Navaro Franco

I often hear friends and family being concerned about getting enough protein.  Especially when the subject of the raw food diet comes up, or even being a vegetarian or vegan.  I frequently come across information with lots of juicy 'facts' about protein needs, of the type that we in Western society love, and need to hear.  This can be a good thing!  So I would like to share with you an article I found online today which echoes info I have come across in my research many many times.  My body, by applying the principles described in the research below, tells me it is true, by its satisfaction and state of health.

Quote from Dr. Doug Graham, Nutritionist, Raw Foodist & Athlete:  "Romaine lettuce, calory for calorie, has 2.1 times more protein than steak.."  Check out his work online at foodnsport.com. He is a renowned and well researched health expert and teacher.

I have been eating 70% raw and ominvorous for 7 years, and more recently 95% vegan and 70% raw.  For a long time I have not worried about 'getting enough protein'.  I eat mostly raw fruits, leafy greens, and vegies, and a small percentage of raw seeds and nuts, (seeds and nuts blended into water in 'mylk' form, or whole).  I never feel deprived or have protein 'cravings'.

I sometimes crave meat or heavy dishes that are a throwback from my Standard American Diet upbringing and first decade of my adult life, but this is a flavor and nostalgia thing, not a physical need.  Cravings like these are just as satisfied if I take the time to make myself a raw vegan dish that imitates a cooked food recipe.  I mostly eat very quick meals of whole fruits and vegetables now, though, and most of the time I don't even take the time to make them into any kind of 'dish'.  Making an actual recipe dish is a treat these days.  I love how fast food prep is now that I eat mostly raw vegan.

Here is the info.  Also check out the China Study, which is a famous research project that revealed to the world how traditional diets mostly based on plant foods have created health and strong bodies all over the world for thousands of years.

Please take note that the meat and dairy industry in North America are very powerful and work hand in hand with the Food and Drug Administration to control our food supplies, farming and land practices and legislation, young minds in schools through their programs, and everyone's minds thru advertising in the mainstream media.  These people make laws that make it extremely difficult for small farms and organic farms to survive.  Their interests not only undermine the health of our bodies thru their products, but are ruining our soil, our water, our environment, and threatening the very fabric of life on our beautiful planet.  Please also note that in North America Osteoporosis is rampant, unlike the rest of the world that eats diets that generally have very low protein ratios.  It is a medical fact that too much protein in the blood causes acidity.  The body balances this thru alkalizing by drawing calcium from your bones.  The valuable calcium is then peed out of the body when the alkalinity is restored.
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PROTEIN FACTS  
This info is from the Loving It Raw website. It echoes what I have come across thru countless sources in my food research over the years:

" Have you ever heard someone say 'there's no protein in fruits and vegetables'? I sure have, and these have been educated people, nutritionists included! You just have to wonder, what do nutritionists learn at university?

The fact is fruits - on average - have around 90% carbohydrate, 5% protein and 5% fat. Vegetables average 70% carbohydrate, 20% protein and 10% fat.

Did you know that calorie for calorie romaine lettuce contains more than double the protein in steak? Spinach is 49% protein folks!

Mother's milk contains 6% protein (and apparently tastes sweet, similar to canteloupe juice - see, we start off with a craving for something sweet!), and babies need more protein than ANYONE! They're growing at a tremendous rate, and mother's milk is more than ample for their needs.

Yet adults, who are already fully grown, somehow think they need so much more protein than babies?  Bizzarre!

So fruits provide the perfect ratio of proteins for our needs. Add in some leafy green vegetables and you have more than you even need. Plenty to cover even the most ambitious body builder."
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The China Study
Scientific facts that show the human body's very low need for protein

This is key medical research and is very well known in the mainstream world of medicine, food, and health.  Please read for info on the human body's very low need for 'protein', and the negative effects of eating a diet with too much protein.  You will also find out why the opposite information about our protein needs has been propagated by the meat and dairy industry.

http://www.thechinastudy.com/

I am doing a workout this morning, at home in front of my big mirror.  This consists of dancing 'shapes' to traditional African Rhythmic music and Glen Velez energy based rhythms.  As I dance, the forms I am working with are basic forms of creation - Circle, Spiral, Infinity Symbol aka figure 8.  I consider these forms foundations of physical matter, and sacred.  As well, the way I dance is informed by African Dance, in terms of how intrinsic rhythmic reps and structure are part of it.  Cycles, phases, changes.

As I dance, I always wish to share this, as it feels so good and adds to my health hugely.  For years, when I lived on Vancouver Island,  I taught groups Ecstatic Dance with these principles twice a week.  In the past 6 years in Vancouver I have focused more on Rhythm as my livelihood, and dance has moved to being my personal practice.  This is a practice that prevents what people call 'aging' - and releases tension and blockages that are physical, yes, but also become mental and emotional, since the 3 are always connected.  Clarity of perception and thought are supported by physical health and vitality.

My workouts also contain yoga, which I have studied all my life, and lots of intuitive, instinctive movement.  I let my body's feeling, sensation and need guide me, alongside my knowledge.  So, here is what I do.....

MY MORNING WORKOUT TODAY  (Join me!)

~ Put on some rhythmic music, tribal traditional indigenous music, if you have it.  If not, Trance music will work, of any kind.  Anything that feels good.

~ Begin to move in rhythm, listening closely to the music and letting it move you.

~ Activate all parts of your body.  Go through it step by step:  Start with the feet, move up thru legs, hips, belly, chest, spinal waves, shoulders, arms, head. Cover everything. You can work on specific areas that are tense or that just feel good to move. Now integrate the whole thing.  Stay conscious to your sensation, emotion, thought...this is a moving meditation.  The more you inhabit your body as you dance, the more benefit and knowledge of yourself you will receive.

~ Repetition & Cycle: If you can do so without being taken out of your body, use rhythmic reps, ie counts.  Repeat moves in reps of 4s, 8s, 2s, and create phrasing: Combinations of counts.  This helps engage attention and ground you in cyclical patterns.  Start as simply as you need.

~ Dance until you sweat, if possible.  Sweating helps the kidneys to flush, as well as cleansing your whole body.  Breath intensifies simultaneously and this is part of the detox.  Open a window for fresh air. 

~ Try to go thru a complete cycle.  You will know when it is complete by how you feel.  Here are some markers in a complete cycle:
1)  Connect, move slowly, bring your attention in
2)  Find your groove, enjoy the ride, move smoothly, freely
3)  Let go, abandon yourself to the dance, to its height
4)  Move more slowly, internal focus, stay with your movement and let it subside gradually
5)  Rest.  Lay, sit or stand and feel the effects, letting your breath and body systems quiet
     Stay present to energy, thought, emotion circulating...you will often receive insights and
     revelation here    
6)  If you have time, now is a good time to do some stretching, or meditation or journalling

~ Do What You Can:  Even if you have only 15m to devote to dancing, you will feel elements of a mini cycle. Just start! Once you start, it feels so good you won't want to stop.

~ Move intuitively:  This is a natural cycle that occurs everywhere in nature. We are nature. Put yourself in motion, in rhythm, and feel and trust your body.  The more you practice this, the more instinct will wake up and you will know exactly what you need to do, and how.  Not just in your dance, but in your life, too!

Intuitive Dance is a powerful health practice.  You can also heal yourself of many maladies with this.  To top it off, dancing like this awakens intuition. Strong inner knowing makes you a sovereign being, and helps you steer thru all aspects of your life.  Our bodies are our interface with all levels of reality, from physical to energetic.  When we are healthy in them, we can create powerfully in the world. 

My body is the strong friend who advises me.  My body is my guide. My body shows me what feels good and what feels bad...Where I want to go,  where I don't want - or need - to go.  My desire is good.  My body is my faithful dog, always with me, always looking out for me and protecting me.  My body is a fun place to be!  Full of delight, enjoyment.  My body brings me....to the Mystery.

Enjoy your journey, and trust yourself.  Your body is ancient and wise.  It is made up of elements of air, water, light, and minerals (earth) that circulate on our planet.  We are wearing a physical form that is made of borrowed material!  This material moves thru us and moves thru all forms on our planet...bodies of water, sky, clouds, rocks, plants, animals, sunlight, starlight.  This is a sacred relationship.

The more we connect with our bodies, the more we are connected to our guides of spirit and emotion....and the less we support things that harm our beloved Earth.
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Study these principles with me: 
My Dance Workshops:  For a guided journey through these principles, I teach occasional dance workshops called Earth Prayers Ecstatic Dance Journeys.  Check my dance page for more info, and contact me to join my email list for notice.  We also visit these essential principles musically in my Drum Classes.          

Contact me at navaro@tribal-bliss.com