by Mark Sisson
This is the first book I have ever read by Mark. Up until this point, I haven't felt the need to read any of his books because I read his blog almost every day and I didn't think I could get much information from his books that I wasn't already getting from his blog. This book did kind of intrigue me, though, so when it went on sale for $1.99 for the kindle a few weeks ago, I went ahead and bought it.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mark Sisson, he is huge in the Paleo/Primal world. His blog is full of wonderful advice about how to eat and exercise in a manner that more closely resembles the way our ancient ancestors ate and exercised, with the theory that this is better for us. He talks a lot about diet and exercise in his book The Primal Blueprint, which I really have no desire to read, because at this point, I think I have that pretty well under control. It's a great resource for those who are just starting on their Paleo/Primal journey, though, and I know it has convinced a lot of people to give up the grains, sugars, and processed foods that make up the standard American diet (SAD).
The Primal Connection is about incorporating other aspects of our evolutionary history into our lifestyle. The idea is that, if we didn't evolve to eat grains, sugars, and rancid vegetable oils, we certainly did not evolve to spend our days sitting in a cubicle staring at a computer screen. Not that Mark is advocating that we all quit our jobs to walk around in the sun all day (although how great would that be?), but that we need to be aware of the health risks involved in extended periods of sitting inside and what we can do about it.
To a large extent, I was right about the overlap with his blog. There was a lot of information in here that I already knew, but there was also some information of which I was not aware and that alone was worth purchasing the book. My favorite was a section on posture. I was ready to breeze through this section, convinced that the rods in my back are sufficient to keep me from having to worry about that. Turns out that's not quite the case. My rods don't extend to my neck (thank the gods), and according to Mark, the most common form of poor posture is when the head juts forward instead of extending straight up from the shoulders. Of course, because I spend all of my time in front of a computer, a TV, or a book, my head is always jutting forward. Since this book made me aware of what a problem that is (in addition to an injury I'm still dealing with as a result of said poor posture) I have been using the techniques mentioned in this book to straighten my spine and keep it straight. It's a struggle, because every time my mind wanders, my head juts forward again, but I do think that simply being aware of the problem has helped immensely.
Anyone who is familiar with Mark's blog knows that he is not one to say something just because it sounds good. All of his statements are backed up with hard scientific evidence and he is excellent about providing links and references to the science he uses to come to his conclusions. Which means reading this book has provided me with a list of other books on related topics that I now want to read. Just what I need: more books to add to my to-read list :P
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