Stoic Bodywork News Letter - April 2025:

Dear Honorable Fellows of the Human Genome,

I have been busy. Too busy?.. Perhaps.

If I’m being honest, I’m not very good at deciphering that measurement. There is just so much to do and accomplish I often forget to bother with anything else. Luckily for me I’m very introverted outside of my business ventures. Thus, I have a wonderful amount of time to spend on my businesses and the churning vortex of ideas ever present in my mind. It’s the workaholic life for me.

I’m going to provide some insight into my internal machinations by sharing some things I’ve learned along the way. I have done and still practice most of these. I’m not a fan of individuals who provide insight solely on regurgitation with no personal experience or practice. Those individuals are selling you something, or, attempting to solidify their weak position by getting others to believe or practice it. That being said, you should be critical of everything you hear, even me and what I share.

In no specific order here are things that helped me get to where I am today:

General:
- Do something everyday that you should do, but don’t want to do.
- Self awareness is the most challenging and most rewarding thing you can work on. Work on it.
- You get what you need, not what you want. Need more, want less.

Mental Health:
- Open the blinds, clean, vacuum, organize. Your physical space is part of your mental space.
- Take the trash out and go for a walk.
- Depression (Non-clinical) is the unique way in which you see the world. The negative connotation is from society. ‘F’ that, turn it into your super power.
- Talk therapy is a great first start to mental health. (Stoic Bodyworks’ local recommendation is https://buxmontpsych.com, Dr. Burke is currently taking new clients.)
- Stop asking ‘Why’ questions. Why answers are spiritual answers. If you’re not looking for that type of answer then start asking Who, What, Where, When & How.

Self Improvement:
- Learn to educate yourself. Then focus that education on your goals.
- Remember the self part. Stop listening to the noise around you. Focus on what betters you, and how you better yourself.
- Zoom out. Start with being a better version of yourself this year than last year. Then a better version of yourself this month than last month. Work day to day to accomplish that, not measure it.

Financial:
- Start by paying next months bills with this months pay. Then pick a number in all of your accounts that in your mind equals 0 (ie $1,000 in savings is $0). Move that number up until you can pay all of your bills for 6-12 months. Invest in yourself.
- If you need more money learn to spend less. It’s easier to cut costs than it is to make more. Invest a portion of that back into making more, rinse, repeat. (Business owners. Read that again. Now stop cutting costs like break room supplies and start cutting real costs that make a difference.)

Information Gathering (A specialty of mine):
- I recommend curating 3-5 trusted sources you have vetted for accuracy. Then use those sources as your sounding board when deciphering new information. If there is no clear consensus then more information is needed.
- Greek retroduction, first principles thinking, Occom’s razor. It will do you well to have a default process for how you engage with information and sources.

That’s not exactly an exhaustive list of things I can throw out but its something. I’ve seen a lot in my life so far, probably too much. I’ve also experienced things that change people forever and make you doubt humanity as a whole. I do my best to serve the community while also staying adjacent to it. I don’t play the who had it worse game. Everyone loses that one.

Instead I understand that everyone is vastly different. The best thing you can learn is that you don’t understand, and you shouldn’t say you do. Doing that puts you on even ground and allows for your depression to be the most unique thing about you, while also being the one thing we truly have in common.

The middle of the road is often the least traveled but the most sought after. Just ask anyone who’s created their own roads.

Always remember my ad nauseum disclaimer: I am not a doctor, medical or financial professional, and none of this is medical, financial or professional advice of any kind. Also, any affiliate links below will be noted with an asterisk ‘*’. Enjoy.

News:

• New Supplement Blends - The mushroom blend I was talking about last letter has taken shape. I’ve designed and am currently testing the following:
  Stoic Woman - An adaptogenic mushroom and probiotic blend to help woman with peri/menopause.
  Stoic Muscle (workshopping name) - An adaptogenic mushroom and probiotic blend for muscle gain and weight loss.

• C-60 - First batch is mixed, still working on labeling. Hope to have on shelf soon.

• Podcast - The new podcast lounge is nearly complete. Now I just have to settle on and create a new podcast or two. Also where to host it and all the fun logistics and decisions it entails.

• Workshop - The storage room was cleaned out and converted into a workshop and recording studio. A 3D printer is on the way for prototyping and other projects.

• New equipment - Stacey has new equipment to tortu.. I mean challenge people with. If you’re looking to achieve a fitness goal this year schedule with her and get started.

• Previous Letters - A newsletter page has been added to the website. There is a signup form as well as blog posts of all previous and future newsletters. The formatting is not the same and the email version is far superior. Just look at this amazing color palette.

• I’m sure there is more, we’ve been busy. Also, there is a secret project one of my other companies is managing that will hopefully be live by end of month. Keep an eye out for an email about that.

Current work / Research / Recommendations:

Gut Biome:
There is a lot to go over so we’re going to start with some things we’ve (royal we) learned recently:

• Microbes influence the nervous system

• There are direct links from biome imbalances to disease

• It has an effect on metabolic stress markers

• We are still finding new bacteria species and discovering what roles they play

Not only does the gut biome regulate what we absorb from our food it also plays a role in what we do with it. From inflammation control to serotonin regulation, our digestive system is doing far more than we have given it credit for.

Turns out the old adage “you are what you eat” is astoundingly true.

I’ve been working on how the gut biome can be populated to help achieve health goals. I wont even start on about my long term study of ancient alchemy. Currently, I’m still wading through the mountain of information on modern gut biome research. There are, unfortunately, a lot of people jumping on this bandwagon with no idea where it started or where it is going. Its a lot like all the terrible information out there about creatine.

Here are the two topics I’ve focused on and what my supplement formulas are trying to achieve. I’m not going to list specific bacteria strains just yet until I’m done my testing.

Peri/Menopause Support:
The gut biome absolutely has a role to play here. There are specific bacteria that aid in hormone balance including; lowering cortisol, regulating serotonin, and balancing estrogen. The biome in conjunction with the gut-brain axis can also; control inflammation, stabilize mood, help with bone health as well as weight management.

This all comes down to which strains are populated in the biome as well as the digestive system health over all. The part a lot of people are not talking about is healing the digestive tract first. It takes time for proliferation (multiplying) of good colonies and elimination of bad colonies. If leaky gut or other damage has already occurred the system needs time to heal that first.

At the same time you can not just take a bunch of probiotics and hope for the best. Strains should be limited for effect, resources are scarce to start colonies and they need time to build. If they have to fight off other ‘good’ bacteria for space and resources they become ineffective. This gets into the feeding the bacteria piece covered later.

Muscle Gain & Weight Management:
There are specific strains that can target these specific outcomes as well. There are of course some species that have effects across the board, but by keeping to 4-5 species or less, a synergistic effect can take place. In this category we are focusing on getting the most out of what we eat while also controlling factors that limit muscle gain or cause weight gain.

The biggest issue I’m finding is how little people tend to feed their biome. Fiber is the fuel the bacteria need to operate correctly. If we do not give them fiber they will not be able to do their jobs or grow the colonies. This is one of the main reasons I have mentioned replacing carbs as a macro with fiber.

The type of fuel is also important. Different bacteria like different fibers. Inulin for example is typically a short term food supply for bacteria as it is easily broken down and used. Psyllium husk on the other hand takes more to break down and is a mid to long term source. If we only provide one type of fuel source, or without regularity, then we don’t know if the biome is getting the nutrition it itself needs. The last piece I’ve personally added is mushrooms as adaptogenics which provide their own varying benefits to the biome including unique fiber sources, and help in healing the gut lining.

Conclusions:
We still need more information, but we have quality sources, new strains being developed, and research is being done. I’m often on the bleeding edge of things personally because I use myself as a test subject. I anecdotally have seen a great change in my health by fixing my biome. I also started working on it over 18+ years ago after developing stomach ulcers due to pain meds. I didn’t at the time know what I was accomplishing. I also fumbled through it and only with in the last few years have made progress given the new information we have.

The gut biome as well as photolipids (more on those another time) research is going to change a lot of what we know about the human system.

If you have a health goal or issues, you may want to look into probiotics. If you are going to try and use probiotics make sure you are feeding your gut biome correctly with proper prebiotics (fiber).

There are other things I’ve been working on as well but this seems the most prudent pieces to get out to you all. More to come next time, but for now always remember my disclaimers. I really do use my self as a test subject and not all of it has gone according to plan. Don’t just try something you see because a trusted source says it. Vet it with other trusted sources and then always start slow and on ramp into the process while keeping clear concise metrics in mind. I know everyone hates hearing about doing your own research, but that is where we are as a society given the never ending event stream of social media.

Product recommendations:

I have been partnered with PureBulk.com* for a long time now. They were an indirect sponsor of my previous podcast venture and then brought me on as part of their practitioner program. That is why you see their products for sale at Stoic.

The products I develop are sourced through them whenever possible (Stoic Sleep is 100% made of PureBulk products). As a member of their practitioner program and a long time partner they have offered me a new discount code for 15% off (See below)

If you need supplements I highly recommend getting them from PureBulk. Everything is 3rd party lab tested and recorded by batch (not just random yearly testing like some other companies). They are one of the best source of creatine and mushroom powders on the market and their website is full of great information (I use them as a reference site for info on specific supplements).

You can use coupon code TAMINGHINDRANCES15 for 15% off your orders. This is a special code and must be entered at checkout even if you clicked the referral link. I’m one of few that have been given the new discount level and I’m very thankful to them for including me. Full disclosure I receive a commission on all completed sales with no additional cost to you.

Unrelated:

Stoic and Chan/Zen ponderings:

1. Does the mountain know its a mountain? Perhaps it too thinks it’s only a hill.

2. "The reason why you want to be better is the reason why you aren't" - Alan Watts

3. It can often times be better to unlearn something than to learn something new.

Thanks for reading. We look forward to seeing you at your next appointment.