Holistic Life Navigation

Large amounts of refined foods have the power to elicit big hormonal responses in our bodies. If we have a subconscious desire to shape shift to a new state, we often go to food to make that change for us. Depressed? We might reach for foods that make us feel more alive. Wound up and anxious at the end of a long day? We might reach for foods that depress us enough to fall asleep. What we eat, and how much of it we eat, has the potential to release opioids, serotonin and dopamine into our system, facilitating that shift for us. It is the state the food puts us in that we are addicted to, not the food itself. Luis asks, what need is the food meeting and what is the state change I am after? He offers a practice around binge eating to help us relate to our animal bodies and start to release shame. Join Luis and explore how we can relate to ourselves in ways other than with food. To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Camille and Luis enjoy a playful conversation about the trendiness of terms including DEI, decolonization, woke-ness, Queer, witch, and liberal. Trends are cut off from the deep rooted culture of the thing itself, and therefore come and go. Luis reveals how the appropriation of these words into trends feels in his body and why.They discuss intent and impact before conversation flows to decolonizing versus re-indigenizing. A question forms, are we dominating or relating to our body, the land, and others? True healing, whether in the DEI or decolonizing realms, takes time and space to go deeper and root. The speedy passing of trends does not allow for this rooted healing to occur. Discussion includes exploring inclusion as holding space for each person to have their own opinions, knowing we will not all agree. Consensus and rules, or mandates, do not equate to inclusion. They acknowledge the roots of the term Liberal as "Big Tent", as an inclusive place that holds many perspectives.Essentially, is something a dissociative trend, or is it culture, deeply rooted and healing? You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-weight-gain-weight-loss-balance To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Are beans an anti-nutrient due to their phytic acid content, or are they a superfood? Come investigate what is really behind the phytic acid scare around beans. How much phytic acid IS in a 1/2 cup serving of cooked beans anyhow? Luis does the math and gives us tips on how to reduce phytic acid, why it's worth the trouble, and how a little bit can be a benefit to our health. Beans contain protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins, and can help detoxify the gut. Learn how this pre-biotic powerhouse affects toxins, stress metabolites, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels.  Luis also offers suggestions on how to titrate this sustainable superfood into your every day diet. To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Ownership is the question explored in this epic podcast where Luis interviews Unique Hammond, Zeena Ismail, and Hadar Cohen to share their distinctive perspectives of being forced out of their home/land. The inspiration for the podcast arose from the ashes of the LA wildfire where Unique's home was burnt to the ground as nature evicted her.  Forced from their homelands, Zeena Ismail is a Palestinian living in Jordan and Hadar Cohen is a Arab Jew living in the United States. Luis' queries if it is more painful when nature takes your home, compared to your home being taken by humans and war? All were forced to leave their homes, and there is a wisdom in their leaving. Unique notes that when you fight with reality, reality wins 100% of the time. Indeed, we may leave our land, but the land is carried in our bones, and never leaves us. Zeena shares her experience of learning to belong to a new land and welcoming it's wisdom. As the author Robin Wall Kimmerer says, she became indigenous to (a new) place. The added layer of identity is weighed. Identity, as Hadar sees it, is just a lens, not eyesight itself. Can we release the bind and binary of identity? Ultimately we can claim, colonize, and extract from a place, or we can belong to a place. As Hadar asks, if you belong to the land why do you need to control it? Would there even be war if we did not have ownership? A universal question emerges, do we grasp at what was, or can we allow transformation to occur? You can visit Unique Hammond's website here: https://www.youregreat.com/You can visit Zeena Ismail's website here: https://www.zeenaismail.com/You can visit Hadar Cohen's websites here: https://www.hadarcohen.me/ www.malchut.oneYou can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-weight-gain-weight-loss-balance To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

"As of today it will henceforth be official policy of the United States Government that there are only two genders, male and female." - Donald TrumpLuis explores how this policy effects transgender, transsexual, non-binary and intersex folks. He discusses the fluidity of gender,  whereas sex is biology assigned at birth. Luis reads this policy as a statement of two sexes, which Nature assigns.  A lot of confusion enters the discussion at large when sex and gender are confused for each other.  Gender is flowing and we choose how we identify. He notes that there has been a movement to make the fringe trendy and commodify it, but in so doing the deep culture of the fringe is lost. Have a listen and tell us how you feel about this new policy, and lets discuss it in the comments below. [Bonus Episode] Navigating DysphoriaTo read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Let's explore the often ignored connection between nutrition and trauma. Luis breaks foods down into three categories: stimulants, depressants, and balancers. When we eat sugar there is a spike in blood sugar levels, triggering a spike in insulin, leading to a drop in glucose, resulting in an adrenaline spike. You heard that? Your body is having a stress response, and you haven't even heard today's news yet! You've only eaten breakfast. Luis offers suggestions on how to leverage the balancers to still enjoy the stimulants and depressants. We may not be able to reduce the external stressors, but we can reduce the inner stressors.  To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Luis shares part of his family story before weaving rich voices and interviews to explore the use and meaning of the phrase People of Color, or POC. Many questions and facets are explored: Do we take on ideas to belong? Does the phrase POC other specific groups in a condescending way? What is the story, meaning, or belief we have about the label POC?  Does 'marginalized' mean oppressed? What are the somatics of group identity? How can we uncouple negative associations with the term POC? Lastly, what story do I tell about you, and does that story make you equal, lower or better than me?In the spirit of Maya Angelou, Marika reminds us to learn about people rather than learning to label them. May we be curious and allow people to show us who they are. After all, race is a fake construct, and identity is less connecting than place. You can watch the extended interviews clips here: Maya Angelou, Morgan Freeman, Raven-Symoné, and Africa Brooke.You can also listen to podcasts with Africa and Camille below: [Ep. 193] Getting Sober Helped Me Stop Self-Censoring w/ Africa Brooke[Ep. 219] Not Everything Is A Microaggression: Is This The New DEI? w/ Camille LeakYou can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-weight-gain-weight-loss-balance To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Luis shares part of his intersex journey as he explores the idea of misgendering as progress. Join him as he discusses the difference between sex and gender, harm and difference in the context of free speech. He believes we all have a responsibility to orient to, and find safety in, ourselves. The more comfortable Luis is in himself, the less offend-able he has become. Feel free to be part of the discussion by leaving a comment below. To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Thanks to a listener request, Camille and Luis discuss cognitive dissonance through the lens of somatics and parts work. Cognitive dissonance, the friction between held and opposing beliefs, can result in an uncomfortable tension. The discomfort caused by this tension is usually avoided, or even "erased".Alternatively, leaning in to the tension can be an opportunity for growth, or, an indicator of boundaries. Luis uses the example of the cognitive dissonance he experienced around being vegan, and how leaning in to the messy and painful process often results in transformation. You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-weight-gain-weight-loss-balance To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Join Luis as he explores the effects of sugar, starch and refined carbohydrates on the body. Journey from the first bite to blood glucose levels spiking, all the way to the body's resulting stress response. Learn the balancing nutritional recommendations to employ before eating sugar, starch and refined carbohydrates to help mitigate the effects of adrenaline in the body. To read more about, and register for, the 2025 Menla retreat, click here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/menla-retreat----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com