Your Life Force, Nature and Nutrition
Why it’s important to spend time in nature and eat local
Osteopathic tenant: The body has self-healing and self-regulating mechanisms
There are two types of energy sources in the body.
First, the prenatal chi. This is the inherent energy you are born with. Some disciplines refer to it as the chi, the prana, the life force. You know how some people have a ton of energy while others move more slowly, need more time to process, require more sleep, etc? These differences represent our prenatal chi (inherent life force).
Second, there is post-natal chi. This is the energy that we get from nature and food. The goal is to get ALL of our energy from nature and food, so we don’t need to draw from our inherent life force (prenatal chi). This is the ultimate anti-aging strategy. You can harness the energy from nature by simply spending time outside. Here’s a few higher yield ways to convert nature’s energy into your own energy:
Grounding – take your shoes off and sink your toes into grass, walk on a sandy or rocky beach of the Snake River or soak your bare feet into a freshwater lake.
Swimming – spend some time in one Jackson Hole’s bodies of freshwater. I love the swimming holes of the Snake River. String lake and the headwaters of Flat Creek are my happy places.
Sunshine - one of the most powerful ways to supercharge your cells with energy is early morning light. Specifically, get outside first thing in the morning or at least look at the sun/light in the 1st 2 hours after sunrise.
Then there is food. Plants and animals take the energy from nature and turn it into edible substances for us. Many people think that if they are eating fruits and vegetables, they are getting adequate nutrients. While this can absolutely be true, you must be careful in making this assumption. Unfortunately, conventional farming practices in America are growing our food on very nutrient depleted soil. Example - you have to eat 5 cabbages today to get the same amount of nutrients that you could get in one cabbage from the 1950’s. Be wary when buying any produce that is non-organic or isn’t marked as non-GMOs. Luckily, we have so many amazing surrounding farms servicing our area that grow their produce utilizing best practices and a whole lotta love.
These same principles are true with animal products, which are the most nutrient dense food products on the planet. I highly recommend you buy your animal products from a local farm such as Haderlie Farms, Hereford Ranch or Lockhart Ranch. Sweet Cheek Meats Butcher does a great job of sourcing high quality meat as well. But if you are buying meat products from the grocery store, take the time to make sure they are from trusted farms or at a minimum grass fed.
Here’s a few ways you can buy nutrient dense groceries locally:
Summer season
Farmer’s Market on Town Square
June 25th to September 24th
Open Saturdays 8-12 am
Jackson Hole People’s Market
Snow King Ave and King St
June – September
Wednesdays 4-7 pm
Slow Food Farm Stand next to Twigs Nursery
June 30th to September 23.
Thursdays and Fridays 11am to 6pm
Year round
Slow Food Online Marketplace –Place your order online between Mondays at 12pm to Tuesdays at 6pm. Then, pick up your order at the Slow Food Farm Stand next to Twigs Nursery on Thursdays between 1pm to 5pm.
Link to website here
The Farm Match via Haderlie Farms – featuring food from Haderlie farms, and many other local farms as well as products from Wind River Herbs
3 days a week Curtis drops off farm fresh food and picks up compost at various places around the valley, if a specific time and place don’t work for you, he also does drops at residences for a small extra fee.