Last week I again had the honor to join Intermittent Living (IL) Bilbao organized by the amazing team of Anzoategui and @pni_europe. A universal health concept and brainchild of @leopruimboom designed to regain (or maintain) flexibility, resilience and thus health. IL is part of my studies, passion and work at PNIEurope: clinical Psychoneuroimmunology (cPNI). Systemic medicine with an evolutionary approach. Modern medicine that works.
Long walks in nature - in (dry)fasting state – made our legs sing (and scream). Oxytocin reached unprecedented levels and lactate was turned into brainfood: some days with ice baths as dessert. Dedicated breathing exercises turned O2 and CO2 into medicine. IL games woke up the (cheating;) child in us while the beasts were unlocked during (hot) boxing classes. With sauna as (serotonergic!) cherry on top. Cognitive challenges and classes from @leopruimboom made our neurons sprout. All to prepare us sharing IL with the rest of the world.
The above hormetic triggers got us out of our comfort-zone. But the real magic happened bc we suffered as a group. And what a group. About simply every participant is something incredible to say - I could write a love letter to each of you. I am honestly blown away by the amount of love and togetherness. There were tears, but so much more laughter. Deep connections but also lots of jokes and humor. Hugging was our daily bread, beside incredible (fermented) food from Fermentista @amalohacasanova_anzoategui after long fasts. Our microbiome had a true blast. And we danced the night away. Together. Because together we were unstoppable.
In the past IL and cPNI helped me to get rid of a depression/burn-out and the respective medication. This time beside being incredibly healing after quite a challenging year, it made me grow. My heart has become bigger. I feel love and loved: part of a family. Alive, free, myself. My life is unfolding as I never dreamed it could. And being able to call this my job - and the PNI people my family - is just a dream. There is one feeling right now: incredible gratefulness. And a little headache: once in a while wine is hormetic too;)
Ps: Would you like to learn what Intermittent Living could do for your health? Feel free reaching out. I am more than happy sharing what I know.
It was a pleasure to have shared the IL with you. A person who radiates light and love.
Beautiful text that deeply represents the experience. Thank you!