Focus:
A deeper connection with the body, with this protocol, keeping an open mind to the communications from the body and welcoming this next phase of healing.
Repetition:
I am grateful for this journey.
I welcome my intuition, I love all versions of myself, I love all versions of my body, I am at peace with all ways my body communicates with me and I know I am healing.
A Primal Excavation
This protocol is a primal excavation of the ancient wisdom in our bones of how to be human. It is a great remembering of how to reconnect with nature as this IS the root cause of all our illness. We are not striving for perfection, we are not setting impossible goals for ourselves, we are not allowing our trauma lens to be what we view this chapter of our lives through.
We are remembering what humans eat and how humans have always eaten because that has been a confusing topic for a few generations now. We are removing some foods temporarily so we can stop feeding overgrowth until they starve. We are removing some sugar so our liver/detox system can heal. So natural starch and sugar are not “bad foods” and we have to relearn how to eat seasonally, in moderation.
It is always your overgrowth and pathogens that demand food or fear them being removed, this will pass as you heal. The modern human has a “house” of a body that was built from poor materials because we do not remember how to eat. We are rebuilding our bodies from the foundation (gut) from high quality materials that our bodies can utilise in regeneration.
Not remembering is not your fault. We are all learning together, you have not done anything wrong and this is a beautiful and positive experience, viewing it as restrictive and impossible is an indicator your lens should be changed. We are eating soups for a while, we are eating meat and vegetables for a while, we are learning to ferment food and properly prepare food the way our “in perfect health” ancestors did. It doesn’t sound so terrible when you put it that way!
Reconnecting With Nature
We are remembering that we have only been “inside humans” for 200 years and the result of this has greatly affected our nervous system which is ancient and primal and requires that we reconnect with nature for our quality of life. We are not setting impossible goals for ourselves by being barefoot, getting sun, walking in the forest, touching trees, watching clouds go by, remembering to play, connect, laugh and explore. We are including exercises to heal our nervous system and rewire that very trauma lens that can keep us feeling rushed, seeking perfectionism, judging how we do things, keeping us confused and stealing our ability to be present.
We are unlearning and relearning, we are unbuilding and rebuilding. We are doing this protocol slowly and gently, having grace and compassion for ourselves, taking our time and knowing we are to become the very best version of ourselves, not “getting back to who we were,” we are doing a new thing, cultivating a life we do not need to heal from, a life that is bountiful and peaceful, a life where we are proud of ourselves and teaching the future generations a way of life that is not confusing, excitatory, judgmental and fearful but one of peace, contentment and resilience in the face of any type of difficulty.
If you are overwhelmed, take a moment and recognise that it is coming from within. Laugh a little and remind yourself you are taking time out for your nervous system every morning, eating soups, playing in nature, reconnecting with community and remembering how to be human. That is pretty simple!
Exploring Our Nutrient Profile
After we have been on the intense gut healing portion of the protocol for a few months, we want to explore our nutrient profile. We will have starved out quite a lot of overgrowth and released pathogens by that time. We want to see where our deficiencies lie and explore how to address them. If it is in your budget, please plan to have this test.
The test is an intracellular test, one brand would be SpectraCell though the brand is not important. If it is not in your budget right now, please save for one in the future. I will create a document that lists our 90 essential vitamins and minerals and what it looks like when we are deficient. This is not something we need to address right now, we want to see how the food can rebuild us first. We will learn how to address these deficiencies in the future.
Blood or serum tests tell us absolutely nothing, unfortunately. A person can have high levels of B2 in their blood, for example, and be deficient in the cell. We want to discover where our true deficiencies are and correct them.
Single Microbe Yoghurt
If you have not already, make a single microbe yoghurt this week.
Heat a quart of raw A2 milk on the stove until it “scalds” (begins to steam), or reaches 161°F, held for 15 seconds. Turn off the heat and allow the milk’s temperature to cool down until it is just warmer than your hand, or about 100°F. Pour the milk into a quart jar. Add your powdered probiotic to the milk and place a lid on the jar.
Most single-microbe ferments do just fine on the lactose alone and do not need an additional food source. If you are unsure whether your particular strain needs one, look it up — asking Claude AI what food that microbe eats works well — and if it does call for inulin, you can use 1/8th tsp of chicory. You may ferment in the oven with a light only on, near a heat source, in a yoghurt maker or just in a warmer spot in your home.
In 24 or more hours or when “the whey breaks,” you should have yoghurt. It may not have a store-bought yoghurt texture, it can be separated, chunky, thin, thick or perfectly thick and smooth. The texture does not matter at all — you will be having this by the spoonful, not the bowlful.
As your fermented dairy sits, you’ll notice the milk begin to thicken and pull slightly away from the sides of the jar — that’s the curd forming. When the whey “breaks,” you’ll see a thin, pale, clear or yellow liquid pooling on top or around the edges, clearly separate from the thickened curd underneath. This separation is actually a good sign that fermentation has finished its job — you can stir the whey back in before eating, or strain it off if you’d rather have a thicker yoghurt.
You will use this yoghurt as a starter for your next batch. Take a dose of your new microbe every day and notice any changes you experience. Plantarum 299V is a great one to begin with for most everyone!
Somatic and Vagal Nerve Practices
Begin exploring and experimenting with new somatic and vagal nerve practices. If it feels good to you, keep and incorporate the practice! Here are a few examples but feel free to find your own and try as many as you like.
- Do neck rolls slowly and gently.
- Hum throughout your day and especially after waking.
- Look right with eyes only and as far as they will go, hold this position until you feel a yawn, swallow or sigh and repeat to the left.
- Massage your ears, gently pulling on all cartilage and lobes, massaging inside the nooks and crannies and pulling on the tragus, the part you push over your ear openings when you want to block sound.
- Gargle water for a minute a few times per day.
Diamond Legs
Lie flat on your back, put your feet flat on the floor while your knees are bent, feet not touching the bum but about a foot and a half, two feet from it. Now, allow your knees to fall to opposite sides so you create a diamond with your open legs. Stay here for a minute and just breathe for a bit. Slowly begin to bring knees together again but pause if you find a space where your legs start shaking. Stay as long in the shake as you can, bringing the knees all the way together after the shaking session. Then slowly bring them back down for a rest and breathing.
Side Rib Stretch
Build up pillows on the floor or use a padded chair, couch or large log for this exercise. The goal is to drape your side body over an object that puts pressure on your side ribcage and puts your body in a “U” or “C” shape. So you are sitting on your bum and hip with legs out to your side and knees bent comfortably, heels close to bum. You are draped over your object bent as much as possible and staying there for a minute or longer, repeating on the opposite side when done.
Clavicle Tap
Fold your arms over your body so that hands are on opposite sides with fingers landing in the groove between shoulders and ribs, below the clavicle and on the coracoid process. Gently tap and rock side to side.
Legs Up the Wall
Place legs up a wall and bum against the wall while doing your favourite breathing exercise.
Side Twist
Lie on the floor on your side with knees pulled toward chest, placing legs in a 90-degree angle. Now twist your waist, bringing your top half as flat as possible against the floor. Rest the arm closest to your legs upon the legs and stretch the other arm out away from your body on the floor. Stay in this position and breathe, switch to opposite side when ready.
Be gentle with yourself, bring yourself back to true perspective and perception, explore presence and peace, eat your soup and go play outside.
Pathogen Protocol
Begin Pathogen Protocol as soon as you source supplements.
The Pathogen Protocol (After at Least One Month of Mucosa Work)
Once you have been rebuilding the mucosa for at least one month and the body is settled, you can layer the four-layer pathogen protocol on top. It is done in three hourly steps, always with water only at the first two.
Hour 0 — Biofilm Buster
- Take NAC (or Ambroxol if available) with water only.
- Take this at least one hour away from any food or drink. Water is fine.
Hour 1 — Quorum-Sensing Disruptor
- One hour after the NAC, take quinine and ajoene (slice of crushed garlic taken at least ten minutes after crushing) with water only.
- No food or drink for another hour.
Hour 2 — Beneficial Antagonist with Toxin Neutraliser
- One hour after the QSD, take Plantarum 299V, HU58, and lactoferrin.
- This final dosing MAY be taken with food or drink — you do not need to wait further.
Where to Adjust for Particular Organisms
The protocol above is the general working pattern. Different organisms call for different specific choices at each layer (different QSDs, different antagonists, different biofilm-buster pairings). If you know or suspect particular pathogens, post in the group with what you know and additional guidance can be offered for your specific picture.
You are doing a beautiful job!