[00:00:00] Christian van Camp CVC Wellness: This is an example of matrix living, something you can follow along with. You wake up in the morning, and you immediately go on your phone after the alarm goes off. You scroll for an hour.

[00:00:08] Go downstairs, drink a hot cup of coffee, right within 30 minutes of waking up, you're dehydrated. And then you scramble onto work, driving to work, stressed out.

[00:00:16] You haven't taken a second to breathe consciously. Then you go into work and all of a sudden you're giving energy to all these people, all these emails, all these things on, the work, work, work. You're a human doing, you're not a human being. Your lunch break is going through the fast food line at McDonald's, for example.

[00:00:29] You eat that meal, you feel so drained and tired you drink another cup of coffee to pick yourself up. You haven't drank much water, and then it's the end of the day and you go back home. You're on your transit, the traffic sucks. You're just screaming. You're, you're so frustrated.

[00:00:40] You're listening to music that has, low vibrational frequencies to it. And then you get home crack open a beer, go back to your phone, you go back to the tv, go back to YouTube, and then you go to bed and you scroll with blue light right before bed.

[00:00:51] That's a lot of people's lives right now, I'm not making fun of it. I'm just showing that's what it looks like from a bird's eye view, from an objective view, if you really analyze a lot of people's lives, unfortunately, that is the case. And it is so unfortunate because we know what is possible.

[00:01:05] It's just we get caught in that matrix life. Now, on the contrary, if we look at a nature driven life for tapping into our highest selves

[00:01:11] Nathan Maingard: Struggling to stick to your healthy habits, so you end up self-sabotaging and feeling bad about yourself again and again, no matter how hard you try? Good news, you are in the right place because in this episode of We Are Already Free, christian van Camp is here to inspire us to find our purpose, build a life of healthy habits, and align our purpose with service.

[00:01:33] When you hear we are already free, what comes up for you? Pure change. It's a shift in awareness. It's the ultimate truth, isn't it? Getting outta the matrix. We have a choice. Joy, nature, I am more powerful than I realize I am. Human beings are so powerful. It's all there.

[00:01:50] the answers are in being a conscious, being. Spiritual being is living a human body experience. it's simple, it's here and it's now, you don't have to go out and find it. Eat real food. Just shining your light so bright. We are already free. You're free. you are a walking map. Have always been free.

[00:02:06] You are always free. Already free. We are already free.

[00:02:10] Nathan Maingard: Welcome to, we Are Already Free, the podcast Empowering Down to earth seekers to embody authenticity and be the change. I'm Nathan Maingard, empowering wordsmith, and transformational guide. And if you've realized that feeding negativity with your attention only creates more of it, and if you feel ready to live a juicy life with your tribe, then join us as we release limiting beliefs and embrace the freedom within.

[00:02:35] In this episode, you'll learn how Christian overcame an unhealthy standard American lifestyle and became the Hercules he is today. Why it's not always the best idea to trust the studies. How to work with the primal survival, instinct of negativity. How to overcome overwhelm, and near the end why how you start your day is the most important thing of all plus heaps more. So please do listen on.

[00:03:04] A huge thank you to my sponsor for this episode, Zencaster, the ultimate web-based podcasting solution. I've saved countless hours since I moved over to their platform. If you're thinking about starting a podcast or already have a podcast, but maybe struggle with the time and the technicalities of getting good recordings, I personally recommend Zencaster.

[00:03:24] I particularly love how it allows me to record in the best quality, even though the internet connection in my off-grid solar powered studio is not the most stable. It records tracks locally and then it uploads them for maximum backup and safety. If you've ever lost a recording, you know how much it sucks when that happens.

[00:03:42] So thank you Zencaster for solving that problem for me.

[00:03:44] Go to zencaster.com. That's zencastr.com/pricing. And use my code, WEAREALREADYFREE and you'll get 30% off your first three months of Zencaster Professional.

[00:03:58] I want you to have the same easy experiences I do for all my podcasting and content needs. It's time to share your story.

[00:04:05] I hope that you enjoy this episode with Christian. I've deeply enjoyed every moment of it, and if you do want to access more information, links to him. You can find those in the description wherever you're listening to the podcast. If you do want some more info, like the show notes or some of the bonus stuff, then reach out to me personally.

[00:04:23] I'm taking a bit of a different stroke here, which is that I want to connect with you personally. The crazy thing about a podcast is I have no idea who you are, so I wanna meet you. So if you just go to already free, that's A L R E A D Y, alreadyfree.me/yes. that will bring you straight to my Instagram and my DM so we can chat and I'll send you all the details you want and connect you with Christian and the rest.

[00:04:46] But for now, please enjoy this episode and thank you so much for being here. I love being me with you.

[00:04:53] You shared about your history, where you've come from in terms of health and like at one point you were drinking, you were doing the whole like standard American lifestyle and what happened?

[00:05:02] How did you go from that person to the fucking Hercules you are today?

[00:05:08] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: It's the culmination of things, man. It's funny. It's cuz it always is that slingshot effect I feel like for a lot of us in life. Um, you know, whether we get down in the trenches on, you know, certain just health issues that arise and eventually it's like, okay, I don't like that. Let's take it to the other extreme of extreme health and, uh, ownership of that.

[00:05:24] So yeah, for me it was just like, man, I hated a low energy. I hated just feeling, you know, it was like this, uh, self-loathing that came into play that brought me into the self-loving. And so, uh, it is that unique spectrum that. Slingshot of me into the, the world of health. And it was from, you know, research and, uh, self-education.

[00:05:43] Definitely self-education. Like that's where it all starts. It's not necessarily the, you know, I went to school for nutrition and all of that. I got a, grew a passion in all the whole realm of holistic health. But a lot of it started with just, you know, incrementally adding books, podcasts, all the little nitty gritties on, on health optimization.

[00:06:01] Nathan Maingard: One of my previous guests, Helena Wilde, she was saying how a, and again, I'm not saying anyone's on whatever side, but she said the problem with the left is they don't, they're not, they don't. They don't make enough jokes. They're not funny enough, they don't take life lightly enough, so, so their memes aren't, their memes aren't funny.

[00:06:18] And um, and one of the things I've seen from that like side is like, oh, you do your own research. Like, you think you're, you can handle like a scientist who's researched for whatever, dedicated his whole life, but it's like, it's not a funny,

[00:06:30] it doesn't,

[00:06:30] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: not funny at all. Cuz

[00:06:31] they're

[00:06:31] Nathan Maingard: course we, yeah. It's like, just doesn't, it's, I'm like, I'm not chuckling, man.

[00:06:37] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Mm-hmm. And see, that's what's funny. You bring that up, like I'm super sciencey. You can probably tell I'm very analytical and sciencey. I love anatomy and physiology and biology and all this stuff. But there's a certain point where I was like, okay, trust the research. Or like look into the clinical studies.

[00:06:51] It's like, well, everything is skewed nowadays, so how do we even know how efficacious anything is? Uh, so I just go from my heart center and a lot of things like, okay, if suntan naked, there's no literature on it. Well, I'm gonna try it myself and see how I feel. Boom, I feel amazing. I feel energized. Great.

[00:07:06] So I'm gonna do more of that. Right? So, uh, that's one of those things you have to defy the odds of what the papers say. Right? It's like mixing the two, you know,

[00:07:15] Nathan Maingard: there's something to be said for, what do they call it? When some, oh, when someone says like, oh, it worked for me, but that's not data. That's just a, fuck. What's the word? There's like such a simple word for this.

[00:07:26] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: anecdotal

[00:07:27] is like the,

[00:07:28] Nathan Maingard: anecdotal. Anecdotal is the

[00:07:29] word. An and how, but anecdotal matters, like for me, as the individual who's having the anecdotal experience, that's wor, that's that.

[00:07:40] I don't need another statistic. It's literally working. I feel it. It's happening.

[00:07:45] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: That's enough data for me too.

[00:07:46] Nathan Maingard: Right,

[00:07:47] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: most efficacious of it all.

[00:07:49] Nathan Maingard: That's part of this whole challenge right now is we have this top down control. Well top down control, but top down culture or society that says, I'm big daddy, big mommy, big brother. I'll take care of you. I'll tell you what's right and what's wrong, and your, your opinion doesn't matter because it's anecdotal or whatever the story is when an actual fact.

[00:08:12] I mean, look at how sick the world is right now and how sick the society is in so many ways. So I think for me, what I'd love to hear from you, just as we dive into this, is what do you think is the most important thing for a human in living in this society today to focus on?

[00:08:28] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: I believe it all starts within, you know, when it comes to identifying your purpose, I always go back to how do we culminate or create and project this purpose into the world? Because I like to say that, you know, God doesn't just hand us on a silver platter this purpose, and we have this purpose Destin, um, from birth.

[00:08:46] But really we had this beautiful intellect that was given to us to create this purpose based on our own unique experiences in life and troubles and challenges and, uh, all the things along those lines. So I, I strongly believe that number one thing people can focus on as an individual is how do I cultivate a purpose and utilize this as a driving force in life and where I go and how I can make that greater good, uh, impact.

[00:09:09] In Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, especially the great Roman emperor, 2000 years ago, he was just huge on the idea of sympatheia is the word sympatheia. And it basically means, uh, what hurts the hive, hurts the bee. So basically what hurts the community, what hurts the people, hurts the bee. It hurts the individual.

[00:09:26] And so if we can begin to broaden our perspective outside of just our vessel, just our lives, all of our problems, and just talking, very myopically on who we are, and we begin to project that energy outside of us, all of a sudden we feel like we have this purpose that is working so I strongly believe in it.

[00:09:42] People start getting out of their little box they put themselves in of selfishness and like worrying about all of their problems. If they begin to help others, it's like, holy shit. Now, all this, beautiful, enlightenment comes into their life, that's my, perspective on it, nathan.

[00:09:56] Nathan Maingard: it's amazing that you say that to me and I love how, I dunno if you find this, but I find that the universe seems to reflect my current state to me consistently. And so the more I'm paying attention, and what I'm hearing from you now and what I'm seeing reflected from my own life is that 99% of my clients right now, the work I'm doing with them is purpose work.

[00:10:14] Because it seems to be such a foundational piece that once that comes into online, like once people get clear on their actual purpose, everything else becomes more of, there's more energy available to take action on those habits, those strategies, those things that are actually gonna manifest that purpose and that person they need to be to fulfill that purpose into the world.

[00:10:34] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Hmm. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's a kind of like, if I'm just focused on all my problems and my issues. First off, that's the law of attraction as all as well that comes into play. Cuz if our energy goes into that area of our negatives and the issues we have in life, that's gonna feed more of that energy.

[00:10:52] So if we begin to feed energy outside of us is how do I, you know, put others into the spectrum of what's going on in my world? How does my decision today for myself impact others? Right? Um, I like the idea of like, prayer or overall just blessing others and thinking about it in that broad perspective is that when you pray for someone, you don't think about all the things that they're lacking that you want them to excel in or feel better in.

[00:11:15] Right? So if I'm praying for my little sister who's having a lot of health problems and gut health issues, I'm not gonna be praying, saying, oh man, you know, I'm, I'm praying for Nina. She's gonna get better. I hope she gets better. That kind of thing because that's, that's a state of lack that's focusing on the future, right?

[00:11:30] Instead, you wanna come back to the present and, and, and think as if, or feel as if it is already happened that she's well, So if I get into the prayer state of, you know, Nina's healed, she feels amazing, and then, you know, put that positive energy towards that, then that's gonna exemplify more greatness in the present.

[00:11:46] Right? So it's also the idea of gratitude in the present creates more gratitude and abundance in the future. So it's a unique phenomenon that I've started practicing, uh, over the past couple years. Getting out of that. Woe is me victim mentality.

[00:12:00] Nathan Maingard: You are the external voice of the things I'm going through right now, cuz I just started listening to the audiobook for Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which has come very, very recommended and I've never read it or listened to it. So I just started and he, he tells a story of his wife and and himself, I guess many years ago their, their son was really struggling.

[00:12:18] One of their sons was really struggling at school and sports and he was, people were making fun of him and all these things and they were. They were trying to help, they were like, no, don't make fun of him. You know, and trying to help him at the sport. And they're like, and then they, they basically stopped and looked into themselves and said, we have created a story that he is not enough, that he is lacking in some way.

[00:12:38] And they actually did their own inner work of realizing, no, he's, he's just as he is, he is empowered as he is. And they started shifting that energy. And then within a short space of time, his whole life turned around because he suddenly had the responsibility and the power like shone back on him of like, oh wow, I can actually choose this.

[00:12:57] And so I'm hearing you say that exact same thing, that we don't have to victimize those who we think are in a worst situation. We can actually honor their sovereignty even as we witness them in whate whatever place they're in.

[00:13:09] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yes. Yes. That's the fire man. That's the fire right there. And uh, you know, the difficulty is we have, when we were prefacing this before we hopped on here today of the idea of that like, Our default as human beings is survival, pure survival. But we've gone in this modern era where we have pretty much all of our basic survival needs met.

[00:13:28] A lot of us, most of us, uh, I'm sure you can imagine some of the listeners right now, if you're listening to this, you probably have a roof over your head, most likely. We probably have a source of water, maybe some source of food. Um, so we have food, shelter, water, basic foundations in some community, right?

[00:13:44] So when all that gets met, now we have to fulfill this void that's there. And this is the beauty of life in the modern era for a lot of us, is how do we work in these other nitty gritty areas to work on that purpose? We alluded to, uh, the, so the difficulty of that is we have a default that goes back into negative thought patterns.

[00:14:01] Like it's just a default. It's survival, right? Because if we only thought about positivity, we would all be getting killed by sabertooth tigers and eating the wrong berries all the time. We wouldn't learn from those, you know, experiences. And so, uh, so the main thing is like we have this deep, primal survival mechanism of negativity.

[00:14:17] Which keeps us alive. And so how do we work with that primal lizard brain? Well, we have this intellect we can work with nowadays, that we've cultivated over thousands of years, millennia. And so that's the difficult part, is how do we channel this conscious awareness of reality working with the subconscious primal survival instincts, and how do we mesh the two together to become more optimal as a human being and not be in such a victim mentality like the state of the world is nowadays?

[00:14:42] Nathan Maingard: And how would you recommend if you were, if someone's starting on this path and going like, that sounds great, but like, what does that mean for me really? How, how would they do that?

[00:14:50] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yeah. Like feasible actions, let's say. So journal man, I just love the journal. Like pick up and start just writing like we've been gifted, this ability to move away from technology and stop typing away and just tap into like this, that's another primal aspect of life is how do we just. Pick up this pen and journal, right?

[00:15:08] And that's one thing that's unique about the educational system is we're moving away from writing a lot more and having these kids type, type, type, type. And it's just like so detached from that, that true essence as a human is writing. You know, we've done it forever. And cursives even taken out of the educational system.

[00:15:23] We can go down a rabbit hole with that, but that's just blowing my mind, how we're taking away cursive in a lot of the educational system, uh, in the West at least. Um, but all that being said, I strongly believe in the idea and concept of journaling. It's a form of meditation. It's a form of therapy at your fingertips, literally.

[00:15:40] And so picking up a pen, being very patient with yourself and dumping, dumping things, having prompts you can follow. Uh, it can be about gratitude. It could be about, you know, driving forward with your purpose. That's gonna help a lot too. Um, but anything that can really get you in that head space, I'm, I'm just gonna put this down, this metaphysical chaos into a physical plate of reality.

[00:15:59] I can see on paper.

[00:16:01] Nathan Maingard: And take me on this rabbit hole. I, I'm curious. Take, what about cursive? Cuz I love writing in cursive. I have a fountain pen like that shit's. I, I fucking love it. So what's going on?

[00:16:11] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Oh man. I mean, I just think like cursives so cool. Cause it's like all these letters are flowing together like water, right? It's not so, you know, strict and like, uh, and nothing wrong with the writing nowadays, but it's all linear, right? And so in nature, everything is wispy and spontaneous and flowing. And so, uh, I just think it's beautiful for one, but also it connects the brain in a different way.

[00:16:33] Uh, and also, you know, a foundation of life is being able to sign your name, your signature's, everything. So if these kids aren't learning, uh, cursive for instance, how do they expect to write their name? Is it gonna be in crayon, just like all like straight linear, or are we gonna have some beautiful, eloquent, like you're saying with the, the pen?

[00:16:50] So, I don't know. I think the main thing is, uh, you know, how do we connect more to that, that, that, that flowy nature within us.

[00:16:58] Nathan Maingard: You're inspiring me to pick up my journal again. I have not journaled in a long time and I used to, I've got a lot of journals on a shelf somewhere that I just have filled up over the years, and I thank you for the reminder cuz I can feel something there. I'm like, yo, why don't I just sit down and just let it happen?

[00:17:13] Man. I'm I, I've been very heady, I think for a while. I've like, yo, like you said, too much linear, structured, trying to make, like, make shit happen. And I think it's time to soften into some of that, that cursive flow,

[00:17:25] dude. Oh, I'm feeling it.

[00:17:26] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: You know, I'm same way, Nathan. I'm the same way, man. My whole life is very analytical, structured, linear, extreme masculine energy. And so for me, things like journaling and, uh, really coming inward and, and cultivating some of these slow yin practices, you know, yin being very, uh, you know, patient feminine energy helps me balance out that like hard edginess of masculine energy that's within my core based on how I was raised.

[00:17:52] So, um, I could definitely relate with that in many ways.

[00:17:56] Nathan Maingard: I kind of wanna move into a bit of the, the practicality of the fitness stuff, cuz I'm personally super interested just, and, and witnessing you. I mean, so for anyone listening, I will be sharing your Instagram and all the rest in the show notes. But like, just describe for people you have a phenomenal physique and you know that, but like, I want people to know, like you've put a shit load of work into, into.

[00:18:17] Building this body that you're currently walking around in. And I'm kind of at the beginning in a way, I've, I was a surfer in my teens and that was like amazing for me. And then through my own self-destructive tendencies, I got into methamphetamines. I really fucked myself up my system and I, I lost a lot of weight and I lost a lot of strength and vi and, and, um, and chi, I lost a lot of energy.

[00:18:39] And so only in the last, over the last, quite a few years now, through plant medicines and therapies and all kinds of things, then the ice baths and then the kettlebells. And really in the last sort of year, having totally committed to kettlebells and ice baths, it's just like, I'm so much enjoying my body.

[00:18:55] So, but I'm very curious to know, just on a practical level, how tall are you? Just so like I get a sense of, of where we are height wise. And then also do you have like a basic tenet for, for developing a really strong, powerful body that might apply for both men and women?

[00:19:13] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yeah, so currently I'm six one. Now I know the conversion factor, and that's a little difficult to do, but I'm six one, I'm right around 190 pounds on average. Uh, and so yeah, so basic tenants to take advantage of that can support. Is consistency is number one. If you have a means to an end with anything, it's not gonna work.

[00:19:32] You gotta make it a lifestyle. So for me, fitness is a daily action. Uh, it is one of those things that I'm completely committed to. There's not a week that goes by that I'm not lifting at least some weight or playing around with some type of resistance training. Another thing is build that why that deeper.

[00:19:46] Why connecting directly to that is if you're going into this and you're just like, I want to lose weight. Well that's not very inspiring. How do we make this in more, uh, in inspirational, like something that's actually motivating you to pick it up and keep going. Uh, and you know, I always recommend, you know, connected to something that's a negative consequence of not jumping into it.

[00:20:03] That's actually more inspirational than the positive. A lot of us don't know what it feels like to actually immerse ourselves in the positive strong body we have, because we've maybe never had that. So it's hard to really understand what that feels like. And so what we do understand is the, the being down in the shit.

[00:20:19] Right. Being down in the dirt. That feeling of the slow energy, not feeling happy when we look in the mirror, those kind of things, we know what that feels like and that can be more inspirational in many ways and more graspable, uh, and moving forward. And so I think define your why. What is your main why behind it?

[00:20:34] Is it something connected to your broader, overarching goals in life or is it just connected to you and yourself? Going back to the beginning, is this relating to how you can make an impact in the world or is this related to just your secular body? Like expand beyond just your selfishness and that'll make it way easier to stick to the routines of working out, lifting weights, changing your body, eating healthy.

[00:20:55] Um, and I'd say one more tenet to focus on is it's not just about the weightlifting. It's really important to do that, but it's also about the yin practices and consistently moving throughout the day. So we'll start with those yin practices. I like to say there's an idea of working in and working out, and this is coined by Paul Czech.

[00:21:13] He's awesome. But basically working out is anything that expels energy from you. It's more of those yang things. So this is the kettlebell training like you're doing. Um, this is related to anything that's expelling energy intent, intentionally, consciously. So working out, lifting weights, those types of things.

[00:21:28] Then we need to replenish. This is 90% of your success. 10% of it's actually putting in the weightlifting for an hour, three times a week. The other 90% of the days is working on good, adequate sleep, circadian clock, getting sunshine, grounding barefoot, outside, fueling your body with ancestral, raw real foods, nourishing protein.

[00:21:48] You know, those are the foundations that are really gonna build that fortitude. You know, then you mention ice baths. I'm all about that. I take an ice bath nearly every morning, uh, to get a nice reset, and that helps out with inflammation. And, you know, sauna, there's all these yin practices that help cultivate that energy within us, right?

[00:22:04] And so find a good balance between your yang, your yin, you're working out, you're working in. And then focus on moving consistently throughout the day. It's not just about the heavy weightlifting all the time. It's about how do I manage like our primal ancestors? Why were they so lean and strong? Well, they were just moving all the time.

[00:22:19] They were walking 10,000, 20,000 steps a day. Um, they were shaking their bodies bioenergetics. They were doing wild savage stuff, right? And so how do we get out of this cubicle living into more foundational living relating to primal movement consistently throughout the day? So those are some major pillars that come to mind right now that can really support you guys.

[00:22:40] Nathan Maingard: I love what you said there. I've never, never thought about it like that. Working out and working in, I mean, that just is so important for me to hear as well. I think that's been, I've been really focused on working out, which has been important for me. Cuz a huge part of my journey was like really leaning into the feminine for a lot of my life.

[00:22:58] Cuz fear of the masculine and all that kind that journey. so that, that actually really is helpful for me to kind of balance that out. Funnily enough, just before a little earlier today, I, uh, I, I've been wanting to connect more with my joy. I, I feel like, um, which is, yeah, part of that like, powerful energy that in some ways since I've become so focused, I, I've been a bit recently, I'm like, wow, I don't, I'm, I don't know how to drop in anymore to just be like, woo, like, just like spur of the moment.

[00:23:26] It's been as we've been talking about, quite focused. And so it came up in my men's circle where I was like, I need to try doing handstands. That was like piece that came out of the work that I did. And, uh, and so today I was trying to do handstands and I haven't done one in a long time and they are fucking hard man.

[00:23:41] Like it is not an easy thing to do, a handstand. So I'm quite excited about, about improving that.

[00:23:46] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Oh dude, I've been working on that for on and off for years. I haven't put the true commitment on it. You know, I can do a little bit of the crow to like handstand for a brief second where you're on your knees and your elbows and stuff, but, That is awesome that you're looking into that cause that is so cool.

[00:24:01] Just to have that linear stature from the hands up, like that's so powerful. What is your why behind that, Nathan?

[00:24:08] Nathan Maingard: so, uh, so my why behind, well, handstand specifically.

[00:24:13] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Sure. Yeah.

[00:24:14] Nathan Maingard: Yeah. Well, so interesting. I'm so glad you brought up the why because, so initially, I think subconsciously when I started this whole journey now of really showing up for the ice baths of workouts, everything, it was, it was very much about me wanting to show up more in the world and just feel better.

[00:24:30] And, and it's been amazing for that. And then I've noticed over the last few months, even today when I was preparing for this call, And I went and had an ice bath and swung the kettle ball a little bit just to get my blood moving. Um, I, I stood outside the ket outside the ice bath and my why came up and it was really around.

[00:24:46] I just thought what comes up for me is I do this for my partner. I do this for my community. I do this for my clients. I do this for my family. I do this for my friends. I do this for everyone that I know so that they can enjoy and get to meet like the best parts of me. And that's what, that's what's currently getting me into the ice bath.

[00:25:04] Whereas it used to just be like, I just wanna sh I wanna show myself that I'm strong enough. I wanna show myself that I've got this, that I can do hard things and I can, that I don't have to be depressed, that I can fucking live this life. And that's kind of not as motivating anymore. Like what's more motivating is thinking about all the other people, all the other people in my life who get the knock on effect of me being in my body and present and, and strong.

[00:25:24] So yeah, that's kind of the why, that's getting me out there.

[00:25:26] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: I love that man. Yeah. And it will start, and you know, a lot of times it starts out of quote unquote selfishness initially, because that's just one of those things that. We're in such a pit, or we're looking to change our habits or whatever, and it's to totally fine to have that happen. But as you said, it just naturally came about through you.

[00:25:41] Like, okay, this is actually for something deeper. There's a layer beneath, you know, just my body and myself and feeling better and more empowered and that mental resilience. But it's like, okay, now it's like, hey, it's gotten the point. I've done this now it's inspiring change in these different areas and trajectories of life to help others.

[00:25:57] So I love that, man. It's the same for me too. I mean, on my health journey, it, it very well started with, uh, focusing on how I can just optimize my health, my spirit, my body, and then eventually I was like, man, there's a void there, right? There's so much more I can expand beyond that.

[00:26:10] Nathan Maingard: Absolutely. I, I would love to segue, it keeps coming up because it's something you talk about and I think it's super important and I, I think too many people still don't know about it. And most of the people who listen to my podcast are women. Um, although, Hey brothers, if you're listening rad, let me know.

[00:26:25] And, uh, and I do think this is of value to both men and women. I mean, I know it is a hundred percent and I want to talk about semen retention and men controlling their sexual energy. Could you just like, give us an intro into that and, and why it's so important.

[00:26:38] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: mm-hmm. Yeah. So this is something that's been around for thousands of years. This is not just a new age thing. It started coming up recently and, you know, because ever since social media started expanding, it's like, oh wow, all this could be really communicated a lot easier. Uh, but this has been around for thousands of years.

[00:26:52] You know, in China, ancient China, traditional Chinese medicine, they talk about it. Uh, in Ayurveda, ancient India, they refer to it. So these are practices that, the synopsis of it is the more you find balance with retaining your seed, which is your energy, your life source energy, and you find that balance in it, the more you'll be able to cultivate that energy as healing energy within your body.

[00:27:13] That cheat, right? And so if you think about deep down, like when we're just busting a nut every day or whatever, may be too frequently, And we're not getting the proper resources to rebuild that. Which, you know, there's a certain, uh, point of no return where if you are busting or not, there's no matter how healthy you eat, no matter how much you move, no matter all the healthy practices, it's not gonna bounce back.

[00:27:32] It's not, um, that's just releasing from your body. So semen and sperm creates live source energy when it combines with the egg with a woman, right? It creates this beautiful essence, this being on this planet. That's why you and I are talking. It's because two of those things came together and created us.

[00:27:47] And so if that is just being released from the man all the time from masturbation or pornography, which is also something we can get in the weeds on too. But more importantly, if it's just being released, it's, uh, depleting that life source energy, that creative energy, right? Sexual energy is creative energy.

[00:28:04] You're creating another being. And so if we can retain that to a certain balancing degree, we can channel that energy in other areas of life. So a lot of the guys I talk to, they noticed a little bit more energy kick. They noticed their drive is a little bit higher. Or maybe a lot of it, or they notice that they're not as distracted or they could put that energy into other areas related to their crafts, their craftsmanship, their, their building, their entrepreneurship.

[00:28:27] So this is something for guys to test out and see how they feel. And the Daoists, they usually focus on a, a certain range where it's age and years minus seven divided by three, I believe that's correct. Age and years minus seven divided by three. So, you know, if you're a 30 year old guy minus 7 23 divided by three, that's about how many days in between you want to ejaculate.

[00:28:51] Um, I believe I said that right. I, you guys could, don't quote me on that, but look it up online. So the Daoists are really big on this balancing activist where you can release and ejaculate every so often. Right. But, uh, yeah, I mean that's, that's the synopsis of it right there, is it's really, uh, a healing thing you can practice on.

[00:29:08] But it always goes back to the why as well.

[00:29:10] Nathan Maingard: Interestingly enough, it's been something I've fluctuated with throughout my life. So I actually, just a brief story is that when I was about 14, 13, 14 years old, I was driving home from school. My dad was driving me home from school, just the two of us in the car. And he's like, so Nathan, have you started masturbating?

[00:29:26] And it was like, in hindsight, it was such a courageous thing for him to do as a dad, especially at, you know, in that time. And, um, and he gave me a book on spiritual sexuality and it talked about all these kind things. And unfortunately it was too late. And unfortunately I didn't take enough. I didn't take it seriously enough.

[00:29:43] And I was already so indoctrinated, even as a young boy in, in South Africa in the nineties, um, I was so already into porn. I was into, um, the objectification of, of sexuality and of, of the feminine of that beautiful creative force. I was like, it was all about taking, and through that I was losing my power, right?

[00:30:02] I was giving it away. And, and so I often think about that and. Anyway, long story short, I've fluctuated in and out, and I noticed the times when I am taking responsibility. And even recently I was practicing self pleasuring and like bringing myself to that edge and then holding back. And I was just very aware of noticing like, wow, how powerful this feels that I can both choose to go into the discomfort of the ice bath and I can sit there and be calm and be present, and I can go into the bliss of almost ejaculating and I can hold back because I'm, I'm strong and I want to hold that energy and that energy is mine and I'm in control.

[00:30:39] And it's like, it's almost like finding the balance between pain and bliss and learning how to just move between them in the way that I choose. Does that make sense?

[00:30:49] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: yes, absolutely. That's exactly where I'm at with all of this. Is it, uh, it's truly a mental thing in many ways that connects to that physical and spiritual essence we're talking about. I mean, they're all the same, let's be honest. But, um, yeah, I mean, it's a mental thing. It's a mental game at first, right?

[00:31:04] It's like, how do I find a balance with it? Also, I like to change the idea of it. Like if you guys are calling it masturbation, let's switch that to sexual energy cultivation. Like it's, it's a healing sexual energy cultivation In our day and age too, we're we're told like through all religious practices that have been misconstrued and aren't really based in the, the true origins of religion, that masturbation or self-pleasure is bad.

[00:31:28] Don't do that. Don't touch yourself. All that stuff, and we've been indoctrinated to think that is such a shameful thing, and the guilt should spiral through us through that. And so I've been through all that my whole life. And so, uh, I got to the point where I started researching, you know, Mantak Chia. Are you familiar with Mantak Chia?

[00:31:45] Nathan Maingard: Yeah.

[00:31:46] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yeah. So he's like a, he, he's, you know, he is in, I believe in his seventies now, but he's a wizard when it comes to all this, you know, he has the masculine sexual energy book. There's a lot of these different practices you can look into, but if you guys aren't aware, Monta, chiia, look into him as C H I A, Montauk, and, uh, incredible work.

[00:32:03] I started diving into some of his stuff, his videos, and then, uh, reading some of his books and the, the microcosmic orbit and all these different things where you can really cultivate that energy and circulate it. Um, which is that healing frequency and channeling sexual energy. You know, if you don't use it, you lose it.

[00:32:18] So a lot of these guys are practicing se practicing semen retention. They take it to the next level and will go for 30 days, 60 days, whatever. But there's never a real reason behind it. The reason they're doing it is because they had a shameful experience in the past of masturbating or pornography. So they're like, okay, cold Turkey, no more of this.

[00:32:34] Ever not doing that. And so I used to be at that point too, where now I'm like, no, no, no. I'm gonna work this energy near daily and use it as a, a catalyst for healing energy and retaining the seed, you know, and releasing when it feels necessary. Um, you know, for the health, health benefits of the prostate or whatever too, which is also something to consider.

[00:32:52] But yeah, man, there's a, there's a lot of ways and directions we can take this, but it's definitely something to look into guys if you're, you know, just, uh, self experimenting with this.

[00:33:02] Nathan Maingard: Beautiful. I mean, I'd love to turn it just like, dive down the path of how women, because as I said, probably about 70% of the listeners currently are women. So I'm curious how can a woman support her man in, in this, like, what's, what's a good way to, to be a part of that cultivation together?

[00:33:19] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: you know, it's the way you bring it up to your man is number one, right? And ask if he's ever considered something along those lines. Uh, or if he's ever thought about it. If you are intimate right now and you have a, a, a healthy sexual relationship together and intimacy, uh, then that's something that should be a little bit easier to communicate.

[00:33:37] Now, if you haven't had that sexual intimacy as much, the hard part is the man not should be, but, you know, having more of that masculine energy, it would be better for him to bring up these types of things. But obviously he may not be aware of these things already. So, um, you as the woman

[00:33:56] can

[00:33:57] Nathan Maingard: podcast.

[00:33:58] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: what's that?

[00:33:59] Nathan Maingard: Send him this podcast.

[00:34:00] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yeah, right. There we go. He's gonna absorb a lot from this, man. Um, so I think, you know, if, if you can spark the conversation along the lines of, Hey, have you heard of semen retention? I just heard this on the podcast, or I heard about this recently. Um, I was curious if you heard about this. And most certainly, he probably has, you know, it's, it's become pretty mainstream nowadays.

[00:34:22] And then you can start the conversation from there. Just be like, Hey, you know, I was hearing how this can be very healing for you and help you redirect your energy and support you with your overall health and healing. Um, yeah. Have you ever pondered doing that with me? We can still get very intimate and enjoy each other's, uh, you know, healing energy.

[00:34:39] I like to say healing a lot, but it's true in cultivating that energy, uh, but retaining it, you know, perhaps look into that. Right. I don't, it's, it's however the dynamic of the relationship is, so it's difficult to say, but for the most part, I'd say just spark the conversation, see where he is at with it.

[00:34:54] That's a good place to start.

[00:34:56] Nathan Maingard: Beautiful. I've, I think one of the things I've heard from women at times over the years is the challenge that so many men have such fragile egos around their sexuality, that it becomes a challenge to bring something like that up without the man being like, oh my God, this is, I'm, I'm a terrible lover.

[00:35:10] I've, I, whatever the story that come up with, um, it's, it becomes a bit, I, I wanna dive into one thing before I forget it, which is around the NOFAP, you know, like, which you, you mentioned it a moment ago. This, this whole thing of men who have been like addicted to porn and have had the, and just for context like that really took me a long time to get over the harm that that did to my psyche was watching porn.

[00:35:33] It just really fucked with me. And I, and I know that it's doing that to a lot of people younger and younger as well. Like the average age I think is like nine or 10 that a child first sees porn these days, which is horrific. And, uh, anyway, all that being said, so some of those. Men come through and they're like, right as you said, they like, I'm done with this.

[00:35:51] This isn't working for me. And there, there is a big difference here. There's an important distinction is that those men are saying they're not gonna, um, as you said, self-pleasure or cultivate that energy anymore, and they're actually losing out by doing that.

[00:36:04] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Mm-hmm. Yes, absolutely. And I think, you know, if we shifted the whole idea from nofap to no porn, it's not as attractive as a name. But if we really started saying no porn, I think the whole context of this would change immensely because all these guys are, you know, on these groups and collectives are like, no fap, no fap.

[00:36:21] It's like, no, it's not about no fapping. It's about, you know, no porn is the main thing and it's, uh, no porn plus no release. Maybe that's it. Like that's, uh, along the lines or, or balanced balance is key, right? With everything in life. And so I've had a, a tremendous amount of issues with it in the past myself too.

[00:36:38] So I can definitely empathize with you on that. And it's, it was a huge challenge and there's still downloads in my subconscious that come up and I'm like, ah, like, that is something that's really difficult to work through at times. But, uh, that is one of those things that I think, you know, with time you could begin to shift your outlook on stuff like that.

[00:36:53] So if you're, you know, if you're a guy watching this or, or listening to this or, uh, even a woman and you, you know, you, a lot of these women are in relationships and guys are actually watching it still. And it's very common, very, very common. I have a lot of clients that go through this right now and they're like, man, I have this lust, but it's outside the relationship.

[00:37:10] It's for a screen. It's not even for my intimate, uh, woman. And so, uh, in those situations, I think it's, it's, it goes back to the deeper why as we keep going back to, um, it's redirecting the energy. So if you find yourself as a guy that, you know, gets called into watching porn, um, catch yourself in that moment and redistribute the energy towards another habit or ritual or.

[00:37:33] Whatever it may be. I like to say, control the mind with the body, right? So it's not just about controlling the mind with the mind. That's the hardest thing to do nowadays. How do we control the mind with the body? You're into ice bath, you're into kettlebells, for instance. Those are great examples. Take a cold shower right away, do 20 pushups right away.

[00:37:48] Uh, shake the body all of a sudden and redirect that energy and transmute the e the energy. It's not about resisting or fighting the energy, it's about transmutation, right? Um, that's what sexual transmutation really is, is, you know, shifting the sexual energy into other creatives of life or creations. Um, going back to it being creative energy and that's the core of it.

[00:38:07] So those are some foundations, I'd say, right? There's a shifting of the habits and the energy frequency around where you're going, um, where your mind's at with those kind of things. Did that answer, did that go into that?

[00:38:18] Nathan Maingard: Oh, very much man. I, I, thank you. I'm so enjoying this conversation, so I like, I, uh, yeah, I'm having great fun. So I, I wanted to ask you, you mentioned around clients, so obviously you're a coach, you work with people and, well, not obviously, but that's what you are, one of the things that you offer.

[00:38:33] And um, I'm just curious to hear a bit about that. Like, what is the process that you'll take someone through? Um, maybe even if you wanna share like an amazing breakthrough experience that you've had with a client, if you can, you know, obviously respecting privacy, et cetera. But I would just love to hear some more about that.

[00:38:48] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yeah, absolutely. So the way I work with clients, it wasn't always this way, but over the past couple years I've really prioritized this is that quote unquote holistic approach. And I know the word holistic, whole body approach is, you know, the word's thrown out a lot. But for me it's, it's occupying the eight dimensions of wellness.

[00:39:05] You know, and there's many of these, and I'll throw out some of 'em, but it's environmental, it's social, it's spiritual, it's physical, it's intellectual, it's emotional. Um, occupational, financial, all these different layers of our, our human essence, right? They all inter impact and intertwine within each other. So it's not just about focusing on the physical health with, you know, dieting and restricting calories and eating nutritious foods and then lifting weights and moving. It's like, okay, how does this connect to that broader vision of, you know, how does your occupation go into this? How is your schedule with work?

[00:39:39] Are you satisfied with work? Um, you know, how do you feel about your purpose? Is that connected to your spirit in many ways? And how does that transcend into this aspect of physical health? So for me, the way I work with clients is, first things first is identifying their mindset and purpose. And that's one of the pillars of the innerfit program I've created is, uh, mindset and purpose.

[00:39:57] That's a groundwork, that's the bedrock of transformation, is how do we analyze where your purpose is at analyzing your core values, uh, and really unpacking where your mindset's at. The negative thought loops, self-talk, communication with yourself and others. Um, that is truly what's gonna be, you know, the, the, the catalyst for change in life is really unpacking those areas.

[00:40:20] And then we get into the weeds on your schedule, on your sleep, on your overall habits related to perhaps journaling, um, fitness and, and movement and nutrition. Now it sounds like a lot, and that's what's crazy about, it's like, oh gosh, there's a lot of things to cover here in this program, but I keep it very simplistic and it's a step-by-step process to where it's not overwhelming, but they're baby steps, which inspire the change.

[00:40:42] Um, human beings, if we had a whole list of all these things to do at once, it, uh, we get spread thin and then all of a sudden we're drawing all these different cards, but we don't have one specific thing to put our energy towards and hitting myopic and tunnel vision with what we want. So the way I work with clients is creating that groundwork and then finding what is most important and what is most essential.

[00:41:00] That's what the stoics belief too, is temperance, right? What can we find with what is most essential? Right. And so it's a really beautiful experience working with these clients and I just love hopping on calls with them every week and supporting them. I do a lot of group coaching as well with men's groups.

[00:41:16] Um, and I work with women quite a bit too, on and off, but I've prioritized a lot of men's work right now. It's just where my calling is. Um, and so yeah, just recently, you know, some clients that get off medications, for instance, it's such a breakthrough, you know, uh, ADHD medications One of my clients was on and um, you know, for years of his life and now he's in a transition where his dopamine has just been in a different trajectory for it, it's been challenging for him.

[00:41:38] He spaces out randomly and things like that will come up. But he's such a strong and like, just powerful man. He's on top of it and he's so dedicated to this lifestyle of natural living. Um, now that he is gone through this momentum shift to, to where he is, you know, I'm always going back to him just like you're rekindling these receptors, right?

[00:41:54] You're rekindling them, you're changing them. And so be patient with yourself. It's not gonna be an overnight thing, but you're brain is creating neurogenesis. There's new synapses being made, and um, but it's just powerful. You know, getting off medications is my number one goal for a lot of the clients that are on them.

[00:42:09] Um, and also just seeing them have breakthroughs when it comes to their energy. That's my favorite thing. It's like, oh dude, my energy even two weeks into this program is amazing. And that's what just inspires me so much is their energy was down in the dumps when I started working with them. And so these micro changes just create that massive impact and I'm just, I just love it, Nathan.

[00:42:26] Nathan Maingard: I love that. That's so, such a, such a great result. I, yeah, I resonate, man. It's like I was saying to my, so I have a, a, a business coach I've started working with recently who's just changed my life because he helped me to break through some serious internal, um, mind blocks around abundance and around offering and asking for value.

[00:42:45] And, and it's been awesome. But, um, I, I was saying to him at one point, like, he's like, so you feel good about these, these beautiful new clients that are coming in, et cetera. And I was like, yeah, I'll feel good when I've got some testimonials at the end, you know? And he said, He's like, okay, well I would suggest just listening out for testimonials.

[00:43:03] Like now, like, just listen to what people are saying, listen to the responses. And as he said that, I realized, oh my gosh, like I haven't, you know, I'm so focused on like helping people to transform in this big way to the end, you know, focused on that end piece. And I realized, wow, like right here, right now, I can check in and think about these conversations I've had with some of these clients where the things they're saying are massively transformational things.

[00:43:26] And that has been also good for me. It's like there's that part of me that wants to make sh it's like I wanna do good enough. And I see that old shadow of that little Nathan who never felt like he could do well enough. And just like being friends with that little guy being like, it's cool man. Look at us.

[00:43:40] We're doing great. Well done. And so, yeah, I hear you. And when I hear you, I just feel that like gratitude for, for what you're doing out there and, and, and the reflection in myself as well. So thank you so much.

[00:43:49] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Thank you, man, for sharing that. I, I totally resonate. And it's funny, I've, I used to be caught in the weeds on that as well, when it was just like, all about that, you know, you're climbing up Mount Everest, Mount Kil, manjaro. It's, it's this treacherous adventure. And, and then all of a sudden you get to the top and you plant the flag and you're like, all right, shit, we gotta go back down now.

[00:44:05] And it's like, well, the journey was actually the most important part. It's not about getting to the top and planting your flag and being stoked about you making it. It's about actually, there's a whole nother journey to get down. Uh, and so it's never ending journey, just always gonna be a cyclical going up the mountain, going down, going up the mountain, going down.

[00:44:21] And so, Yeah, tracking that with clients is amazing. That's such a good feeling. And you know, whenever I message them and I see them text something like, man, this has been an amazing, thank you so much for that, uh, conversation. I'm fired up now. I'm ready to go. I'm like, yes, that's exactly right. Like, you're ready to go.

[00:44:36] You know? Uh, so yeah, it's, it's, it's amazing, man.

[00:44:41] Nathan Maingard: Beautiful. Beautiful. Well, one of the things I wanted to dive into with you, it's a bit of a segue from what we've been chatting about now, but it, it's very interesting to me because you spoke about, in, in your intake questionnaire, you spoke about matrix, the matrix living and like nature and the matrix.

[00:44:57] And I'm just curious to hear like, what is that, what is that for you? What are you talking about? Tell us, tell me about

[00:45:02] that.

[00:45:02] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yeah, Absolutely man. So, to start off, we'll say Tech Driven Living, or Matrix Living is basically. An example would be you wake up in the morning, right? And you immediately go on your phone after the alarm goes off. You know, you don't wake up intuitively with the sun and have this natural li you immediately go on your phone, you scroll for an hour.

[00:45:22] After doing that, you know, you disregard going outside, getting some sunlight. And by the way, this is an example of like a matrix living. know, something you can follow along with. You immediately go downstairs, you drink a hot, hot cup of coffee, right? Within 30 minutes of waking up, you're dehydrated. And then you scramble onto work, driving to work, stressed out.

[00:45:41] You haven't taken a second to breathe consciously. Then you go into work and all of a sudden you're giving energy to all these people, all these emails, all these things on, uh, the work, work, work. You're a human doing. You're not a human being. And then you take a break. Your lunch break is oriented towards going through the fast food line at McDonald's, for example.

[00:45:58] You eat that meal, you feel so drained and tired you drink another cup of coffee to pick yourself up. You haven't drank much water, good quality, salt, uh, and then it's the end of the day and you go back home. From work. You're on your transit, the traffic sucks. You're just screaming. You're, you're so frustrated.

[00:46:12] Uh, you're listening to music that has, you know, low vibrational frequencies to it. That's something that's not picking you up. Perhaps it's some like trash wrap or whatever. And then you get home and then you open up and crack open a beer, go back to your phone, you go back to the tv, go back to YouTube, and then you go to go to bed and you scroll with blue light right before bed.

[00:46:32] That's a lot of people's lives right now, and I'm not making fun of it. I'm just showing like that's what it looks like from a bird's eye view, from an objective view, if you really analyze a lot of people's lives, unfortunately, that is the case. And it is so so unfortunate because we know what is possible.

[00:46:47] It's just we get caught in that matrix life. Now, on the contrary, if we look at a nature driven life for tapping into our highest selves, we would wake up naturally. We open up the blinds, we get some natural sunshine. Perhaps we just lay in bed and we breathe consciously, and we come back to our body. You know, just take a visualization meditation for a second.

[00:47:06] Get outta bed, make the bed. Plenty of time for the morning routine, the grand rising routine so we aren't rushing. Make the bed immediately. Hydrate. Tongue scrape a little bit, you know, maybe some oil pull with some coconut oil that healed the gums and teeth. Then we go downstairs. You know, the hydration really is the most important part.

[00:47:21] So we go to the hydration, drink some mineral salt with some lemons and apple cider vinegar. Sip on that for the next 30 minutes to an hour. Go outside, get some sunshine ground barefoot. Take advantage of a journaling practice or some chi gong. Maybe do a cold plunge, right? Something like that. All of a sudden we're feeling so alive.

[00:47:38] And then we break our fast two to three hours later cuz we're not craving food. Cause our body's satiated from the sun. And all this stimulus and stuff we're bringing into our vessel to heal. So we don't really need food right away. So we eat a nutritious meal. We don't use the microwave. Instead we cook it on the stovetop ton of color, ton of antioxidants.

[00:47:54] We feel so nourished. And then we get into work and we're excited to go into work cuz we're playing binaural beats in the car. We're listening to an uplifting podcast. It's gaining some knowledge. We're going to work, we're excited, we're communicating, put the work in good lunch break on our transit back home.

[00:48:10] We're ready to take advantage of our side hustle project that we're so excited about. Cause we're, we're really pursuing entrepreneurship. We know that the job we're going to is not the best, but we have gratitude for what we have. Um, and we know it's just a segue into what we wanna go down to and later in life, right?

[00:48:24] With the, the stepping stones. And so we're grateful for what we have now, even though it's not the most satisfying work on our side hustle, perhaps play some music, you know, go in the sauna, get a workout in, eat a nutritious meal, and then we turn off all the lights and we come back into our essence reading a book.

[00:48:40] And then we go to bed, we get seven to eight hours, nine hours of sleep, wake up refreshed and do it again. That's nature living, right? That's the, like tapping into this natural essence in this crazy, modern world. And I think I, I know that that is what everyone is striving for. Now, it's difficult because of the dopamine rushes, because of all this nonsense news that is so distracting.

[00:49:03] So me personally, to live that nature driven life. And yes, I get sucked into the Matrix, we all do, but I come back out. I'm like, I'm not going back in there. And then it'll happen every once in a while, right? But that is like one of those things, when you tap into the feel good stimulus and the working in and the working out, it's like, whoa.

[00:49:20] Like there's no way in hell I'm going back to that old life and the matrix living full-time. And so that's a little example of it. Nathan, a little storyline.

[00:49:30] Nathan Maingard: Christian, you took me on a journey there that was amazing. And I'm curious around because you obviously are like, I found you through Instagram. You're po, you've got a big amount of people following you on there. You've got a, you've established, so you are using that social media as a way to get your message out.

[00:49:46] How do, how do you balance and keep yourself in check? How do you keep your boundaries in, check around, tapping into the matrix when you choose to, and then tapping out. And I'm asking this cuz this is something I

[00:49:58] struggle with,

[00:49:58] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yeah,

[00:49:59] Yeah, yeah. so for me personally, it's an on and off thing throughout the day. So I'll take weekend breaks for instance, where it's a little bit longer or strong end, I like to say, cuz it's not weak, it's very strong. And I'll utilize every Saturday a lot of times, you know, take advantage of microdosing or mushrooms or something like that.

[00:50:17] Or really des designating to how do I, you know, get this two to three hour hike in. That's my reset button right there. So I have at least one to two days a week where I automatically have this extreme nature driven life. Also throughout the day I sprinkle in. It's all about sprinkling cuz a lot of us, it isn't necessary to go full out dopamine detox all the time.

[00:50:34] So for me personally, um, I do like the longer dopamine detoxes towards the strong end the weekend. And then throughout the day I'll do these sprinkling of, okay, I'm gonna go on a walk, leave my phone at home. In between calls I'm gonna look off in the distance, I'm gonna take advantage of some sun. I'm gonna do a cold bath to get back into myself.

[00:50:51] And so it's this constant tech, nature, tech, nature throughout the day for me. And then I have must have non-negotiables like no phone within the first 30 minutes to an hour of the day. Absolutely not. That's one thing I've learned from my hardships in the past. And that relationship, it just makes me feel drained right after that.

[00:51:06] So no phone, first thing in the day that's non-negotiable for me. Um, I, I have these rituals and, and routines down that automatically help me come back into that nature life because I know and anticipate being on my laptop and phone the majority of the day, making content going on client calls. So for me it's just, it is constant ricochet this little like back and forth.

[00:51:27] Uh, loop. And so, uh, that's how I do it, man. I just have designated habits and rituals throughout the day. I, I know for a fact I'm gonna be doing. And then, uh, that keeps me in that balance between the, the, the tech life sharing social media, building that community, while also just coming back to my inward self.

[00:51:45] kept it kind of broad, but that's, that's usually how it's unfolding.

[00:51:48] Nathan Maingard: yeah, yeah. That's kind of what I'm starting to experience as my clients are, as I'm getting, my books are kind of getting fuller now, cuz I've been working on this for a few years and it was a big shift out of like being a professional musician and then completely falling apart, dark night of the soul and then realizing, oh, there's a deeper calling here, and that's what's been missing.

[00:52:05] And so I'm finding now as, as I'm getting more structure because I've got more consistent people who I'm working with who are relying on me and I'm relying on them. We haven't, we have a. The, what's the symbiotic relationship? And because of that, I'm finding structures kind of naturally coming in more and I'm seeing like, oh, it's super important that I really make clear boundaries around what I am and I'm not doing at certain times of the day.

[00:52:29] so yeah, I'm, I'm, I find I'm resonating with what you're saying and it's, I'm moving more in that direction. Sometimes. I've been super, I, I wanna say the word strict, but it's not really, it's just, um, very on it like patterned very ha habituated. And I actually really enjoy those times. But I do fall it, like, I'll wake up four 30, be an hour and a half to two hours of personal practice that before anyone else wakes up.

[00:52:51] And then that getting that in for like, that changes everything. That morning routine is the absolute, that is the Power Point in my day. That is a point where I have the most power to affect everything else in my life for me.

[00:53:03] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Mm-hmm. I wholeheartedly agree. I, I think the way you start today completely sets the trajectory on how you move forward, right? Like what I was saying about, you know, waking up and being on the phone, the 30 missed two hour. You immediately sit there, you're like, Whoa, now I'm stuck with myself. Now what do I do?

[00:53:18] Right? That's such a weird feeling. Then you're, you, that's that matrix. Like you just hop outta the matrix, you're sucked out of it. Like, whoa, that black hole, I was in there for a while. Right. such a unique experience. We've all experienced it and uh, yeah, I mean, I totally agree with you, man. The way you start the day, if you just really had that mental fortitude to knock out things that are super freaking challenging, to start something simple is just make the bed right away.

[00:53:39] I think that's one of the easiest little things you can do is like, oh, there's a little accomplishment there. I made the bed. Um, that's what I like to do. And you know, just having specific like non-negotiables. So when I'm traveling for instance, it's like people are always like, how do you maintain, you know, integrity with your routines when you're completely out of, you know, your house and you don't have all the things at hand?

[00:53:56] I'm like, well, I have the non-negotiables. I have. I wake up morning, sunlight, wash the face, tongues, scrape, can bring all that with me, right? Sun's always there no matter where you are on earth. Right? At least I hope. Uh, and then, know, having the tongue scraper, I bring that with me when I travel, so I clean out the, the tongue and whatnot and.

[00:54:14] Um, yeah, and hydration. You can pretty much hydrate. Just bring some essentials, like the salt with you, the lemon, you know, apple cider vinegar if you can have it. Or at least just go for salt and water, drink that up and, you know, then there's nonnegotiables, like I'll have my, uh, non-negotiables. There's, uh, my journal I'll have with me or reading.

[00:54:29] So movement, I can always move at any moment in time. So find things that you can immediately stick to and click with at any place, anywhere in the US or us. What am I saying in the world? See, there's a Freudian slip right there, there. I'm stuck in my box in the US right now. Can't leave you can't leave the us.

[00:54:46] Oh, man. Um, but yeah, that's the, uh, that's how I work around it when it comes to that too.

[00:54:52] Nathan Maingard: I'm so glad you dropped that in cuz that's one of the pieces. I, I have challenges with still, like once I'm out of my little comfort, my, my little box of of ha habit. I've, I, I struggle to kind of get that maintained. But what I also like is a kettle bell. Like I've got my kettle just behind me here and I can literally just put that in my car wherever I go.

[00:55:10] Obviously if I'm flying, it's more challenging, but still body weight. But the kettlebell is, is cool. It's there, it's this big thing that's in front of, it's like, come on man, swing me.

[00:55:18] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Yeah.

[00:55:19] Nathan Maingard: uh, and, and that helps. So, so I wanna move us into the, uh, I've got a, a question for you in the patron only section here, but I, I have one more question for you and I Yeah.

[00:55:29] I just really appreciate this conversation. I feel like I could just, we could just dive into this for hours, but, uh, the question I have for you is, when you hear the words, we are already free. What comes up for you?

[00:55:40] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: It goes into what we were discussing earlier regarding gratitude in the present. You know, despite some of the difficulties that arise in life, we are already free, is not having the chains put on us based on the outside world. Uh, I think it's, you know, we're, we're not. Creating a prison within the mind that's, we are already free, right?

[00:56:04] It's like already that word is like right there. It's like, that's the big word in that we are already free. Um, you know, we don't need or have any outside chains. We create that illusion within our head and heart. And so the core of that, I strongly believe, is breaking the chains of your own minds.

[00:56:22] Breaking free from the prison you put yourself in within your head. truly there's no one holding you in one place except for you. And so that's what I believe that is. I think it's like, ugh, you know, you have this advantage of quote unquote free will they say. And I think any of us can tap into that.

[00:56:36] And I think it's just waking up, waking up outta the matrix in many ways.

[00:56:41] Nathan Maingard: Christian, thank you so much my friend. I feel like I've just met a, an old friend and I've so enjoyed this reflection and this conversation. So yeah, thanks again. It's been an absolute pleasure.

[00:56:51] Christian van Camp (CVC Wellness: Back out to your brother. It's been a pleasure hopping on and, and chopping up some good stuff.

[00:56:55] Nathan Maingard: Thanks again to Christian van Camp for joining us for this episode. Please do check out his links in the description right now. Go visit his Instagram. This guy, his physique, his smile, his lifestyle, his vibe. It's super inspiring. It certainly has helped me many times get outta bed on the days when I didn't really want to.

[00:57:14] People like him out there knowing that they are doing good stuff, doing good work, being responsible and showing up in the world. And yeah, as a man, I just find him to be an incredible example of physique and of a man who takes good care of himself. So go check that out. As always, I would love to hear from you if this has resonated with you, if you, yourself, are struggling with purpose as it came up in this conversation.

[00:57:36] Purpose is critical. And if we don't have purpose, my experiences with my clients, there's, there's a sense of, a huge amount of self-doubt, self-sabotage, a sense of directionlessness, like, why does it matter which way that I go? Cause I don't really know who I am or what my purpose is or what I'm here for.

[00:57:51] And that then leads to the sense of energy draining out and all these other cascading effects. I've seen so many people who, who take action and take action. Well, I tried this habit, I tried that habit. It's like, okay, but what is your purpose? Until the purpose is clear, everything else is built on a, a foundation of quick sand.

[00:58:08] Every tide can wash it away. So if you're feeling like you just wanna have a conversation about that, you need some support, reach out to me alreadyfree.me/yes, and that will take you straight to my Instagram dms and I would love to chat with you. Otherwise, thanks again to Christian. You'll find him on Instagram and you'll see that in the description, in the show notes, and I will see you next week.

[00:58:29] Thank you so much for remembering that we are already free together. It's such a blessing to run this podcast to share it with you. So thank you. You're amazing. And uh, yeah, I love being me with you. I'll see you next week.