In 2007, I thought I was doing a pretty good job taking care of myself. I had been athletic most of my life. I ran. I lifted weights. I was strong. I was active.
And my body was falling apart.
I had seven different surgeries being recommended and had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Apparently being able to put a surprising amount of weight on a leg press wasn’t the comprehensive health plan I thought it was.
Maybe you’ve had your own version of that moment.
Maybe something hurts that didn’t used to hurt. Maybe you’ve stopped doing something you love because you’re not sure your body can handle it anymore. Maybe somebody handed you a diagnosis or told you, in one way or another, that this is simply what happens when you get older.
I don’t think that’s always the end of the story.
Peggy and I certainly didn’t know what our story was going to look like back then. So we started looking.
We studied, trained, experimented, found teachers, followed some strange side roads and tried a lot of things on ourselves before we ever asked anyone else to try them.
Some things helped enormously. Some didn’t. Some things we believed pretty strongly for a while and eventually changed our minds about.
We kept learning.
Eventually we opened our first RiversZen studio, where we could put all this stuff into practice with real people. For nearly two decades now, Peggy and I have been teaching, experimenting, watching what happens, asking questions and changing things when we find something that works better.
We’ve learned a hell of a lot. We’ve also been doing this long enough to be suspicious of the word always. People are different. Bodies are different. Lives are different.
But that doesn’t mean everything is a mystery.
There are things we’ve seen help people over and over again. Moving. Getting stronger. Eating in a way that works for you. Sleeping. Having people in your life who matter. Paying attention to what your own body and your own life are telling you.
And taking care of yourself doesn’t have to become another damn full-time job.
Sometimes I look at everything we’re now supposed to optimize and wonder when being healthy got so complicated. Sleep, steps, protein, glucose, VO2 max, microbiome, supplements, bone density.
Apparently we’re supposed to optimize our jaw now too.
More on that another day. It involves something called the Masticator Pro 5000™ and we’ve already gone too far.
After all these years, Peggy and I know a lot of complicated stuff. But we’ve also learned that living better can sometimes be remarkably simple.
Find things that help. Pay attention. Keep learning. Change your mind when you learn something better.
And let some of the bullshit go.
Somewhere along the way, this got bigger
RiversZen began because Peggy and I wanted to help people move and feel better. We still do. I love that work.
But somewhere along the way I realized I don’t actually care whether you can do a beautiful stretch.
I care whether being able to move helps you get down on the floor and back up, walk the beach, work in your garden, travel, play with somebody you love, or go wandering around some town you’ve never seen before because you want to know what’s around the corner.
I care whether your body gives you enough capacity to say yes when life gives you something worth saying yes to.
Health isn’t the destination. Life is.
That’s probably the easiest way to explain why Move Well Stay Healthy sometimes wanders all over the damn place.
I might write about movement or food or getting older. Something Peggy noticed. Something a student taught me. Something I got completely wrong. A medical study that made me curious. A person halfway around the world whose story I can’t stop thinking about.
Or my father. A drive-in movie. A bunch of pelicans.
Apparently, sauerkraut.
There isn’t a master plan hanging on the wall telling me what subject I’m supposed to write about next. There’s just a question Peggy and I have been asking in one form or another for a very long time:
What might help us live better?
We’ve already found quite a few answers.
We’re still looking for more.
If you’re new here, wander around
I’m not going to give you a syllabus. But if you’re trying to figure out what kind of place you’ve just walked into, here are a few places I’d wander next.
You Can’t Force Balance. Here’s What Actually Works.
Peggy and I have spent a lot of years watching people move. Balance is a pretty good example of why we don’t believe bodies respond particularly well to being bossed around. (Read the Story)
Where Did the Summer Go?
Not everything here is about fixing something. Sometimes it’s about noticing your life while you’re still in the middle of living it. (Read the Story)
I Eat Carnivore. And Today I Defend Your Plant-Based Diet.
I have opinions. Sometimes pretty strong ones. I also think we’d all be better off if we were a little more willing to question the arguments that happen to agree with us. (Read the Story)
Pelicans
Because sometimes you come through a tunnel, there are pelicans everywhere, and that’s enough reason for a story.
Read one. Read all four. Ignore me completely and click something else that looks interesting. That’s allowed too. (Read The Story)
If you like being here, stick around
Most of Move Well Stay Healthy is free, and I mean genuinely free. We publish several full articles every week, along with Notes, observations, stories and whatever else has made me stop and think.
Sometimes Peggy shows up.
Actually, Peggy shows up a lot.
We’re not giving you three paragraphs and then saying, “Want to know the secret? Give me your credit card.”
If you enjoy this kind of thing, subscribe for free and stay with us.
No complicated funnel. No webinar followed by a challenge followed by seventeen emails explaining that the doors close at midnight.
Just stick around and see what you think.
If you want to come farther inside
There is also a paid side of Move Well Stay Healthy. I’m not going to hide it, because Peggy and I aren’t embarrassed to charge for work that we believe helps people.
But paid membership isn’t simply more stuff to read. There’s already plenty to read for free. The difference is that membership gets more personal.
Sunday is our deeper private conversation with members. Wednesday is our simpler midweek knock on the door:
We’re still here. How are you doing?
Members tell us what’s working and what isn’t. They ask questions. Peggy and I answer.
We’ve spent years helping people figure out how to move better, feel better and keep doing more of what matters to them. Membership gives us a chance to bring more of that relationship into Move Well Stay Healthy.
Not another giant library of things you’ll never have time to finish. Not a perfect plan. Not a guru telling you exactly how to live your life.
Support. Conversation. Practical help. A couple of people who actually care how you’re doing.
The free stuff gives you plenty to think about.
Membership helps you do something with it.
And if you’re not ready for that, stay free and keep reading. You’re welcome here too.
We’re still looking
I don’t know exactly where Move Well Stay Healthy is going.
I hope I never do.
Not because Peggy and I don’t know what we’re doing. We’ve learned a tremendous amount over the years, and we’re happy to share it. But we’re still learning too.
We’re still experimenting, still meeting people who teach us things, still changing our minds when something better comes along. I’m still pulling the car over occasionally because something popped into my head and I don’t want to lose it.
After all these years, I remain convinced of something pretty simple:
Your life isn’t fixed.
Getting older doesn’t mean you have to quietly surrender everything you enjoy doing. There are things you can do. Things you can change. Things you may be able to get back.
And there are probably possibilities neither of us has thought about yet.
We’ve learned a lot about that.
We’re still looking.
Come with us.