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Mismatch is a quick way to understand the underpinnings of almost all disease and malady. It’s also the key to solving for health problems. First, solve mismatch, then try other things. If you do not align yourself with your evolved biology, you’re setting yourself up for pain and disease. Humans, like all animals, have biological ‘edges’. Yes, we are adaptable, yes we are flexible but those adaptations are better applied to a hot desert or a cold tundra than to constant cell phone use or staying inside 23 of every 24 hours. This is a quick take on mismatch with some initial ideas on how to do a ‘mismatch check’ before you try more complicated solutions.

It’s been a few years. Things have changed and so have I. Welcome back or welcome for the first time! Season 1 of the Primal Brain was all about brain health, with a focus on recovery through ancestral lifestyle and diet practices. But it was also a peak into our cultural landscape of health. How we approach ‘disease’ is (possibly) more important than how we ‘cure’ it. Culture is the invisible glue of health behavior. And in Season 2 of the Primal Brain we are digging into culture and health - why we do what we do, even when it makes no sense (which is often). We’re going to discuss disruptors, groupthink and scientism. Get ready for a little salt, a lot of nerding out, a dash of modern witch and for Jennifer’s special ability: Weaving together the tapestry of truth to elevate and clarify our perspective.

What's at the core of everything you're trying to do as a parent? Yup, that's right - that little noggin'. Without a healthy, dense, tightly-wired brain - all that effort, all those lessons and all that love add up to - well, not as much as we'd like. Parents MUST protect that baby/kid/teen brain at all costs! From helmets to DHA and sleep to nutrition, putting your kid's brain health first and foremost is a smart move.

What is modern life doing to your brain? Well, it ain't pretty. You need weapons and you need them now. Modern life is a mismatch for what the human brain evolved to be and do. Let's fix that! Listen up and learn how to make those small hacks that change everything. SLEEP. EAT. Stop using 85 apps! Humans are silly, kind of lame, but really smart. This podcast is all about how to be a better human. And keep your brain sharp for a long, long time.

In this episode (#11 of Season 1) Rio and Jenni talk to Jon Aguilar, Master Stonesmith and Artist (also Jenni's husband). The core of the conversation is about how men handle the various aspects of brain injury - whether it's their own or a friend/child/spouse. We take on critical issues around dismissiveness, the invisibility of brain injury, how men handle being vulnerable (hint, they don't like it) and how terrifying it is to face your own mortality. Jon references these things you may want to explore: Dr. Gordon's 'Stealth Syndrome' http://www.tbimedlegal.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/TBI_The_Stealth_Syndrome.pdf  Shilajit (we call it, 'This Shit's Legit': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilajit Dr. Walker on the Joe Rogan podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig The SPEAR (self-defense) system and Tony Blauer - https://blauerspear.com/ PDTR Therapy - http://pdtr-global.com/ You can find Jon and his amazing work at: https://www.facebook.com/heritageearthandstone/?ref=br_rs OR https://www.instagram.com/jontaguilar/ OR www.heritageearthandstone.com

The Thomas Fire swept through California a few months ago. Jenni and Rio happen to live right, smack where that happened. Then it rained and a huge mud/debris-slide killed 23 people and destroyed a large swath of the small town, Montecito (also just a few miles from our home). In the midst of all this threat, terror and tragedy were repeated evacuations, intensely unhealthy air-quality, closed freeways, no phone services, no internet services, no way to commute, get to school or work and lots of economic fallout. So how does all this affect the brain? What is our human default setting for disaster? How do we recover? What are the benefits of danger? What happens when we lose modernity for a minute? We try to answer all that and more - hopefully we don't fail. Check it out.

In this episode, Jenni and Rio talk about the differences between women's and men's brains. But that's not all folks! We then connect the cultural 'blunting' that is happening to each sex via, 1) The over-diagnoses of ADHD and over-drugging of boys and young men and 2) The mislabelling of women's emotions and how their feelings are also being medicated away. Men's brains are oriented towards the intelligence of action, and women really do have the better brain when it comes to reading faces, understanding feelings and caring for others. Why, oh why, does our culture want to flatline these evolutionary attributes? Listen up, find out and defend yourself against bad ideas like medicating every-damn-thing. 

In this episode, Rio and Jenni talk about Western medicine's failed episodic approach to 'health'. Rio coined it a 'collage of bandaids' and that is spot on. Regaining or maintaining health requires a comprehensive view of what a Homo sapien really IS. What do we truly need to feel great and vibrant? We also cover the lack of evidence-based medical care, why people are all hopped up on 'fast thinking' and what happens when people self-report about their diet (spoiler: They lie). Also, Jenni talks about her process with clients and why slow and broad thinking is helpful in her work.

In this episode, we answer questions about the brain and brain health from some smart people in the Mixed Mental Arts Facebook Group (mixedmentalarts.online). From alcohol to pregnancy and Alzheimer's to Autism, it's a varied show that touches on multiple important topics that each deserve a FULL show! 

People often ask me how I (Jenni) got involved in brain health. Like many things, it was unexpected and unplanned. My son suffered from three (3!) brain injuries during just 2 years (from ages 12 - 14). And I was scared. Terrified. Reeling. Determined. Bold. Insistent. Angry.  Brain injury is terrifying. Not just the initial bleeding, or visible injury but the invisible injury. The change in personality, the loss of function, the strange nature of brain injury itself. It sucks.  Our situation was bad, so naturally I just decided (against all advice) that my son could and would heal. 100% and nothing less. This stance led me through scores of books, hundreds of websites and thousands of pieces of research (most of which I only barely understood). And it led me to solutions.  This is our story.

In this episode we announce the NEW website - www.primalbrain.net - where all things Primal Brain live. This includes up and coming announcements about the book, sneak peaks at the cover art for the book (which is bad-ass!) and more. We talk about how the brain actually works - via cumulative electrical wave patterns. It's a weird concept that takes us out of thinking about our brain structure/organ and into thinking about the how the brain functions - coherent electrical signals. It sounds all complicated, but it's fairly simple. And you're still in charge of your own neuroplasticity (sorry, no passes!).

In this episode, Jenni and Rio give a review of Lion's Mane Mushroom (as a brain booster) and answer a listener question. Laurie asks how to deal with a racing mind in the middle of the night.

Rio's story begins with her head making violent contact with ice. It's a story that a lot of people can probably relate to as they insert name here, type of accident here, and shitstorm to follow here. Why are we sharing it with you? Because most of this story and years of Rio's life could have been different if her family only had the right information. Rio had none, and there she was lying in the snow. She was sixteen when she had the snowboarding accident and helmets weren't really a "thing" yet. Listen in to find out what happened.

In this episode, Jenni and Rio talk about this quote: "Heartily know, when half-gods go, the gods arrive." - William James This quote really struck a nerve! While we are not well-read on William James (and he was writing about God in the religious sense - we are not), but we see it this way: In any situation when you let go of low expectations, half-assed attempts, the fear of failing - you get the 'Gods'. To us this is not a literal god or gods, but we get the miraculous results, we get the breakthrough or the assistance we need.  This mindset is directly related to what you can enact with neuroplasticity. If you accept low results, if think you can manage daily headaches, or low performance, you're not asking your brain to do anything new. And YOU have to ask. Virtuous cycles of neuroplasticity only come 'online' when you demand them to.  So kick the half-gods out. Make room for the greatest, you're alive!

In the first episode of the Primal Brain Podcast, you will meet Rio Richards (master's candidate, amazing artist and Jenni's sidekick) and Jenni Aguilar, MHEd, CBFC & Brain Health & Performance Coach. Jenni talks about why viewing the brain through an evolutionary lens is critical to brain health and why brain health is critical in the first place.