A couple months back, I gave you a list of Primal Laws that didn’t quite make the cut, either because they weren’t “big” enough or didn’t apply to enough people. Turns out I was probably wrong: the response was huge and many of you were on the same wavelength. You even offered up some of your own ideas for honorable mentions. So today, I’m giving you 7 more honorable mentions that almost deserved a spot on the final list of Primal Laws. Read the post, take what resonates with you and discard what doesn’t. But give the article a fair shake and really consider how adopting these laws could improve your life.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

It’s a regular headline: “# of People Sickened by Contaminated Food.” Most recently, it was a case of imported cucumbers with salmonella (one of the most common and serious foodborne pathogens) that resulted in at least 341 people ill and two dead across 30 states. It’s difficult when public service information shifts us toward viewing our food with a nervous eye. The CDC estimates approximately 48 million people get sick from foodborne illness each year. Of those, 128,000 are hospitalized and about 3000 die. So, what do we do with this information?

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

I’ve always loved to camp. From my early days as a kid growing up in Maine (where it seemed like everyone camped), to my death-defying adventures with Outward Bound in the wilds of New England as a teen, to my current setup running a business in the Malibu hills, I’ve been a camper. Even when I’d dedicated my life to endurance training and had little time for anything else, I always made it a point to get away to the woods with the family for a few nights whenever I could. The reasoning was basic: it was relaxing, enjoyable, decompressing, and just plain fun. And that’s why most people camp. It just feels right, doesn’t it?

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon. What’s the condition of your backside? Can you feel your legs, or did at least one of them fall asleep a few hours ago? And your back? Neck, shoulders – how much tension are they carrying at this point in the day? Not to mention your mood and concentration? Does your attitude take a nosedive this time of day? Has your brain turned to mush? Did you just have to read the same set of instructions or email memo a couple of times because your mind wandered off? How often do you end up feeling like this in a typical afternoon?

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Technology has improved our lives, whether through the creation of new tools or by upgrading existing ones. But are there limits to technological progress? Can technology improve everything? We’ll find out. There’s talk of a “food revolution” brewing in Silicon Valley, helmed by engineers and entrepreneurs convinced they can do food better than both nature and traditional agriculture.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Some foods and flavors are just made for one another. Bacon and eggs. Strawberries and cream. Basil and tomato. Oil and vinegar. Sweet and sour. The list goes on and on. But what’s behind these classic and nearly universal combinations? Does taste alone drive the decision to, say, add fresh herbs to a charred piece of meat? And if pairings are driven by taste, which sounds reasonably, could it be possible that healthy pairings naturally taste better because we’ve evolved an innate draw towards these powerful combinations? The jury may still be out on that one. Nevertheless, some foods, when taken together, make surprising nutrition sense.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

We’re told time and again that in order to get healthy we need to let go of our “lower” instincts (e.g. conserving energy on the couch or preferring to go out and have fun) and embrace future goals. We need to take things seriously – have concrete objectives and clear steps to execute them. It’s about getting down to business and whipping ourselves into shape through the grit of sweat and discipline. Or? 

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

This is a guest post from expert biomechanist Katy Bowman, author of Don’t Just Sit There!

What research has demonstrated in the last few years is that people aren’t either active or sedentary—they can be both. Even the active people are, by a new definition coined in movement research, actively sedentary.

Our totally body movement often tends to boil down to what we do for a bout of exercise each day. Trying to extract all of your movement needs from one or two hours of daily exercise is like trying get all your dietary needs from a single daily meal crafted from the same handful of foods every day. This approach just won’t do. 

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

On today’s special show, Mark Sisson and Katy Bowman discuss their exciting joint project, “Don’t Just Sit There,” which is a comprehensive multimedia educational course designed to help people overcome one of the major health hazards of modern life: prolonged sedentary periods that compromise your health at the cellular level. Katy is a biomechanist (someone who studies living structures like the human body), author, and popular blogger at KatySays.com. Her focus is on how movement and variability are the keys to a healthy work environment. It turns out that true movement variability at work requires more than simply transitioning from a sitting to standing position at a standup workstation. And it’s not just about assuming the correct ergonomic positions at your keyboards, either. Anytime you have prolonged stillness, you are putting undesirable “loads” upon your cells that can lead to pain, dysfunction, and disease. This includes your eyes gazing at a computer screen at a fixed distance for hours.  

Katy and Mark talk about the many challenges of going dynamic instead of static, and some practical tips to mix things up in your daily routine (within the confines and restrictions of the modern workplace environment, of course). This is a great discussion to acquaint listeners with the Don’t Just Sit There program, which comes complete with a detailed eBook and a series of instructional videos to help you custom-design a dynamic workstation and a workplace pattern of movement and variability. So if you find yourself interested in learning more after today’s podcast, then you’ll want to act fast:

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY to grab the Don’t Just Sit There program for the reduced price of $27!

Plus, if you act now, you’ll receive a whole series of bonus items, which won’t be available past tomorrow evening.

So listen to the podcast, then sign up and get moving!

Today’s an exciting day for me. One of those jump out of bed early in anticipation of what’s to come days. Today is the day I get to announce the launch of Primal Blueprint’s Don’t Just Sit There program, packaged and perfected with my friend and world-renowned biomechanist Katy Bowman.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)