Gus Rickard

It’s been so long since I posted anything.

The 4 year hiatus from social media has served me well.

And so much has happened since my last post.

I closed the clinic that was home to Wise Moves and CHEK Institute Australia…

And with it a big chapter of my life.

I met a girl. (We met literally as I walked back from handing over the keys)

We left Sydney for the Central Coast

We had a baby! Zephyr, back of head pictured above.

And I set up a new gym at home in the garage!

So to everyone I haven’t seen for a while, a big hello!

About my Brain Institute is proud to launch a new program to expand your coaching skills and learn new processes to transform your practice: “Neurobiology of Coaching, Well-being and Brain-Friendly Practices”. And I’m proud to be a part of it!

To learn more check out -

🏋️‍♀️HOLIDAY ESSENTIALS🏋️‍♀️

✅1x Kettlebell
✅1x Ultimate Instrument
✅1x Bands
✅1x Roller
✅1x Lacrosse Ball
✅1x Speargun
✅1x Dog
✅1x Alan Watts Autobiography

# spearfishing

Currently reading this book for the 2nd time and having my mind blown for the 2nd time! If you don’t know Ervin Laszlo, he is a genius in my opinion. Any of his books will change your perspective on life forever!

Have you ever met a master?

This could be an athlete or a sculptor or a musician…

But someone who’s undeniably mastered their craft

To achieve this mastery in any area requires years of disciplined practice.

Picture the pianist that performs scales for hours on end, day after day…

the swimmer at the pool for morning squads at 5am in the middle of winter, year after year…

or the boxer who trains 3 times a day 6 days a week for 8 years before they win a title

To reach the top of any field requires a degree of discipline that not everyone has.

Yet, discipline alone is not enough

For every champion that devotes their life to their field and makes it to the top there are 10 that do the same and never make it!

Soldiers are the epitome of discipline.

They spend years training at their craft

But you would very rarely if ever call a soldier an artist

Because discipline requires surrender to keep it in check or it becomes rigidity.

When you see a champion figure skater, or gymnast or ballet dancer performing at their peak…

It’s jaw dropping.

The years of disciplined practice give way to surrender…

and it’s in the depths of their surrender that we experience their art.

Bruce Lee discusses this with regard to the martial arts.

He says, "Before I learned martial arts, a punch was just a punch and a kick was just a kick.”

“When I studied martial arts, a punch was no longer just a punch and a kick was no longer just a kick.”

“Now I understand martial arts, and a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."

His description here is of the archetypal journey that we all take every time we learn a new skill.

This journey has 4 stages

Unconscious Incompetence (you can’t perform the skill and don’t know that you can’t)

2. Conscious Incompetence (you can’t perform the skill but you are now aware you can’t)

3. Conscious Competence (through disciplined practice you can now perform the skill with intent and focus)

4. Unconscious Competence ( After enough practice you eventually perform the skill without much effort. )

In this last stage you no longer require the conscious mind to stand over you and direct every movement the way you do at the previous stage.

There’s a sweet spot between discipline and surrender where all the good stuff in life happens...

health, happiness, ease and flow in your achievements, harmony in your relationships and effective self expression just to name a few.

If you look at any artist, who’s a master of his/her craft

you’ll see them balancing here at this sweet spot while they perform.

Dr Dan Siegel discusses this balance as it relates to the mind.

He says something like, “A healthy mind is an integrated mind!”

"And as a mind becomes less integrated it will move towards rigidity or chaos!"

Pathological states of mind like schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder or PTSD all have elements of both rigidity and chaos

Because while extreme disciple becomes rigidity

Extreme surrender becomes chaotic

That sweet spot in the middle of the 2 is freedom!

Now, life itself is one of these practices...

that, like gymnastics or singing or playing an instrument,

requires a high level of skill.

Looking above at the 4 stages of learning...

where are you at with the skill of life?

In order to be a master of your life…

what areas do you need to focus on?

Health?

Wealth?

Career?

Family?

Social?

Intellect?

Spirituality?

Where is your weakest point?

And where is your strength?

And in each area do you need to be more disciplined or more surrendered to hit the sweet spot?

Where do you need to surrender more...

allowing yourself to enjoy the process and trusting that all will work out when you let go?

Where do you need to be more self disciplined...

creating structure and boundaries?

This is an area of personal growth that fascinates me!

If you’d like a questionnaire that helps you look more deeply into each of these values areas, email me back and i’ll shoot it right over to you!

I'm back!

I'm sure you've missed seeing me over the last couple of weeks.

I didn't actually go anywhere.

I've been very busy working on something big...

a new website!

The last year has been a massive journey for me...

I've stepped into a new area that I've never felt totally comfortable in...marketing!

You see, I always thought marketing was manipulation.

I saw marketing as unethical

What's changed for me is that I found a really good business coach!

Someone who's inspired me to market myself authentically...

and to use FB, YouTube, emails and web content as a way to spread my message that -

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO HEAL FROM ANYTHING!

This new website is a part of that.

Every week I do a FB Live and write a blog post.

These are my way of sharing the "how" to do just that.

The website is here - www.gusrickard.com

There'll be lots of new content there soon

Let me know what you think

Gus Rickard

5 Signs of Poor Health That Everyone Should Know About

There’s a quote I really love by Jiddu Krishnamurti.

“It’s no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society!”

People argue with me all the time when I say that I agree that we are a profoundly sick society

We may have eradicated diseases

We may have an average lifespan longer than ever before.

But we’ve also created new diseases

And we have more sick people alive than ever

We also have more unhappy people alive than ever

My hope in sharing this with you is not to scare you but that you will feel empowered to take control of your health

You see, chronic pain and illness aren’t isolated events

By the time something becomes chronic - which by very definition means long lasting- there have been multiple system break downs!

Which will only happen when your body is under resourced and/or overly stressed!

In my experience, onset of chronic pain and illness always happens after a major traumatic event...

major stressful life period...

or after series of smaller stressful events.

These things don’t just happen by themselves

There will always be signs that the body is struggling that i addressed soon enough are easily remedied

This list is by no means conclusive but here are the major signs that I see most often

1. Fatigue

When your body is under resourced for the demands you put on it...

(due to poor nutrition, lack of sleep or dehydration)...

the first thing that happens is that you will feel tired.

If you pay attention to this signal, stop doing so much, rest more and take better care of yourself...

the fatigue will probably be short lived and you’ll be back to your good old self

2. Low immunity

If, rather than listen to your body, you decide to mask your fatigue with coffee, eating more sugar...

and sheer persistance...

the next thing that usually happens is you get sick.

This is your body’s way of forcing you to slow down, eat more healthily and rest.

Don’t get me wrong, getting sick once in a while is perfectly normal.

This becomes a sign of poor health when you’re getting sick multiple times each season...

or if you’re staying sick for more than a few days.

3. Mental/Emotional and cognitive disharmony

The brain requires a lot of energy

And not only do neurotransmitters require a lot of very specific nutrients...

but they need a healthy gut and microbiome to be produced optimally.

When the brain is under resourced,

when your gut isn’t working due to stress or poor nutrition

or if you’re eating a diet that’s not supplying you with adequate nutrition you can’t feel happy, calm and focused.

Instead it’s likely that you’ll become depressed and/or anxious and have trouble focusing.

This is your brains way of making you slow down!

4. Chronic pain and recurrent injuries

Chronic pain is any pain that lasts longer than expected tissue healing time -typically 6-8 weeks.

Recurrent injuries are injuries that just keep happening again and again.

Usually therapists treat these issues as purely musculoskeletal

But in my experience, without addressing the health of the whole human being involved they don’t get better

5. Chronic illness and disease

This is usually the last step in the chain.

Cancer, diabetes and heart disease happen after years medicating or just plain ignoring your body's signals.

As scary as they may seem they too can be seen as signs of a stressed, under resourced body.

I don’t believe that your body is stupid nor do I believe that it makes mistakes

It is simply doing what it can with the resources that it has.

There are a few reasons that this cycle is so common nowadays

1. We experience STRESS like never before and our body’s are ill equipped to deal with it

2. Most people do not know how to manage their body’s needs.

Doing so is made even more confusing with all the conflicting information going around.

3. Our culture doesn’t value health!

We prioritise money, time, possessions, status and just about everything else above that of our health

4. We have physical and psychological trauma that we do not heal from.

The body goes on to create compensation patterns around these traumas and they become physical disfunction...

mental/emotional disharmony...

and eventually full blown disease processes

5. Our environment is not healthy

There is pollution in every form imaginable - from EMF’s and air pollution to noise pollution and glyphosate

Given the nature of the world we live in and the fact that only 10% of people will escape a chronic illness...

it is more important than ever to take control of your health.

Chronic pain and illness do not happen by themselves

They do not come up out of nowhere.

This means YOU need to become a master of your own health...

and learn to manage your body’s needs...

through the ‘6 Foundation Principles of Health’ - Thoughts, Breathing, Hydration, Nutrition, Movement and Rhythms!

Your choices and your lifestyle will dictate your health!

If you'd like help doing this type 'YES' in the comments below.

Breathing

I saw a facebook ad recently for a course on breathing.

It looked like a really great course that was being offered.

There were some negative comments from people questioning how you could charge to teach breathing

Because if you’re living, you’re breathing and clearly you must ‘know’ how to breath, right?

Wrong

I find breathing fascinating for a few reasons

You could say that it’s the bridge from the conscious mind into the unconscious…

which is why so many meditative practices utilise breathing.

Just think about it - what other area is both conscious and unconscious?

Your heart beats by itself

Your stomach breaks down food by itself

Your pupils and blood vessels dilate and constrict by themselves

These functions are purely unconscious

They operate below the level of your conscious control

On the other hand your arms and legs are under your conscious control

So are the muscles of your face

But breathing is both.

You can choose not to breath until you go unconscious…

But at that point it will start again by itself

You can choose how to breath also

This is a meditative practice

Breath in a certain manner…

and eventually your breathing happens by itself again…

only now you’re watching it happen of itself!

When you’re stressed out, breathing is short, sharp and shallow…

done into the upper chest and shoulders

When you’re relaxed its long slow and deep

done deep into your belly

In this way your breathing reflects your inner state

The opposite is also true -

adopting a healthy breathing practice affects not only your mental state but your biochemistry

Breathing too much oxygen for the demands of a given task can cause just as many problems as breathing not enough

And we all know where that ends up

Faulty breathing can lead to :

-headaches and migraines
-sinusitis
-asthma
-allergies
-poor posture
-neck and shoulder pain
-imbalanced blood pH

When was the last time you heard of someone being prescribed ‘breathing’ for any of the above problems?

I couldn’t tell you how many people walk into my practice with complex aetiologies and all sorts of different syndromes…

things that no one can figure out…

that find alleviation to these so called complex issues…

in the most basic practices like breathing, drinking water or dietary changes

The body has a few basic needs that are basic because they are so absolutely vital to optimal functioning!

No matter where you are with your health

No matter what you’ve been told by experts

You can get better!

95% of the time it will be something or combination of things that are very primary and simple

You can heal yourself

Ask me how!

PS Try this little breathing practice at home.

Lie down in a quiet place with your knees bent so that your feet are flat...
Have one hand resting on your stomach and one on your chest
As you breath in make sure you feel the tummy hand rise and finish rising before the chest hand moves
and as you breath out make sure this happens in reverse
Now count to 4 slowly as you inhale 1,2,3,4
now hold for a count of 8
breath out for a count of 8
and again hold for another 8...and continue like this.
You should feel a very mild ‘air-hunger’

Just enough that you still feel relaxed
If you feel you’re not getting enough air cut the holds in half
When you get this right, after 5 or 10 minutes you'll notice a shift...
you'll start to feel calmer, more present, more at peace...
Practice this!

Foundations

As you probably know I bang on about stress quite a bit

Learning to manage stress effectively is the best thing you can do for your health no matter who you are.

I recently had a client ask me a great question - "What do I given that stress is just a part of my job?"

I thought I'd share my answer with you because I think it may be useful for you. I'll keep it as short as possible.

There are 6 'Foundations of Health' that I work with, with all my clients - Thoughts, Breathing, Hydration, Nutrition, Movement and Sleep.

These are an aspect of your life whether you know it or not - you can't live without them.

How you manage these aspects in your life will dictate whether you live through expression of your genetic strengths or potential weaknesses.

If you are suffering from pain, symptoms or disease of any sort then you are currently doing the latter.

Now when I say stress I mean anything that causes a 'physiological stress response' in the body.

A stress response is characterised by increased cortisol -your primary stress hormone...

and increased activity of the Fight or Flight System.

Now here's the important take home- Lack of attention in any of the Foundations of Health can cause a stress response!

Thinking negative thoughts - due to a deadline or a fight with your spouse or opening your credit card statement - creates a stress response

Breathing short shallow breaths habitually causes a stress response

Not drinking enough water or drinking too much alcohol or coffee causes a stress response

Making poor food choices - eating processed foods or food thats just not right for your body -causes a stress response

Sitting on your bum all day causes a stress response (evidenced by the rush of endorphins you get when you stand up and stretch after sitting too long)

A lack of sleep certainly causes a stress response!

And the body summates stressors, meaning it just adds one stress to the next and increases the harmful effects of said hormonal release.

Which brings me to my point- if you are suffering from stress and stress related illness then you need to reduce stress in these 6 areas as much as you possibly can.

When you reduce these stressors enough then your body is resourced enough to complete its healing processes.

If for whatever reason you can't reduce stress in a certain area then you need to get really really good at managing it in the other areas!

Which of these 6 areas do you fall down in the most?

I did a Facebook Live video on some time ago- the topic was polarised nutrition.

I see this everywhere I look.

Every expert and celebrity chef is pushing a certain way of eating.

On one side is the carnivore diet, paleo and ketoogenic diets...

and on the other is veganism, vegetarianism and juice fasting.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bagging those diets, their adherents, or the doctors, chefs and experts who recommend them.

The above mentioned diets and dietary protocols are great tools- I use most of them myself and with my clients all the time.

The problem with these diets is that they're all fad diets!

Any diet that limits food choices can only ever be short lived.

Following any dietary protocol at the expense of the cravings and intuitions from your body will also eventually cause problems.

Again, it doesn't mean that you should never follow dietary advice or restrictive diets for a certain amount of time.

Unfortunately the world of food can be hard to navigate and I know the question of "what on earth should I eat?!", is on many people's lips.

Ultimately, the healthier you are, the more integrated your body~mind is, the easier it is to answer this question.

Because a truely healthy, integrated body~mind, knows exactly what nutrients it needs to fulfil it's biochemical requirements each time you eat.

That's why all the diets I mentioned previously are great tools for the body that's out of balance...

That's why choosing the right diet at the right time will help move you toward balance.

But eventually you'll need to let the diet go and listen to the signals from your body-the same signals that guided your ancestors for millennia.

When you can do this you'll know you never need another diet ever again.

And you'll probably look back and wonder how you ever didn't have this connection with your body before.

But it does require a certain level of health and body~mind integration...

Written in bed
10:30-1:30am
Wed 3rd July

I’ve succumbed to the sickness!

It started as a little scratch in my throat on Saturday…

and developed into full blown bronchitis by Monday.

I was really struggling for a bit.

The worst part is the lack of sleep at night due to coughing and blocked nose.

Sleeping all day to make up for that isn’t so bad.

I feel as though I’ve turned a corner now though.

I woke up in the wee hours of this morning drenched in fever sweat

And today I’m coughing much less and my energy is back

I don’t mind being sick like this once in a while.

I quite enjoy staying at home rugged up with a hot liquid and a book

I always follow these 12 principles to get better fast…

and to make sure that this is just a once every year or two occurrence!

In fact, it’s probably good for your immune system to get a workout every now and again

If you get sick more often than this… or if symptoms stick around for more than a week

It’s a sign that your system is overly stressed

1. REST REST REST

The bottom line is if you’re sick, you need rest!

If you weren’t already stressed and fatigued your chances of getting sick in the first place would be much less

People who get less than seven hours of shut-eye nightly are three times more likely to catch a cold

When we sleep we have an increase in natural killer (NK) cell activity

These lymphocytes help fight off viruses and bacterial invaders

One of the most vital support systems for your immune system are the adrenal glands

And they’re easily overloaded when you’re sick

Staying at home sleeping and resting will allow them to support you and prevent post illness fatigue

2. DRINK REAL CHICKEN SOUP BY THE BUCKET

Chicken soup is not just an old wives tail

It has the perfect blend of nutrients to fight off infection and manage symptoms

If you source your chicken carefully, making sure it’s been pasture raised

It will contain high levels of true Vitamin A (not to be confused with beta-carotene)

And Vitamin D…these 2 vitamins are really hard to get!

And they help regulate the immune response

Chicken stock is particularly high in Type II collagen also

This has been shown to support gut integrity that enhances the immune system directly

Overall chicken soup will do the following:

Regulate and enhance the immune system
Reduce inflammation
Thin mucous which relieves symptoms of cold and flu
Inhibits white blood cell migration across mucous membrane which reduces symptoms
Reduce Viral LoadReduce bacterial Load

It’s full of Thyme, Garlic and Kelp which are all highly antibacterial and antiviral

3. KEEP WELL HYDRATED

When you’re sick your body is doing a lot of work

What you experience as symptoms are mostly just your body’s attempts to fight the pathogen

There are lots of viral and bacterial waste products produced when you’re sick

These need to be flushed out

Water is your number one way to do this

Not to mention that every biochemical process in the body is dependant on water

And dehydration will increase inflammation

Making all your symptoms worse!

So when you’re sick stay hydrated

This means, on top of teas and soups

Drink good clean water and plenty of it

5. USE THIEVES OR ON-GUARD OIL

During the middle ages when the bubonic plague decimated most of Europe

It’s said that thieves would make a special blend of essential oils

To protect themselves while they robbed from the dead

It was a blend of Clove, Eucalyptus, Cinnamon, Rosemary and lemon

This was known as Thieves Oil…On Guard is practically the same thing made by a different company

I’ve found them both to be just as useful

This blend is my go to as soon as I notice an itchy throat or a sniffle.

It’s anti viral and antimicrobial,
a powerful expectorant (it gets rid of mucous),
antipyretic (it reduces fever)anaesthetic (it will numb a sore throat)

You can put a few drops in your drinking water or you can just put a drop under your tongue every hour as I do.

6. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH ZINC AND VITAMIN C

These 2 nutrients have been the topic of many a debate regarding cold and flu and whether they do help

The bottom line is that supplementing with these nutrients will help to reduce the duration and intensity of cold
and flu and bacterial infections if taken early on

Like most nutrients they’re better from food than supplements!

So listen to your body…Vitamin C is in all plant foods

So if you’re craving fruit or juice or salad or plant foods of any sort

that could be your body asking for vitamin C

Give it what it needs

Zinc is found in meat of all sort but especially red meat

You could try supplementing with Vitamin C and Zinc at the first sign of a bug too

Always use the highest quality supplements you can get

6. USE PEPPERMINT OIL

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, what we call a ‘Cold’, is more often associated with heat than cold

Peppermint Oil is cooling and anti-inflammatory it helps soothe the heat of a sore throat, nasal and respiratory congestion and mucous

You can put a few drops in a cup of hot water and sip or rub it on your temples if you have a headache

7. INHALE EUCALYPTUS OIL

The more mucous you can clear from your sinuses and throat the more you immune system can get in and do its job.

And the easier it is for your body to clear out waste products.

Inhaling eucalyptus oil in a bowl of hot water is the best way I know to do this.

You can also put a few drops in a cotton ball and wrap it in a tissue and inhale that every now and again.

It can make such a massive difference to your mood and energy just through clearing out gunk and getting better airflow.

With all these essential oil, quality is key - ‘Doterra’ and ‘Young Living’ make exceptional oils

8. DRINK GINGER, LEMON and HONEY TEA

Ginger is antimicrobial and an expectorant,

The lemon is alkalising and breaks up mucous and waste products

Honey is antimicrobial…especially if you use Manuka honey

It contains a very potent antibacterial called Methylglyoxal

It’s so potent that Manuka Honey will often be used to treat burns and infected wounds

So you can imagine what it would do for a sore throat!

9. CONSUME SATURATED FAT AND CHOLESTEROL

If this is the first of my content that you’re reading, you’re probably wondering…is that a typo?

No, it’s not a typo.

Saturated fat and cholesterol are important nutrients.

They are usually found together in animal foods.

And when the animals have been raised outdoors in a healthy environment…

Their fat is the carrier for the all important fat soluble nutrients…Vitamins A,D,E and K2.

Apart from Vitamin E these vitamins are found exclusively in animal fats.

Vitamins A and D are super important for immune function.

Cholesterol is the precursor to all of your steroid hormones.

These include the glucocorticoids.

Which are stress hormones created in the adrenal glands.

Your body goes to a lot of trouble to make these when you’re sick.

and if you don’t get adequate cholesterol from your diet…

it means more effort and energy spent to make cholesterol first.

So these nutrients are very important for your adrenal glands.

This is what they call "Jing" in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Jing can be roughly translated as ‘Essence’

and it’s depleted when we’re sick.

Ghee from grass fed cows is a good option as is tallow or coconut oil.

10. AVOID SUGAR AND DAIRY

I follow this rule most of the time anyway…

For the following reasons-

These foods are pro inflammatory.

Inflammation is implicated in just about every chronic disease and health condition know to human kind.

When you’re sick you’re inflamed…

This is largely why you feel so bad.

Reducing inflammation helps reduce a LOT of the symptoms you experience.

And these speeds the recovery process.

These foods also form a lot of mucous.

Mucous makes it hard for your immune system to get at the pathogenic bugs.

It’s like a protective home for them.

So anything that will reduce mucous is a good thing!

11. INCREASE SALT

Let me qualify this statement first…

Sea salt and rock salt are not the same as table salt.

they have a lot of other minerals like potassium, zinc and calcium.

These minerals nourish the all important adrenals
and help kills bacterial cells.

A pinch of sea salt in your drinking water will make it easier to assimilate also!

12. REST MORE

I just thought I'd add this agin as it's the most important point.

Nothing I've said here is worth anything if you're not resting enough.

At the first sign of sickness, I cancel everything that's not absolutely essential.

This could mean the difference between something lasting a few days or a few weeks!

Let me know how this all helps

I'd love to hear back from you

Gus

PS If you’re finding you get sick more often than once a year or if you stay sick for longer than a week your body’s stressed and under resourced!

WHAT'S THE #1 THING YOU CAN DO TO BOOST HEALTH?

There is only one thing you need to do to optimise your health for good.

One thing that separates those who struggle with chronic pain and chronic disease from those who don’t

One thing that could put an end to your pain, your recurring injuries, your headaches, belly aches, fatigue, insomnia, or whatever other health problems you have

It’s not an exercise regime or nutrition program, special supplement or superfood.

It’s not a yoga class, a new health program, a drug or medical procedure

It’s a mindset shift…

And one that you can easily take on board.

It is this…

Make health your highest priority in life!

This may sound daunting, unachievable, not practical, boring or downright fanatical…

I promise it’s not any of those things.

Just hear me out…

This doesn’t mean prioritising salad and gym workouts over your children

It doesn’t mean running late to business meetings because you had to stop for a protein shake

It doesn’t mean you stop going out with friends because your mung beans are sprouting and you have to be there to make sure they hatch safely.

It doesn’t mean you can’t eat mum’s home cooking because it doesn’t fit your nutrient requirements either.

It simply means making choices with health in mind…

and prioritising those healthy choices so that they happen more often.

Let’s use shopping for food as an example

What’s your highest priority when shopping for food?

Do you shop for what’s cheapest…making price the most important factor?

Do you shop for what’s most convenient…making ease the most important factor?

Or do you shop for what’s going to nourish you and your loved ones the most…making health the priority?

Making health a priority in your life is analogous to putting on your own oxygen mask before that of your child.

It allows you to be there for the people and things that are important to you…

It means you are more present with your family and friends…

You are more productive at work…

You’re more centred and grounded in everything you do…

You get everything you need done more efficiently…

It doesn’t take anything away from the people and things you care about most…

It enriches them

The thing that separates those that manage to live long and healthy lives from those that don’t is not genetics but priorities.

Look into every area of your life and question where you’re making unhealthy choices…

Prioritising money, convenience or fashion over health can only lead to health challenges.

Prioritising health will lead to more energy, better focus, more balanced emotions and freedom from chronic pain and disease