Jamie Fellrath | Practical Mindfulness

Very often, we in the autism community seem to focus mostly on food and therapy choices for our kids, but don't spend a lot of time on fitness and exercise unless it has something to do with formal physical therapy.  I, on the other hand, am convinced that a full-life approach to issues like this is the most appropriate way to address any issue, not just autism.  And exercise, particularly the type of exercise that kids should be getting (mainly play), is a key component of that. Mark Sisson points out the importance of play in his ten rules of the Primal Blueprint, in rules 2,3,4,6,7, and 10.  Obviously he states it overtly in #6, simply "Play."  But those other rules all have to do with promoting HOW kids play and what they get out of it.  Move slowly frequently, lift heavy things occasionally, sprint sometimes, get some sunlight, and use your mind all come from play, especially for kids.  And it's a huge component of his new book, The Primal Connection ....

Autism Speaks , one of the nation's largest autism advocacy and fundraising groups for autistic individuals, addressed a question today that many mothers ask about possible reasons that their children may or may not be autistic: that of breastfeeding. Autism Speaks: Breastfeeding and Autism Risk Obviously, breastfeeding has many benefits for a child - the passing of healthy probiotic bacteria and antibodies to help boost the new human's immune system, plenty of healthy fat for the development of the brain, general nutrients for survival, and plenty more.  And the article responsibly mentions this benefit to infant health. The article goes on to provide a search of PubMed for the many breastfeeding and autism-related studies that have taken place.  And then it very wisely and responsibly mentions that many of these studies do not prove anything, relying more on correlation than causation, pointing out a number of possible variables that could feed into that correlation and maki...

For whatever reason, I've never mentioned MovNat here on Fellrath.com , but I'm going to do so now.  Because MovNat Ohio , the very first MovNat gym in the world, is offering up a 1-day Fundamentals Workship on March 9th, and I want YOU to come! MovNat is a system created by Erwan Le Corre, which returns us to the roots of natural movement and trains us to move like our ancestors did.  In many ways, modern life has taken away our natural knowledge of how to move via modern introductions of things like padded shoes, chairs, roads, etc.  And while all these things have arguably helped us develop into the civilization we are today, they've also taken quite a few things away from us:  health, mobility, strength, and a connection with the world. MovNat is out to change that.  Breaking down human movement into twelve types, (things like walking, running, crawling, climbing, jumping, swimming, etc.) and figuring out the most bodily efficient and optimal ways to ...

Today I started my Tough Mudder training.  The race is in late April, and I have a long way to go (especially after having been sick).  But there's no time like the present to knock the rust off and get to work.  Given the early date of it, I'm going to have to work out all through the winter to get ready, so it behooves me to start NOW! Incidentally, if you'd LIKE to join a team with me, let me know!  I'm looking for folks to join the Train 4 Autism: Columbus Chapter team!

How Todd Dosenberry pulled all this together, I don't know, but I admire the heck out of him for it. Todd, as you may know, is the high-energy blogger over at Toadally Primal  and he's got an EPIC Giveaway going on right now, with one of the greatest gift lists I've ever encountered in a Paleo contest!  Check this out: Squatty Potty ($80) US Wellness Meats Gift Card ($100) TX Bar Organics Gift Card ($50) CocoMoJoe Bars Variety Pack ($39) Kasandrinos Imports Olive Oil 1.25 mL ($42) Paleo Kits – Steve’s Club Sampler ($30) 1 original large PaleoKit  1 grass-fed small PaleoKit  1 grass-fed Just Jerky  1 original PaleoKrunch bar  1 PaleoKrunch original flavor cereal  1 coconut small PaleoKit  Tanka Bar ($10) An "I eat heart healthy saturated fat" t-shirt ($20) A Primal Blueprint "Grok on" t-shirt ($20) The book Practical Paleo – Signed by Diane Sanfilippo ($40) The book Make It Paleo – Signed by Bill Staley & Hayley Mason ($35) The NomNom Paleo ...

I'm asking myself a very interesting question today that was sparked by a Twitter trending topic today:   #WhyDoIAlways .  People are using this topic to examine their lives to find habits that they have which have affected them either negatively or positively - but mostly negatively. Here are a couple of examples: #WhyDoiAlways end up solving every1's problems except my own????? — FaTimA♥ Made in IraQ (@TiMA_87) May 17, 2012 Or another one: #WhyDoiAlways go for the guys that are NOT good for me ? Im better than this ... — Planet F a i t h(@YouwantFaith) May 17, 2012 It's interesting, isn't it? I think every one of us could come up with a couple (dozen?) of these for ourselves. For me, one might be "#WhyDoIAlways find myself doing things at the last minute?"  or "#WhyDoIAlways allow myself to make the first exception when I'm trying to make changes in my life?" But...I'm curious about this trending topic from another stan...

Hi everyone, today's post is a little more personal than I've posted in the past.  Today is World Autism Awareness Day , and I wanted to ask a bit of a favor of you:  remember autism.   From recent reports , this condition now affects 1 child in 88 born today (1 in 54 boys). And honestly, it's the little things that really help the most: If you see a mom having trouble with her child in a store, when the child is throwing a tantrum or simply not listening, it's possible that mother is dealing with an autistic child who's having a sensory meltdown.  This happens when the kid's senses are out of whack, making them hypersensitive to some stimuli (various noises, too much visual activity, even the feeling of some clothing fabrics or textures of foods can be triggers) and it actually causes them pain. If you see a parent throwing a fit because the food her child received at a restaurant contains gluten or casein, keep in mind that omitting those proteins may be ...