Primal Places - Your Patio

You don't have to go far to get to your primal roots. The patio, or porch, is a great place to start a primal lifestyle and a place that can be easily optimized to be a great source of primal foods and workouts.

Want a quick dose of Vitamin D, that fifteen minutes of daily sun prescribed in the Primal Blueprint? You don't always have to walk far to get it, just get thee to your patio. And while you're out there, let's cook.

Before that, though, let me clear something up. Some of my friends, when trying to poke holes in the primal lifestyle, will ask if I need to eat meat raw. After all, isn't that what people did before bread? Isn't a grilled steak "processed?"

Folks, our ancestors have been using fire to cook for a quarter of a million years. Compare that to the ten thousand or so years that we've been cultivating and eating wheat, corn, potatoes. Fire is primal, and cooking with it brings out the primal inside us.

And yes, I love my steak bloody as hell. So let's cook. Fire up that grill.

To take it to the next level, though, a great primal tool is a smoker. They come in the truly primal variety - the charcoal pit with homemade charcoal. I own and prefer the modern convenience of a propane smoker. Also available is the electric smoker. Low and slow is how I imagine Grok cooked his meats. You can put a big slab of ribs, a pork shoulder, trout, homemade jerky, or a grass fed brisket in, enjoy the sunlight and the perfume of wood as it cooks all day, and enjoy a well-earned primal meal (and leftovers). Smoking meats is also a great way to go primal on a budget, as a lot of the "cheaper" cuts turn into meat candy when greeted with low and slow smoke.

While your meat is slowly turning into something amazing, get your primal workout in. All the primal essential movements can be done outside with no equipment, with the exception of pull ups. I'd suggest finding a nearby tree with low branch, but that's not always available (not at my place), so try getting creative (well placed bike hooks?) To up the fun factor of your workouts, the patio is a great place to keep your spear, medicine ball, or other primal workout equipment. Think sports gear, mini basketball hoops, jump ropes...get creative and make the patio a playground. Four square anyone?

And if you can't get to the park for sprints, grab a jump rope and hit the patio.

We all know that one of the best ways to source clean food is to grow it yourself. You may not be able to feed yourself year-round on food grown in planter boxes on the patio, but even a small amount of homegrown food will help you connect to the unbelievable abundance the universe gives us. It doesn't take a great amount of space to grow a tomato tree, some peppers, or even an herb garden. The growing season is largely behind us, but the winter is a great time to start planning that spring garden. I admit I've never grown my own food, but I'm planning on peppers next year.

Finally, I'll mention that the patio is a great place for meditation. I personally believe meditation is an essential part of stress reduction. Grok didn't have the constant information flow we're confronted with. We need that extra, concentrated time to clear the head. The patio is a great place for this.

So go spend some time on your patio while the weather still allows for it. Grok on!