning more about please consider using my Affiliate Link to his book on Amazon (Starting at $19).
The 9 Pillars
- The Legacy Pillar
- The Food Pillar
- The Rest Pillar
- The Movement Pillar
- The Breath Pillar
- The Thought Pillar
- The Relationship Pillar
- The Water Pillar
- The Nature Pillar
1. Building Your Legacy Pillar
Legacy is about having a dream and purpose for your life and leaving behind something of value. While each of the 9 Pillars is important, legacy is arguably the most vital.
Without dream and purpose, all the other pillars are diminished,. Building your Legacy Pillar starts with a mission/vision statement. While this statement should ideally only be a few sentences, it may take you years to develop and perfect. Here’s how to start:
“I am” Statements
I am ___________________.
Consider the following questions:
- What do you want to do? Who do you want to be?
- Write down as many as you can, then start to see the connections between them.
- Do you see a theme or pattern developing? Can you pick the one statement that most closely identifies who you want to be?
Mission/Vision Exercises
These exercises help you think about what is important to you and begin to understand what legacy you want to leave behind. Start by answering these questions.
- If you won the lottery right now, and money was no object what would you do with your life?
- If you died, and everyone was gathered for your funeral, what would your mother, father, husband, wife, brother, sisters, best friend, etc. say about you?
If those two exercises don’t produce useful results try a different angle. Instead of hope and operations, let’s look at your fears. Are you afraid of being poor? Or of being alone? Complete the following statements:
- I am NOT ____________________.
- I don’t want to ____________________.
- My biggest fear is ____________________.
Now let’s use the completed statements to help us answer the mission/vision questions. If you don’t want to be lonely, what can you do to prevent it?
Personal Mission/Vision Statement
All of this works leads to your personal mission/vision statement. The statement should be short and concise. You should be able to commit it to memory and recite it. If you’re finding that your statement isn’t coming so easily, don’t be discouraged. I didn’t develop mine overnight – it has been a long and ever-evolving process. Here is my personal mission/vision statement:
I am a humble, kind, and gentle man. My mission is to raise human consciousness and change all systems. My vision is clean air, water, soil, and equitable systems for all mankind…in my lifetime.
2. Building Your Food Pillar
“You are what you eat.” No truer words were ever spoken. The fuel you put into your body has a profound impact on your health and longevity. Here are a few tips to help you build your Food Pilar.
Stop Paying to Poison Yourself
Avoid pesticides and herbicide-laden foods, and steer clear of fake sugar, fake fats, and coloring and preservatives.
Just Eat Real Food (#JERF)
You should be able to recognize food as you hold it in your hand and put it on your plate. It shouldn’t come in a box, or a can, or a jar but if it does, read the ingredients. If you can’t pronounce it, don’t put it in your mouth!
But not all real food is equal either. Here’s how I rank them:
- Wild
- Biodynamic (Demeter)
- Farmer Direct
- Organic
- USDA
Try to get the highest-quality food you can. I know it is more expensive, but hey, you’re worth it. Focus on above-ground vegetables (such s lettuce, spinach, green beans, broccoli, and peppers) and grass-fed ruminants (such as cattle, goats, sheep, and deer).
Avoid the Four White Devils:
- White salt
- White sugar
- White flour
- White pasteurized dairy
These are all inflammatory agents and can disrupt your digestion, immune system, stress levels, hormones, and sleep. In a perfect world, you might do away almost completely with sugar, flour, and dairy and use salt sparingly. If you include any of these things in your diet, try these instead:
- Celtic sea salt
- Stevia
- Alternative flours from nuts or seeds, or gluten-free whole grains
- Non-pasteurized dairy from Jersey cows
Also, avoid corn and soy, which are also inflammatory agents. Nuts, grains, and legumes contain phytic acid, which can raise the risk of iron and zinc deficiencies. Avoid them if you can, or soak, sprout, or ferment them to reduce or eliminate the phytic acid.
3. Building Your Rest Pillar
Getting enough sleep is essential for good health, yet nearly half of all adults in the industrialized world try to survive on six hours of sleep per night or less. Here are some good sleep hygiene tips to help you build your Rest Pillar:
- Honor your circadian rhythms – go to bed and get up at the same time each day (even on the weekends).
- Artificial light – electronic devices and artificial light can disrupt your sleep patterns. Use these strategies to get the best sleep possible.
- Eliminate exposure to blue light 1-2 hours before bedtime.
- Use blue blocker technology on newer phones and tablets.
- Use blue blocker glasses for older phones/tablets or for watching TV.
- Remove bright lights (including alarm clocks and other electronic devices) from your bedroom.
- Use salt lamps, candles, and/or nightlights at night.
- Temperature – high body temperature can equal poor sleep. Keep your bedroom cool and avoid exercise too close to bedtime. A cool bath or shower can help reduce your core temperature and produce higher-quality sleep.
- Diet – avoid a lot of food, especially sugar, at night.
- Caffeine – can stay in your system for up to 10 hours. Limit your caffeine intake to the mornings, or better yet remove it from your diet completely.
- Alcohol and marijuana – have a negative impact on REM sleep and should be avoided.
- Sleeping pills – can be downright dangerous. Avoid them except in extreme cases.
- Stress – can disrupt your sleep. Adopt relaxing nighttime rituals to prepare for a good night’s sleep. Do whatever makes you feel calm and peaceful.
- Naps – If you are still tired during the day, short naps can be rejuvenating. Remember to limit them to 20 minutes – otherwise, you could have trouble falling asleep at night.
4. Building Your Movement Pillar
Movement is a form of medicine that helps to keep you mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy. Here are a few tips to help you build your Movement Pillar.
Assessment
Before you begin, do an honest assessment of where you are and where you want to go. Check the credentials of any trainer you work with and stay away from the hacks and meatheads who can do more harm than good. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, then do your homework first to avoid injury. I recommend starting with Paul Chek’s How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy.
Walking
Walking is the perfect expression of how the human body was meant to move through time and space. walk barefoot in the grass or in nature as often as you can.
Iyengar Yoga
This gentle form of yoga focuses on precision of alignment in different postures (asanas) along with breath control (pranayama). Focusing on the structural alignment of the body helps unite mind, body, and spirit.
Qigong
This holistic system of body posture, movement, breathing, and meditations involves graceful choreographed movements inspired by animals in nature. It can help restore balance to body and mind.
Tai Chi
This ancient form of Chinese martial arts cultivates the life energy (qi) within and helps it flow smoothly and powerfully through the body. Tai Chi embraces duality – yin and yang – and helps you see the interconnectedness of seemingly contrary forces in yourself and the natural world.
In this chapter, I outlined the 7 Factors of Stress and gave you some strategies for dealing with them. Here’s a recap:
- Physical Stress – Don’t buy into he “no pain, no gain” myth. Let your body rest if it needs to.
- Digital Communications Stress – We’re in the midst of a grand technological experiment, and no one yet knows the full impact that it has on your health. Be mindful of how much digital communications you consume.
- Psychic Stress – Surround yourself with people who don’t rob you of your positive energy.
- Nutritional Stress – #JERF (just eat real food).
- Thermal Stress – Be prepared for temperature changes in natural and artificial environments. Have layers and hats available for different situations.
- Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) Stress – Turn off phones, Wi-Fi, and electricity when you can, and walk barefoot in the grass to ground yourself.
- Chemical Stress – Eat organic food and eliminate toxic chemicals (such as cleaning and gardening supplies) from your home environment.
5. Building Your Breath Pillar
You can survive three weeks without food, three days without water, and three minutes without oxygen. Breath work can help you channel this most vital of elements to fuel your body and relax your mind. here are a few simple exercises to help you build your Breath Pillar.
5-Minute Daily Breath Work Exercise
If you do only one breathing exercise, do this one. I like to do this one first thing in the morning to pump oxygen into my brain and body and regulate my sleep patterns.
- Get down on your knees.
- Use a yoga block or pillow to prop up your butt and open up your diaphragm.
- Sit up straight and put your hands on your knees.
- Breathe in and out intensely through your nose.
- On the 11th breath, hold it for as long as you can.
- Relax, drop your shoulders, and exhale slowly.
- Repeat, but this time hold on the 16th breath.
- Relax, drop your shoulders, and exhale slowly.
- Repeat, but this time hold on the 21st breath.
- Don’t exhale yet!
- Squeeze your perineum – the area between your genitals and anus.
- Feel the energy pump up your spine and into your pineal gland.
- On the 11th breath, hold it for as long as you can.
Bhastrika
The name of this traditional yoga breathing exercise means “bellows”. It can be a little intense, so take it easy when first trying it so that you don’t get dizzy and hit your head.
- Sit cross-legged.
- Relax your shoulders.
- Breathe forcefully (like a bellows) through your nose, once per second.
- Remember to use your diaphragm instead of your chest. Your belly should move in and out when breathing.
- Keep your head, neck, and shoulders still.
- Take 10 sharp breaths followed by a 15-second break.
- Take 20 sharp breaths followed by a 30-second break.
- Take 30 sharp breaths followed by a 30-second break.
- Take 30 sharp breaths.
- Relax
This 90-breath exercise activates both your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, producing clarity and calm.
6. Building Your Thought Pillar
If you repeat a thought often enough to yourself, you will begin to believe it. And once you begin to believe it, it will become true. This is one of the great truths of life, hiding right in plain sight. We literally create our own reality. Here are some tips to help you build your Thought Pillar.
Gratitude Journal
Some clients have told me they don’t need to do a gratitude journal because they are already grateful. I remind them that is like saying, “I don’t need to eat organic because I already know that it is good for me.” The mind is an embodied process, and positive change requires you to move beyond the theoretical and into the actual. Just as movement builds you both, thinking builds your mind. Daily exercise of both mind and body is important.
I would like to personally challenge you to do a gratitude journal for 100 days. Here’s how:
- Morning – Every morning when you wake up, write down three things you are grateful for.
- Night – Every night before you go to sleep, write down three more things you are grateful for.
- Extra Credit – Embrace the duality of existence by finding light in the darkness.
Can you find gratitude in your worst and most painful experiences? Doing this thought exercise for 100 days changed my life, and I think it can change yours too.
Personal Mission/Vision Statement
Remember the personal mission/vision statement we worked on to help you build your Legacy Pillar? The Thought Pillar can help you make that mission and vision a reality. Read it out loud to yourself. Commit it to memory. Think it over and over and over to yourself until it becomes a part of you. Rewire your brain to believe that this personal mission/vision statement it true, and you will start to make it so.
Vision Boards
Seeing is believing. If you want to achieve something, creating a vision board cn help you turn that dream into reality. Take your personal mission/vision statement and find the pictures that best represent it. Clip out the pictures and create a collage. You can use text in your design to reinforce key ideas. Hang it up in a space where you’ll see it often every day. Look at it as you recite your mission/vision statement to yourself.
Cold Showers
Rolling out of a warm bed into a cold shower is a healthy way to start the day. Start with your extremities, letting the water splash on your arms and legs, then put your face into the water. Get both sides of your torso, then let the water pound your chest and get your heart pumping. Just deal with it! Finish by letting the cold water fun from the crown of your head down your spine. This daily dose of medicine helps wipe the sleep from your eyes and invigorate your mind for the day.
Ice Baths
The cold is merciless, but righteous! don’t think about it too much before you submerge your body in ice water for 1-3 minutes. This death-defying act forces the blood to rush to your vital organs, to fight for your very survival. It helps balance your hormones, strengthen your immune system, and test your spiritual foundations. Learn to be okay with it – to be okay in the face of chaos – and you will fortify your mind and body.
7. Building Your Relationship Pillar
You are not alone. You are connected to everyone, and everyone is connected to you. The relationships you form with friends and family help guide your path in life. they help you build bridges to overcome obstacles. And they can also be the source of your biggest roadblocks. Here are some tips for building your Relationship Pillar.
Food, Friends, and Family
Some of my fondest memories of life are sitting around the table with friends and family. Sharing a good meal with the people I love is one of my greatest joys. Food nourishes us when we’re hungry, comforts us when we’re feeling low, and heals us when we are sick. Sharing a meal is one of the great ways to say “I love you.” Make time in your life to share a meal with those you love.
Grace
Even though I’m not a religious person in the traditional sense, saying grace before a meal is a great way to build relationships. this variation on the gratitude journal lets me share my gratitude with those I have a meal with. take a minute or two before the meal to tell those you love how thankful you are for them, then give them the opportunity to do the same. It’s a beautiful way to begin a meal.
Travel
Whether taking a walk in the park or traveling to some distant location, getting into nature with my friends and family is one of my favorite things to do. Riding bikes to the farmer’s market, paddleboarding in the bay, camping under the redwoods, summiting a peak…these are great ways to build relationships and connect with nature.
Forgiveness
Relationships that exist over a long period of time will experience darkness. Words may be spoken that should not have been. Some words that should be spoken are left unsaid. Fights may happen. disappointments or even trauma may occur. don’t let your issues freeze in your tissues. Resentment is toxic. If you can find forgiveness in your heart, you can release old traumas. Relationships can be beautiful, messy things. They can be a source of comfort and grace if you let them. Learn to forgive past grievances. If you can do this, your relationships will grow stronger.
8. Building Your Water Pillar
Water is the source of all life on earth. Giving your body the right amount of the highest-quality water you can is essential for health. Here are a few tips to build your Water Pillar.
Delivery System
In a perfect world, you could drink fresh, clean water directly in nature. Unfortunately, we’ve contaminated most of the water on earth, so you’re not likely to have that reality. You will probably get your water through other delivery systems. For most, that means a municipal water supply. Even in good systems, the potential for trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs, feces, urine, and toilet paper are there. And in worst-case scenarios (like Flint, MI) much more dangerous poisons can be introduced. I have two systems I use: one for the water I drink, and another for household use.
Drinking Water
Drinking the purest water possible is just as important as eating the highest-quality natural or organic foods. It is essential! For my drinking water, I have artesian spring water delivered in glass containers. Artesian spring water is filtered through the earth for thousands of years and becomes naturally mineralized in the process. When considering the extra cost of glass containers over plastic, remember that water is the most powerful solvent on earth. Water that sits in plastic, especially where light is present, can introduce xenoestrogens. As the name implies, xenoestrogens come from external sources, but are similar enough to estrogen to confuse your body. Xenoestrogens can disrupt reproduction and other natural processes.
- How much to drink – On average, drink half your body weight (lbs.) in ounces of water daily.
- Example: If you weigh 100 pounds, drink 50 ounces of water daily.
- Supplements – I sometimes add the following to make sure my body gets the minerals it needs:
- Redmond clay
- Pure Camu Camu powder
- Celtic sea salt
- Herbs and superfoods grown in mineral-rich soi.
Household Water
The quality of the water that you put on your body (in baths and showers) is also important. Our skin has a higher absorption rate than the linings of your stomach, and we need to be mindful of what we allow ourselves to come into contact with. I’ve installed a quadruple filtration system in my home. This reverse-osmosis system filters out many of the contaminants in my municipal water supply to help keep my family safe.
The Solution to Pollution is Dilution
In simplest terms, your body converts food into energy and filters contaminants out. Water is an essential ingredient. Water can be one of the most effective tools you can use to keep your body as clean and healthy as possible. Start with the highest-quality water you can get.
9. Building Your Nature Pillar
As above, so below. This is the natural law of correspondence and the theme of this book. You literally cannot separate your health from the health of the world you live in. Mother Nature is the giver of life and the source of everything that sustains you. Here are some tips to help you build your Nature Pillar.
Bacteria
Remember that your body is made of 10% human cells and 90% bacterial cells. While there are some “bad” bacteria, the vast majority of bacteria inside you are “good” and essential for your health. Honor your microbiome by being a good host and provide the nourishment they need to help you. think twice about antibiotic use that indiscriminately kills both good and bad bacteria.
The Sun
The sun is the cornerstone of life on earth. It drives our circadian rhythms and provides energy to the plants that feed us, heal us, and produce the oxygen we breathe. The sun also helps regulate our hormones and provides nutrition in the form of biophotonic energy. While it is true that you need to be mindful of the potential harm caused by the sun’s rays (especially if you are not regularly exposed to the sun), you need to be more careful about the toxins from sunscreens you rub into your skin! The sun is not the be feared. It is your friend, and you should get out safely into the sunshine and receive the nourishment Mother Nature gives freely.
Earthing
Walking barefoot in the grass is one of the best ways to build your Nature Pillar. Walking is the perfect expression of how your body is meant to move through time and space. The earth has a negative redox potential while will take out the positively charged toxins as well as the negative emotions. Walking barefoot in the grass can be a movement meditation that strengthens your body, relaxes your mind, and grounds your spirit. Do it every day if you can.
Wherever you are in life’s journey, Mother Nature holds the answers you are looking for. Listen closely, keep an open mind, and follow the advice she is trying to provide.
And don’t mess with the chipmunks.
Conclusion
And there you have it. The Summary of Ripped at 50: A Journey to Self Love by Troy Casey.
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