When people have a hard time dealing with back pain that keeps them from doing the tasks that make up their day, they rarely think about the health of their core, the locus of their body’s visceral somatic expression.

In this very special solocast, Paul shares a wealth of knowledge he’s accumulated for more than a quarter-century about the core and explains why doctors and therapists commonly misdiagnose the origins of back pain and assorted injuries this time on Spirit Gym.

This episode is also available as a video on Paul's YouTube channel. To see the graphics he talks about, download the accompanying handout here.

After you listen to the podcast, take a few minutes to complete the NLC CHEK Health Index — an official CHEK Institute assessment tool — at this link.

Timestamps

3:17 Mapping out your core, the foundation for your arms and legs.

6:42 Why many physicians and therapists misdiagnose core dysfunctions like back pain.

9:00 The CHEK Totem Pole.

15:09 The most unstable part of your body and spine.

25:43 Why it’s common to see hip, knee, ankle and foot injuries originate in the spine and low back.

28:24 How the inner and outer unit muscles work.

37:10 “You cannot fire a cannon from a canoe!”

44:14 The RC Factor.

51:43 Functional exercise and infant development.

1:02:53 The Primal Pattern™ movement system.

1:15:31 One of the most dangerous things you can do in a gym.

1:21:44 The human microbiome.

1:28:33 Without healthy glands and organs, optimal conditioning and strength development cannot happen.

1:48:59 Fear changes everything from your breathing to your muscle tone, posture and hormones.

1:52:53 Achieving balance between the right and left hemispheres of your brain.

Resources

The filum terminale

The Spinal Engine by Serge Gracovetsky (FREE PDF link)

How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy (20th Anniversary Edition)

Find more resources for this episode on our website.

Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music

Thanks to our awesome sponsors:

Paleovalley
BIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15
Organifi CHEK20
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CHEK Institute

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While navigating the very narrow habitrail of daily living, it’s very easy to forget there’s an amazing, alluring and mysterious universe all around us that we simply cannot completely quantify (but take very much for granted). Over time, this daily dulling of our imagination can kill our heart, mind and soul, but only if we let it…

If you’ve misplaced your sense of wonder and want to reclaim it, join Paul and his very special guest Fred Provenza on an exploration of the cosmos through the world of dreams this week on Spirit Gym.

Download Fred’s recent paper, Cosmic Dreaming: Memories of a Moment on Earth, for FREE at this link. Check out Fred’s earlier work on Acres USA at this link.

Watch Fred’s recent discussion, Cosmic Dreaming: The Ecology of Food Systems and Human and Environmental Health, with the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine on YouTube.

Learn more about the Behavioral Education for Human Animal Vegetation and Ecosystem Management (BEHAVE) program co-founded by Fred at Utah State University at this link.

Timestamps

2:21 The conversation begins with prayers.

4:59 What happens when God become an idea instead of a mystery?

14:25 The one lesson all of us need to learn during our time on the planet.

25:38 The book that saved Fred from a life of depression.

31:16 What is consciousness?

37:58 How Fred developed a course on Myth and The Management of Natural Resources.

44:19 The danger of dogmas.

56:57 “You depart from nature when the death you produce no longer feeds or supports life.”

1:08:09 Has the human race become doers at the expense of losing out on feeling alive?

1:11:35 How much do you want to be owned?

1:33:13 The inherent creativity of human beings.

1:38:08 Challenges, opportunities, living in an evolutionary spirit and transcending boundaries.

1:51:36 The importance of studying principles that transcend time and space.

Resources

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers

Lucid Dying: The New Science of Revolutionizing How We Understand Life and Death by Sam Parnia

Find more resources for this episode on our website.

Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music

Thanks to our awesome sponsors:

Paleovalley
BIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15
Organifi CHEK20
Wild Pastures
Korrect SPIRITGYM
Pique Life
CHEK Institute

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Seeker, scholar and spiritual detective Dr. Joanna Kujawa describes the divine journey that led to her life’s work — exploring the gospel of Mary Magdalene — along with a deeper, better understanding of the Divine Feminine and Goddesses and how that knowledge can change the world this week on Spirit Gym.

Learn more about Joanna’s work on her website. Find her on social media via Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Read her books Alien Goddess: UFOs, AI and the Goddesses of Ascension and The Other Goddess: Mary Magdalene and the Goddesses of Eros and Secret Knowledge.

Timestamps

4:42 Why Joanna calls herself a spiritual detective.

10:46 Joanna was told to write her book, Alien Goddess.

21:08 In imaginal space, we can communicate with aliens rather than just listen to them.

29:34 What is a Goddess?

37:09 The differences between Goddesses and Gods.

42:59 Why civilizations suppress the feminine.

56:44 The ongoing struggle between good and evil in the universe.

1:03:56 The reason Joanna became a spiritual detective and seeker: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.

1:18:27 “A teacher may fall, but their teachings that were passed to you are still there.”

1:25:47 “There’s immense power in the feminine eros, and I think that’s why they are afraid of us.”

1:29:18 AI, posthumanism and transhumanism.

1:49:21 Do you have an overwhelming feeling right now that something is missing in your life?

1:56:15 Why matriarchy and patriarchy have their limitations: We need both in our lives.

2:04:42 “The only place that you can find the divine is within you and in nature.”

2:15:27 Men do not know how to address and embody their own Divine Masculinity.

2:36:11 The equal importance of Mary Magdalene and Jesus who embodied the Divine Feminine and Masculine as examples for all of us.

2:44:14 Eros: The creative power of the universe.

2:50:16 Baba Yaga insisted on being included at the end of Joanna's latest book.

Resources

Joanna’s conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove on New Thinking Allowed on YouTube

Find more resources for this episode on our website.

Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music

Thanks to our awesome sponsors:

Paleovalley
BIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15
Organifi CHEK20
Wild Pastures
Korrect SPIRITGYM
Pique Life
CHEK Institute

We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.

Cannabis is a plant medicine that can do so much for one’s health when it’s grown properly and used very wisely.

Expert and educator Ryan Sprague explores the chemistry behind what makes cannabis work and explains why judging its quality solely on how much THC it contains is a very bad idea this week on Spirit Gym.

Learn more about Ryan and his work on his Highly Optimized website and on social media via Instagram here and here and YouTube. Listen to Ryan’s Highly Optimized podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to them.

For Spirit Gym listeners: The Sacred Smoke Collective is a private membership association where you can shop for its organic tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) offerings. Save 10 percent on any purchase at this website and a mystery gift by using the promo code paulchek at this link. Also, sign up for the Sacred Smoke Collective’s affiliate program at this link. (Special offers from Spirit Gym guests are time-sensitive and at their discretion to redeem after 30 days.)

Timestamps

4:44 How a highly optimized human uses cannabis wisely and as one of many tools.

10:00 Do Drugs Have Religious Import? by Huston Smith from The Journal of Philosophy.

21:28 Practice the Daoist not too much, not too little philosophy.

32:34 Psychedelics are meant to be challenging by design.

51:09 Why Ryan believes cannabis and hemp are the people’s plants.

1:05:26 “Cannabis is a medicine that works on one regulatory system that happens to deal with 80-plus different conditions and purposes.”

1:13:22 Could cannabis treat epilepsy?

1:27:42 How much THC do you realiy need in your cannabis?

1:34:18 Foods that help with endocannabinoid production besides cannabis.

Resources

Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality by R. Gordon Wasson (FREE PDF link)

Find more resources for this episode on our website.

Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music

Thanks to our awesome sponsors:

Paleovalley
BIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15
Organifi CHEK20
Wild Pastures
Korrect SPIRITGYM
Pique Life
CHEK Institute

We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.

As you know, the Hero’s Journey is one of Paul’s favorite tools to help his clients take on their challenges and begin to evolve into the people they are meant to be.

Former Olympic Coach and Leadership Guru Chip Richards joins Paul on a deep dive into the Hero’s Journey and how it can transform lives this week on Spirit Gym.

Learn more about Chip on his website and on social media via YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

For Spirit Gym listeners: Chip is offering listeners a special discount to join him on a Heart of Leadership retreat, such as the upcoming trip to Tonga to swim with humpback whales, or to be part of the Heart of Leadership 12-month mentorship program. For more details and dates, reach out to Chip on his website and mention you heard him on Spirit Gym.

Timestamps

3:18 The Shero’s Journey.

6:09 Chip’s long ago meetup with Paul in Australia that changed the story arc of his Australian Olympic Ski team.

10:19 Parallel influences across oceans.

26:16 Being mythed.

32:01 The twisting, winding path of personal chaos is there to help us discover the divine essence within.

41:06 Chip’s first call to adventure as an elite athlete.

51:51 Paul has experienced the Hero’s Journey many times.

1:07:06 “Who we really are is not the programming.”

1:18:16 Tests and allies.

1:27:39 A true commitment.

1:34:10 What happens during the Hero’s Journey when everything falls apart?

1:39:03 Nature bathing surrounded by whales that allows people to let go and just be.

1:56:39 “One of the things that makes [Paul’s] work so special: You are living the myth we’re talking about right now.”

2:05:55 The elixir: The deeper answer that reveals why you went on this journey and become the embodied expression of that knowledge.

2:15:48 The Hero’s Journey: A journey from concept to experience.

2:26:13 Tests that Chip and Paul are facing.

2:34:15 Protecting the hives with very simple devotion.

2:48:14 How to use the Hero’s Journey as a self-reflection/self-realization tool.

Resources

The Seed of Dreams by Chip Richards

Writing the Story Within by Chip Richards

The Varroa mite

Find more resources for this episode on our website.

Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music

Thanks to our awesome sponsors:

Paleovalley
BIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15
Organifi CHEK20
Wild Pastures
Korrect SPIRITGYM
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CHEK Institute

We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.

Do you pay close attention to your dreams or write them off as “mind movies” that have little meaning in your daily life?

Author, researcher and curator Sarah Janes explains why dreaming helps us make sense of who we are and how dreams can change your life forever this week on Spirit Gym.

Learn more about Sarah and her work at her website and on social media via Facebook, Instagram, Substack and YouTube.

For Spirit Gym listeners: Save £70/80 euros/$97 on Sarah’s 9-week Dream Hieroglyphs course at this link. Also, save £150/173 euros/$204 on Sarah’s Dreams of Elefis dream retreat in Greece Sept. 16-25. Just include Paul’s name when contacting Sarah via email.

Timestamps

3:59 Sarah’s 1-year dream drought sparked her deep interest in researching it.

9:18 Sarah’s lecture series featuring her super niche interests that interested her and her friends.

15:15 Dreaming: A process we go through at night to make sense of ourselves in space and time.

29:12 “I came from pure whiteness, and that’s where I will go when I die.”

43:21 Aphantasia.

50:16 Returning to your original divine blueprint.

56:29 Has your life changed completely after having a dream?

1:03:11 After going to Istanbul, Sarah realizes she’s been there before… in her dreams.

1:13:31 It isn’t unusual for people to be surrogates who dream for others.

1:27:37 The process of remembering dreams when writing them.

1:38:09 “Hieroglyphics will start appearing in your dreams as soon as you start drawing and painting them.”

1:44:06 Sarah and Paul identify hidden symbols in a painting Paul’s brother drew a year before he died.

1:55:12 Gardening: The most useful and divine thing anyone can do.

2:10:44 “Dreaming is the beginning of the idea of the afterlife and the eternal soul.”

2:13:32 Incubation: A magical practice with a goal of cultivating an interaction with the deceased or a divine entity.

Resources

Initiation Into Dream Mysteries by Sarah Janes

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and John Tenniel

Find more resources for this episode on our website.

Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music

Thanks to our awesome sponsors:

Paleovalley
BIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15
Organifi CHEK20
Wild Pastures
Korrect SPIRITGYM
Pique Life
CHEK Institute

We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.

You can say, eat and do all the right things to become a healthier human being and can still get sick if you don’t go deeper into your soul and truly live good health from the inside outward.

In this week's tag-team conversation on Spirit Gym between Paul and Dr. Nick Dawe, Nathan Siles and Ryan Barraclough, you’ll discover that some of the best things you can do to achieve greater health are completely free and why finding the middle path really matters.

Check out Biotra: An Approach to Healthy Living in a Modern World, the book written by Nick, Ryan and Nathan, on Amazon, the Biotra website and Instagram.

Find out more about Nathan at Biospectral Systems and Instagram. Learn more about Nick’s approaches to healthier living on Substack. Check our Ryan’s work at his website and the Embodied Man Institute.

For Spirit Gym listeners: Save 15 percent on Biospectral Blue Light Blocking Glasses at Nathan’s Biospectral Systems website by using the code SPIRITGYM when you checkout.

Timestamps

5:56 “You can be as healthy as you want, but if you hate yourself, you’re [not healthy].”

10:57 Natural intelligence versus artificial intelligence.

22:20 Nick’s passion — exploring and understanding the deepest codes of how human movement originates — mirrors what led Paul to the development of CHEK Totem Pole and his Primal Pattern™ movement system.

34:23 Nathan’s mission with Biotra: Illuminating the invisible and explaining to the modern world why chronic diseases and many athletic injuries are happening that surprise people.

41:18 Why do healthy people become sick?

53:32 Helping people find the middle path.

1:05:31 The core principle of Biotra: The gentle weaving of biophysics, biomechanics and psycho-spirituality.

1:11:37 Biophysics: How life moves energy and information.

Resources

Nick’s first Spirit Gym conversation with Paul

Nathan’s Biophysical Foundations Course

Find more resources for this episode on our website.

Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music

Thanks to our awesome sponsors:

Paleovalley
BIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15
Organifi CHEK20
Wild Pastures
Korrect SPIRITGYM
Pique Life
CHEK Institute

We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.

Dr. Catherine Clinton shares her journey into the growing field of quantum biology that led to her book, Optimize, that explains how light, water, sound and human energy influence the human body at the cellular level, this week on Spirit Gym.

Learn more about Catherine’s work on her website. Find her on social media via Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Order Catherine’s book, Optimize, and receive more than $400 in free bonuses, including her Quantum Biology Masterclass and her Unlocking Your Quantum Biology course at this link.

Timestamps

6:51 Catherine’s introduction to natural medicine.

10:48 Psychoneuroimmunology.

19:25 Quantum biology: Waves that hold energy and information.

27:21 The electrical capacity of the human body and how pain emerges.

34:19 pH balance and a positive charge in the body.

48:04 What is the source of electrical currents in nature and humans?

57:08 The fascia as a liquid crystalline semiconductor that can create its own charge.

1:08:39 When Catherine went all in on quantum biology.

1:15:59 Nurturing a relationship with the natural world is one of the most overlooked ways to elevate our health.

1:26:17 “We don’t end at the barriers of our skin.”

1:32:32 Tantra and the Nada Bindu point.

1:41:07 The physical receiver.

1:47:08 “Use your heart to feel what you know.”

1:53:26 Water: The bridge for frequency information.

2:03:16 “Awe is medicine.”

2:11:04 Digging deeper into the mitochondria.

2:27:47 Did you know each of us can communicate with the universe via infrared light transmission?

Resources

What is Life? by Erwin Schrodinger

Water, The Cradle of Life via its Coherent Quantum Frequencies by Hans Geesink, Dirk Mejier and Igor Jerman (free PDF)

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

Electric Body, Electric Health by Eileen McKusick

Find more resources for this episode on our website.

Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music

Thanks to our awesome sponsors:

Paleovalley
BIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15
Organifi CHEK20
Wild Pastures
Korrect SPIRITGYM
Pique Life
CHEK Institute

We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.