SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, work, body, injury, physiotherapist, good, physio, exercises, day, feel, pain, neck, strength training, teach, gym, point, yoga, fix, resistance bands, cooking, surf
SPEAKERS
Alister Cran, Julia Malcolmson, Martin O'Toole
Martin O'Toole 00:27
what's the difference between an osteopath, a chiropractor and a physiotherapist.
Alister Cran 00:37
So when it comes to physiotherapy, everything we do has to be backed by some sort of medical literature kind of thing. We're not really allowed to practice. Anything that's kind of, you know, maybe may not work, you know, anecdotal sort of stuff. So on the whole, we have to recommend and provide treatment practices with lots of facts, scientific literature. And also Physiotherapy is more about teaching people long term, how to maintain their body, instead of getting people reliant on big fixes and things passive sort of treatments, as well. The basically fix themselves, I think that's the biggest differentiator between physio and Cairo and Ostia. But, you know, there's always good and bad of every profession. But I personally think that a good therapist is one that teaches people how to prevent issues and main, give them the tools they need to maintain their body themselves.
Julia Malcolmson 01:52
So how did how did you two meet because I want to get into first so I'm assuming you're with your physiotherapist. Yes. And Martin came to you because his body is not how we met. Actually. No, no, we met in a men's circle.
Martin O'Toole 02:06
Hey, yeah, we were staring into each other's eyes.
Alister Cran 02:09
Yeah, longingly
Julia Malcolmson 02:11
Oh,
Martin O'Toole 02:13
I did a lot of exercises in the men's circle. Oh, nice. Yeah. That was, well, that's a very good way to meet somebody, I think. Yeah. We talked about men circles for a minute. Does anybody know? I mean, I don't know. Does anybody know? I'm talking to the audience like, like, we have a two row communications channel right now. I don't know how many of our listeners slash viewers know about men circle. So perhaps we should explain what a men circle is? Yeah, for sure. I'm, I'm not an avid men circular.
Alister Cran 02:44
But you know, I've been to a couple. But from what I gathered, with my experience, there is basically a space where men can communicate a bit better. And, you know, just bent.
Martin O'Toole 03:00
Yeah, and I think Express vulnerability as well. Yeah. Yeah. That was definitely a thing. Yeah. And, and probably learn how better to embrace their femininity and embrace that. And Master the balance the Yin Yang balance, that's probably Yeah, I think is what it was. It was a good men circle. And they although we had a lot of doctrine, there was a lot of things we had to sort of go through, you know, every week, which all due respect to the to the guys who organised it because they were because it was a really wonderful thing to do. And it read a good few weeks ago, it fell apart because everyone sort of left the country for a while, didn't they? Yeah. And then we
Julia Malcolmson 03:43
these things always come and go though.
Martin O'Toole 03:46
Nice. So that's how we met. We were staring longingly into each other's eyes. And as you can see our has beautiful blue eyes. Yeah. Yeah, you got blue eyes minor, kind of bluey green. Yeah. And then I said to our, your physiotherapist,
Julia Malcolmson 04:08
and I need lots of things fixed.
Martin O'Toole 04:11
Well, what do you want to want to get that sorted now?
Julia Malcolmson 04:14
Oh, I was talking about you
Martin O'Toole 04:15
Oh,
Alister Cran 04:16
I told him I only work on the physical stuff. Yeah. I can't help with the other stuff.
Martin O'Toole 04:22
Yeah, they'll bring you baggage here. So Well, I went to see Al because of a chronic injury, if you like, which you know about a pain I have between my sort of shoulder blades on my left hand side and it goes into my shoulder and into the upper left arm. And what was interesting about that conversation was as I explained to you how I'd had that problem, since around 2017. What are we new 2022
Julia Malcolmson 04:54
How did you injure your shoulder came out completely. How did I injured my shoulder? How did I show Jim's blue? Let me try that again. Oh, did you injure your shoulder?
Martin O'Toole 05:04
Well, that's a very good question, because actually, I didn't technically injure it. So that's why I was confused. Yeah. And I'd been to see a physiotherapist in London whose name I cannot remember. But frankly, who took a lot of money off me on a weekly basis to give me a rubdown. And, and that didn't work. And I've been to see many, many, many massage specialists and body workers. And I've had, I've had all sorts of stuff done to it, and nobody ever fixed it. And I went to see Al. And he asked me a series of questions, and very quickly ascertained, it was my Infraspinatus.
Alister Cran 05:42
This year. It's been hours and years.
Martin O'Toole 05:45
And so do you remember the injury, obviously? Yeah. So would you like to explain that it wasn't actually an injury per se? Or rather, it was an injury created by weakness?
Alister Cran 05:54
Yeah, so Well, there's, there's two main ways that, you know, you injure structure a tissue, it can be one sort of high volume load thing all at once, like car crash, but a lot of the time, it's just repetitive, gradual overload over time. And when it comes to tendon injuries, especially you, you have to load it a very specific way again, for it to actually heal. So there's no amount of passive work you can do on it, that's going to actually structurally fix the tendon, you need to gradually loaded at a specific rate over time to actually encourage the tendon to heal itself. Yeah. And so if you find that you're going backwards and forwards week on week to practitioner and they're providing, like, some sort of passive treatment, it's, it's not going to fix it. At the end of the day. You're gonna you're gonna spend a lot of money. Feel good?
Martin O'Toole 06:53
I did. Yeah. Yeah. And it didn't feel good. Wasn't for long. Yeah. Oh, yes. All the good feels.
Alister Cran 07:01
Yeah, but I think I explained it, like we chatted about it briefly, in my workshop I did as well. It can actually rewire your brain too. So if you go for passive treatment that makes you feel good, once a week, every week, your brain is actually going to rewire the same way as addiction. And when it comes to the day before or two days before, your brain is going to actually send impulses, saying, Oh, this is painful, again, I need some passive work done. And so it's, it's the same as any sort of addiction, you're relying on something to alleviate pain. And it's not a good route to go down. And it can really, really, really was a lot of problems for people with chronic chronic pain. So chronic back pain and chronic shoulder pain as well, if they go to a practitioner week on week to just get some hands on work done. It can make those pathways in the brain that elicit pain, really ingrained and, and then it's a really difficult process to, you know, get them back to 100% plus all the, you know, the psychological priming, as well. So the practitioner, if the practitioner keeps telling you every week, yeah, you got to do this, it's going to fix it, it's going to fix it. That priming, you know, that's that's hard to work through that sort of priming with clients as well. And patients, you can get some patients sometimes where they've got these ingrained beliefs that are just so so full on that, even if you explain to them exactly why these treatments before aren't working, and why this will work. It, it won't even register, because that priming in their head is just so full on. And you can sometimes tell that just from like the first consultation whether to gradually ease the information on someone as well. Because they won't be able to handle it all at once. And then they won't come back.
Martin O'Toole 08:52
Yeah, yeah. Thanks for that. And so just to elaborate on my issue, my issue was actually through inactivity, and through, obviously, being a writer sitting on my desk all the time sitting on my desk, slightly going like this sort of leaning forward a little bit and and caused this, this injury as a result of that. And then ironically, the other reason I went to see him was because of this pain in my left knee. Which as it transpires is from sitting cross legged for the last few years, all the time even commenting on that. She was always telling me, you don't have to sit cross legged all the time. But I was saying I like sitting cross legged. And the point with them in is a meniscus, it is a meniscus injury. And the point was, again, because I'm bending my knee as shape without doing any load or putting any load on it. Right. So without doing any exercise.
Alister Cran 09:46
Yeah. So yeah, at the end of the day, there's no like, there's no, I don't think there's any improper sort of form or technique or improper movements. You can, you can do it's just all Horrible , intolerable life that structure, given what sort of movement you want to do, and, you know, unique, couldn't tolerate all that bending over and over again, I was obviously putting a bit of light on that meniscus, so start to get irritated over time.
Martin O'Toole 10:13
But the fundamental point is that actually, I didn't do anything to injure myself. I injured myself by not doing anything.
Julia Malcolmson 10:21
Yeah. Like you didn't prepare your body to sit cross legged?
Martin O'Toole 10:24
Yeah. And if you think I spent like, 44 years of my life, never sitting cross legged. And then yeah, I get into meditation and this whole new way of life, I'm like, yeah, quite like sitting like this and my knees going, What the fuck, you can't do that?
Alister Cran 10:38
With 45? Yeah, that's exactly how a lot of injuries happen people, you know, they've either stopped a level activity or stopped an activity they've wanted to, they've been doing for like, you know, a couple of years. And then they just go back and try to do the same level activity that they once we're at all, like go from zero, they have not done nothing or never done that activity before. And they're like, oh, yeah, I'm just gonna do that and just just ramp it up to, you know, 100. And that's generally how injuries come about all the time.
Martin O'Toole 11:07
Well, that and that was why why I wanted to get you on the podcast was because I was so pumped, perhaps I was naive and didn't actually know what a physiotherapist did, but my sense of what a physio did, and I'm not sporty, as you know, so I've never had a super sporty athletic background. I used to do plenty of gym training and a lot of running. But then, in those days, I didn't get injured because I was younger, I guess. But I had a misperception of what a physio did. So and I saw I suppose I saw a physio as a, as a responsive therapist. Responding to reactive, exact reactive. Yeah, exactly. So reacting or responding to injury. Yeah. And I was quite pleasantly surprised with your approach. I mean, I think it's safe to say that some physiotherapist probably are more reactive. Is that is that the key so?
Alister Cran 12:07
Well, that's a difficult thing. And I can empathise as well, because I ran practices back in the Gold Coast. And the way the way I treat people and teaching people how to manage their own issues themselves, you're not going to get them coming back twice a week. And that money isn't going to come in twice a week. So if they're therapists in a first world country that's strapped for time and seeing you for 20 minutes, or $100, that they probably they probably, they probably need to do that to keep the lights on. So I totally empathise with that with how a lot of yeah, a lot of health practitioners treat that way. Because the alternative is not practising at all. And not having the money to practice at all. Yeah, kind of blows.
Julia Malcolmson 13:00
But there's a different way to look at that those and because if you end up working with somebody to help them heal their own injury, then you might find that people want to stay with you because of prevention. Yeah, it's a bit like with acupuncture. How isn't it with acupuncture? You used to pay your doctor to help you maintain your health? And when you got sick, yeah, then then the doctor wouldn't charge you. So it's like kind of work together to keep that keep that maintenance to keep the well being? And then when there's an injury, then it then it shifts? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it
Alister Cran 13:30
definitely. And that that's my biggest return clients, people that have already, they're already out of entry. They're already they're pain free. They're doing everything they want to do. But you know, they'll come in once every couple of weeks or once every month. And it'll be predominantly by strength stuff that we do in the gym and teaching them how to maintain their own body themselves. And if there's a nickel or anything that comes up, I teach them preventative work with strength and rehab base stuff in a gym that they can do to stop that niggle becoming something that's going to stop them from doing what they want to do. Yeah, and I and as you mentioned earlier, I attended your bulletproof your knee workshop not too long ago. Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 14:16
Because my knees need bulletproof in a shot to pieces. And one thing I loved about your approach, your modality of your light was that you you did a diagram, at one point where you talked about how people come to see you, but ultimately, most people come to see you with an injury. Yep. But that's just stage one from your perspective. And then you you help them fix the injury. And then you take them through further stages to strength and you want to talk about that for a minute.
Alister Cran 14:45
Yeah, yeah, sure. So, like you said, most people are reactive. They'll only go to physio when they've got something that's stopping them doing what they want to do. And at that point, there's, you know, tissue just duction there's inflammation, all that sort of stuff happening. And it's a, it's a much longer road to rehab. So firstly, get on top of the inflammation, the pain and all that sort of stuff. So they can adequately, you know, do the strength and the rehab sort of work to build that structure back up. And that's what I'd take them through I, I teach him initially that, you know, we're just getting on top of the pain and inflammation, you know, we can do some hands on some Masha Sarge works and dry needling, all that sort of stuff. But structurally, it's not going to fix anything, anything, you any sort of long term benefit you want to gain, it's, you got to do the work yourself. Essentially, no one, no one's going to fix you with their hands or anything like that. And so I go from the pain inflammation part, and I take them through some basic stuff. So they get the confidence back with using that structure and moving through those ranges that generally have been pretty painful to move through, and educate them on pain and which is what a good amount of pain in and what a bad amount of pain is. And then from there, we we start roadmapping them back into, you know, their physical activity and their level of physical activity. So, you know, if they're a surfer, and they have some sort of you no knee problem, they, they need a good level of balance control, stability work, but also, I'm a big advocate of strength work. And that's one of the, you know, the further steps towards the end, strength training has so many benefits in terms of improving your tissue, you know, integrity, making it more robust, and all that sort of stuff. And doing strength training, it's a really low risk of injury in itself. So you can get people adequately doing strength training, to some extent, even a modified extent, even if they have an injury. So they're building everything up while they're still got the injury. And while it's healing. And so I go through the pain, inflammation, then we go through like balance, control, stability work, get some confidence back. And then we progress into, you know, heavy strength stuff. And then we combine that heavy strength work with how they're actually going to use their body in their play, like, you know, surfing, or running or anything like that. Yeah, and then teaching them long term. How to manage that, and how to adjust their body accordingly, if they want to increase their kilometres or they increase their surfing, or decrease and all that sort of stuff.
Martin O'Toole 17:27
Yeah, I love that. Because it's super productive, isn't it? And I think it instils a lot of confidence for whomever you're working with a
Julia Malcolmson 17:34
self empowerment, isn't it? Remember, you can we can heal ourselves? Yeah, that's what we always forget. Sometimes we just need a little external guidance and help. And then we've got that we've got the ability within us, you have to do it. And I think I know myself. I've been to the physio many times, and then they give me my exercises, and I don't do them. Yeah. And that I think that I remember actually, I imagined that it's quite common.
Alister Cran 17:57
Yeah, it is very common. And getting people to understand that doing the exercises to get you to the point where you're out of pain doesn't necessarily mean that the structure is completely rehabilitated to say, for example, you know, you might not be any pain right now with the infraspinatus tendon. I am, you are okay. Because, because I'm not doing the exercises. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when it comes to that, you know, especially like tendons as well, you can get to a point where it's pain free, but it actually takes a good couple of months to heal the holes and the tears in those tendons. And it needs very specific loading of that specific amount of time, as well.
Martin O'Toole 18:38
I think for two weeks, because I went see for what, three, four weeks in a row, didn't I and then I started bailing because of this, that and the other. But for the first couple of weeks, I did start to feel a real improvement and I was doing the exercises, but then I just just use add lots of excuses as to why I wasn't gonna do it. I'm writing my book, yada yada. Yeah, this happened that happened. You know, whenever any excuse. I don't need many excuses to not do exercise. And in that, that's something that I've got to work on. Kind of irritates me irritating myself in a non irritated wave. You know what I mean? Because I was talking to a friend the other day, Audrey, who's been on the show, actually, and, you know, her and her husband are 50 Both I mean, you just wouldn't know would you know, but they it's getting into routine, isn't it? So once you have your you know that those exercises, you're going to do them at the same time every day. Yeah. Well, that's that's the point Audrey was making. So so she she said, Because I'm 47 today of course, this is my birthday today.
Julia Malcolmson 19:40
Happy birthday.
Martin O'Toole 19:42
Thank you. Thank you.
Julia Malcolmson 19:43
That's why we're all wearing flowers.
Martin O'Toole 19:45
Yeah, that's why we're only flowers. If you're watching the video. We're wearing the flowers from our frangipani tree in the garden. So yeah, she said How old are you? I said 47 Should you get into your Martin? You're gonna have to start going to the gym now every day, an hour at least three times a week because we get to the age don't we wear? That? It's not? I'm not 30 anymore. I'm not 20 I'm not 30 I'm not even in my early 40s. So yeah, and this earth rover is just gonna deteriorate. Yeah, if I don't maintain some sort of daily slash, thrice weekly practice, is that right? Yeah, exactly. And
Alister Cran 20:23
what I try and teach people as well, when they come in for physio, is the simplest and easiest ways they can implement something, that's the best value for time for the body. That's not going to take up too much time. And so they can maintain their body for what they ultimately want to use it for. Yeah, so, for example, strength training is just the best in terms of value for money value for time as well. And the risk of injury when doing strength training, it's really low.
Martin O'Toole 20:56
Do you want to elaborate on on the definition of strength training?
Alister Cran 21:00
Yeah, sure. So you haven't got a clue what you taught? Yeah, yeah. So strength training is essentially going to the gym and picking up something really heavy.
Martin O'Toole 21:12
So we used to call it weight training. But yeah, okay. So strength training is weights,
Alister Cran 21:16
any sort of resistance training, you know, used to be like eight to 12 reps. And going to the point, it takes a little while to teach your body, how to go to like true failure. And I educate people on that as well, for the first couple of months, you know, your tissues need time to adapt, because your muscles adapt a lot quicker than your tendons and your ligaments. So you still want to leave some left in the tank for the first couple of months, especially if you're new to it, when it comes to not quite pushing to failure. But yeah, resistance training eight to 12 reps is a good God. Because, you know, people already know that. There's research to suggest that it doesn't really matter how many reps you do, as long as you hit that point of like, eight to nine out of 10 perceived exertion. But yeah, I teach people in my sessions, ways that they can implement things to keep doing what they want to do. Hmm, yeah, I like that. And also, I like the fact that we started working with resistance bands, didn't we? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So your recommendation is you do that first before you start lifting the heavy stuff in the gym. Yeah. So for example, with your particular injury, what we do is get it to a good point where it's pretty comfortable to do everything, it might not be 100% healed at that point, but you can still go to the gym, and then you can work in this other specific rehab stuff around your gym work as well. I teach people, you know, as simple as can be like a push pull, and a leg session, pretty much, two or three sessions a week or around what you like to do. You know, I've had thoughts about this before, and I might be a bit bias as well, because I've grown up experimenting with my body since I was a little kid. So my level of tolerance to load might be a bit greater than the average person.
Martin O'Toole 23:09
Yeah, yeah. Well, anybody who's not watching the video he's quite a strapping Lad is our Al. Yeah, obviously, you've got but were you always did you always have that built? Or were you were you at any point in your life scrawny? Or did you always muscley lad,
Alister Cran 23:25
I think, yeah. Like initially, when we were little kids were pretty scrawny. But we've always been into like surfing and surf lifesaving my brother and I so we've always been pretty stout
Martin O'Toole 23:36
doubt. Yeah.
Alister Cran 23:37
Yeah, we've been we've been pretty stout. And, you know, I've always had the interest of what my body can tolerate, as well. Yeah. So I've always, you know, kind of trial and error different things. And I've had lots of injuries myself. Yeah. So I know what works and what doesn't. And I think that helps to empathise with people too, because I've had some major injuries as well.
Julia Malcolmson 24:01
That what is that got anything to do? Why how you became a physiotherapist?
Alister Cran 24:04
Yeah, big time. I used to. I used to compete in like the state level Australian level for surf lifesaving and state level. soccer football too. So I was always getting like injuries.
Martin O'Toole 24:29
I want one of those. Yeah. That job. That's awesome. Yes, as I was growing up, I was experimenting with my body. Drinking stout. Yeah. Seeing how much stout my body could take. Yeah, before we passed out. Yeah, yeah. And I was always growing it's I've I've always been super, super skinny. And I've gone I've definitely got skinnier in recent years. But of course when you quit drug and alcohol addiction, obviously all the sugar that you you're consuming when you drink 10 pints of Yeah, I think it day the weight falls off, doesn't it? But yeah, well, we we had a conversation with Jake Illing from Bali Training Centre and which will be on on the podcast shortly if it hasn't already been on by the time people are listening to this. And Jake is addicted to fitness, it's safe to say Never before have I spoken to anyone who is who is as passionate about fitness as Jake Illing
Julia Malcolmson 25:35
it makes him feel so good. So he has to do it. Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 25:38
Yeah, he lights up when he talks about it. And as he as he explains that he has this excess energy in the morning when he wakes up. And even though he's meditating and do mindfulness and breath work practices until he goes for 10k Run or you know really hammers it out in the gym or whatever he's doing in the boxing gym or whatever. that nervous energy stays with him. So it's yeah, that's what makes him feel super good. But my point being sitting talking to Jake about this stuff for an hour and a bit as going, oh, man, I gotta get I've got I gotta get back on the gotta get back on this. I gotta get back in the gym. Yeah, I had an excuse. Because I did just start going to the gym again, which I think I told you about, but then my arm got stuck in the middle of a dogfight. So I've got tendon injury, actually, my need to talk to you about
Alister Cran 26:30
might see you next year for it to tooth puncture. Fang puncture. Yeah, my forearm here that was gum deep. It was Oh muda they were fighting each other. And I couldn't move my arm at all. So now I've got this restricted range of motion in mind. You know, you can push that back, but this one is pain. Is it pain in attendance? I guess you just say resistance bands, wouldn't you? Probably the state? I'd have to have a look at it. I could
Martin O'Toole 26:55
I couldn't take a free consult. utilise the podcast and yeah, for a free consult. But yeah, the injured my tendons anyway. So I was I was going to the gym, then I had to stop. So I've not been for what, two, three weeks? Yeah. Anyway, all that to say, I like talking to you. Because you always make me feel like right. Okay, I gotta get I gotta get back on with this. Yeah, yeah, I gotta get behind, I've got to fix this Infraspinatus injury, and I got to fix this disc injury. And that's just through doing the exercises you've already given me with resistance bands, which are actually really easy. And it's interesting to talk about doubling up because what I realised was I, I like to watch, you know, binge binge watch a good drama, or a movie. Yeah, but in recent weeks, I've been smashing all my time into writing my books, I've been doing it. But actually, it's good time to do resistance band training, that sort of thing is when you're watching a movie, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, I don't know that if you would advise that. That's, that's perfect.
Alister Cran 27:57
Well, yeah, I talked to people about how to you know, adhere to the exercises as well. Yeah, just just do it in a way that it doesn't feel like work implementing into morning routine or something like that seems to be pretty effective.
Julia Malcolmson 28:38
I would say those are like setting your alarm so say your because you when you sit at your desk you are just there and I have to go in and tell them to like get up but if he's if you set an alarm and it's like you can this alarms gonna go off and I've got to get up and do one of my sets of resistance training. Yeah, break it up but to make sure you get that into your day
Martin O'Toole 28:56
Yeah, it's it's a strange strange thing that I when I focus my attention on something is one point
Julia Malcolmson 29:04
Yeah, but it just can be very detrimental to your body your physical being which then is detrimental for your well being.
Martin O'Toole 29:09
Yeah, very much so and this the book writing the book is a classic example. I mean, I I have in recent weeks, probably been sitting at their desk for 1215 hours. Just writing and editing and writing and editing. And hopefully it will pay off with a good book but that's the when it comes to writing things. Yeah, I love writing so that you know obviously I'm sure you would spend as much you spend as much time as you possibly can do in exercise or on the surfboard for example because that's your jam. Yeah. And writing is my jam. So So I love doing it, but I'm painfully aware pardon that shit Pong. Yeah, that my body is is taking the brunt of it. Yeah. And it's a funny thing, obviously, to have a podcast called how To die happy and yeah. And preparing to release a book called How to die happy. Yeah. When Earth rover maintenance, Earth rover, being the human body folks, is a crucial aspect of that. Yeah, if I think back to when I first started to do all this work back in 2019, how fit I was and how much Yoga I was doing and how much breathwork and all this stuff, and it's definitely fallen by the wayside again. So I must, whilst I retain my meditation and mindfulness practices, yeah, I need to get back on the mat with my yoga and I need to start doing the resistance bands at Tommy habits. Great point. Great book. I need to reread that.
Alister Cran 30:40
Yeah, that's all once a year one for me.
Martin O'Toole 30:43
It's a good refresher, isn't it?
Alister Cran 30:44
Yeah. It's just it's super, super simple. And he gives super simple examples on how to implement it as well. I would suggest that to a lot of my clients that asked that sort of stuff, too. Yeah, I really liked that one. But that you know, like The Power of Habit, seven habits. You know, how forms habits are all really good, as well. But yeah, atomic habits. Just make it simple. Easy to read. Anyone can pick it up again. Oh, yeah, I can do that while I'm brushing my teeth. Or, you know, I can I can stack that habit with something else. So after I finished brushing my teeth, I go straight into the next thing, like a free flow effect.
Julia Malcolmson 31:31
I do that when I'm brushing my teeth, I either do squats or I do ankle raises.
Alister Cran 31:35
Yeah. Good. See,
Julia Malcolmson 31:36
do it in the kitchen as well. Like when you're, if you're in the kitchen doing something, you just start doing a different movement as you're making food. Great.
Alister Cran 31:42
This is this is a good patient right here.
Martin O'Toole 31:46
I live with the I live with a very accomplished yoga teacher.
Alister Cran 31:49
Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 31:50
People always sort of roll their eyes at me when I'm when I make these comments about not looking after my body because yeah, dude. You live with a yoga teacher. Yeah.
Julia Malcolmson 32:00
But the thing is, because he's writing the book. So like, I will probably get up most days. 5.30/6 o'clock. Yeah, get on my mat. And I always like, join me. Okay, I'm not gonna teach you because it's my practice. But you can join me. Yeah, because he's your recently Yeah, you haven't been coming to bed. So you're going to bed at like two in the morning. And then when you finally wake up, it's kind of roll out of bed and get back on your desk, isn't it?
Martin O'Toole 32:22
And if he's not doing well, yeah, obviously, I'm not reading the book, then I might be able to tell stupid o'clock, mixing and editing podcasts. But yeah, once this books done, and I'm three chapters off finishing it. Exciting, then, yeah, I'm getting back on it totally getting back on it. Well, no, I've got no, we've got no excuses, then.
Julia Malcolmson 32:44
Do you have? Do you have quite a strict routine, like wellness routine? Or are you a bit more flowy? with it? Or? Sure?
Alister Cran 32:50
Um, yeah, I do. In terms of my eating habits, as well, yeah. And I try to, I try to practice what I preach as well. So I'll do the gym, you know, three times a week, three or four times a week around surfing to maintain my body. But I also just find it easier as well. If I have like an eating routine, where I'm cooking up my meals for the whole week, I don't have to think about as much as not as much decision fatigue. When it comes to dinner time. Like oh, makes you say
Martin O'Toole 33:23
decision fatigue. Yeah. I can relate to that. Yeah, it comes to cooking. Yeah. Because I have dealt with time.
Alister Cran 33:33
Yeah, it's, it's just like that, that like that whole discipline equals freedom thing. More discipline you are, the more time you have for the things you enjoy doing. Because all the other bases are covered. Or you just, you know you every day maintenance, Earth rover maintenance sort of stuff.
Martin O'Toole 33:49
Earth ROver maintenance.
Alister Cran 33:51
Yeah, yeah. I talked to Yeah, I got a few patients that as well that they asked me about that sort of stuff. And, you know, I have over the years spent a lot of money. That's all I spend money on his other surfboard equipment, or, you know, people's knowledge on health and fitness and all that sort of stuff. So anyone that I've had a session with, whether it be like a nutritionist or anything like that, I've got it all documented. So for example, if I wanted to increase a couple of kilos of muscle mass, I can just go to a particular regime, someone's written out for me and then implement that. If I want to lose it or maintain for surfing. I just do that. Do that. Yeah. I find it really helpful just to keep everything regimented.
Martin O'Toole 34:37
Well, it makes sense to know. Yeah, I can remember. I can remember that. Yeah, just Yeah, I'm a creature of habit. Yeah, and we all are. I think we are we are we are out when and when I get a routine in definitely sorted but, but then we have sort of debates about this don't worry because I get to the point where I would happily the same me Oh, yeah, Monday the same.
Alister Cran 35:01
Yeah, that's great.
Martin O'Toole 35:03
Then there's, as you said, decision fatigue. I love that.
Julia Malcolmson 35:05
Yeah. But I think that's that's very much the masculine way of being which is nothing wrong with that. So we've you know, even within my masculine sometimes I need that structure. But the feminine likes change. Yeah. So it's really good, I think, to embrace both and have a good balance of like, I could not, like a lot of my family do it. You know, every Monday night is, like, a certain meal. And it's the same every night of the week. I can't do that. Yeah, then I open the fridge and go what's in the fridge and then I make make something up. That's, that's how I tend to cook. But yeah, it would be helpful if say, like, on a Sunday, we cooked up together, the week's worth of food and then it's just they're ready. That would be helpful.
Martin O'Toole 35:45
Yeah, I mean, I could I could get on board with that sort of thinking.
Julia Malcolmson 35:49
The thing is for me is that obviously I come from a more Ayurvedic background and we don't really like to pre cook food. Yeah, food when it's fresh. You eat it fresh. And then yeah, obviously, when you're pre cooking, it's sitting in the fridge. Kind of debates around around the the nutrition nutritional content when you do that, like the life of the food, whether it's still alive, but it does how it you know, if you've got a dahl in the fridge and a soup, and it's there for the week. Yeah, yeah, we both work a lot, you know, and I get home having taught all day. Yeah, like the last thing I want to do then is cook.
Alister Cran 36:12
Yeah, exactly. Oh, then just choose it. Various takeout meal. Well, then we eat out a lot. And I want to stop because it's I think when you eat out a lot, you don't know what's going on your food. Yeah, it's not the same amount of love going in your foods. You control it. And I like to I like to control more what I'm eating
Martin O'Toole 36:34
we eat we we eat healthy food. But the big debate is how much of it is organic when you eat? And what oils going in it? Yeah, they're using vegetable oils of cereals.
Julia Malcolmson 36:47
And then we spend a lot of money at home buying really high quality food. Everything's organic. And yeah, when you throw that out the window doesn't make any sense.
Alister Cran 36:55
Yeah, I got I got told by someone that they even use, like, I don't know how to this is even use like motor oil and stuff, but cooking here and some wrongs and stuff. I think that might be Yeah,
Julia Malcolmson 37:09
I've heard they recycle oil. That is quite rare.
Martin O'Toole 37:13
I know for a fact that do. I met a guy who's in the Rotary Club. Yeah. And they got together and co founded a renal ward in new renal kidney. Yeah. And that was an apparently kidney failure. Yeah. And kidney disease is absolutely rife in Bali, because of that. So people are people are buying used oil from restaurants were Yeah, to then use again to because obviously, oil is expensive. You know, it's in many parts, not a developed country. People are buying this carcinogenic
Julia Malcolmson 37:56
the oil is carcinogenic anyway. So if you're cooking with the seed oils, the vegetable oils that already carcinogenic, you weren't. And the problem is, is most restaurants around here, cook with that. Really hard to find the ones cooking with like coconut oil. Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 38:11
Which is ironic because there are coconuts everywhere.
Alister Cran 38:13
I know. Right?
Martin O'Toole 38:13
But coconut oil seems to be so expensive here, which is it doesn't make sense. It doesn't. It doesn't. But yeah, I'd love to get a nutritionist on the show. She's we can talk about the nuances of this stuff. Because nobody ever told me that I grew up using vegetable oil. Yeah, sunflower oil, vegetable oil, I'm sure. I don't know if we were rapeseed oil. That's another thing in the UK. And all of these oils are absolutely poisonous. They call it vegetable oils. It sounds good, but it's not made of vegetables. It's super poisonous. So So yeah, that's a conversation we need to have separately just to so we can really get to the nuts and bolts of this because Little do we realise that there are so many household products licenced approved. Yeah, governments and government health bodies that you can go and buy in a supermarket or buy in bulk, which literal poison for our bodies. Yeah. Isn't that insane?
Julia Malcolmson 39:07
Yeah, but that's why you want to take control and know where your food coming from. And make it yourself.
Martin O'Toole 39:14
Okay, so I've got to do more cooking I've got to do some resistance band training
Alister Cran 39:18
Do your excercises.
Martin O'Toole 39:22
I think I've said this before on this on this show, but I you know, I know nothing. Yeah, I don't project myself as any guru in any way shape or form about anything. Actually, the more I know, less I know, in terms of reading and learning and doing interviews like this. But one thing I do need to start knowing more about is this body. Yeah, to take more carry this body because it's the man or the man on the mend. Yeah. And I think there's something there was something marginally charming about being a man on the mend. But I don't think I need to be quite as on mend still as I perhaps still am, I don't know.
Julia Malcolmson 40:04
The mended, man.
Alister Cran 40:06
Man on the maintenance. Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 40:10
Mantaining man. Yeah. Okay. No further need to add a units about maintaining Yeah, yeah.
Alister Cran 40:18
Yeah when it when it comes to that shoulder injury you don't want, you don't want to go down the route of shoulder surgery. It's It's not pleasant at the best of times and it's one of the most painful things to get done. And you know, when when you add up the costs of not being able to work and the mental health strain of going through surgery and the gradual, you know, reintegration into your activity and all that it's, it's 10s of 1000s of times more expensive than doing your exercises
Martin O'Toole 40:49
was funny. We were talking about earlier on this morning. I can't remember the I'm paraphrasing the quote, and I can't remember who said it, but I think it's something along the lines of wellness is significantly less expensive than illness. Yeah. And it's very obvious stuff when you think about it in these terms. However, how many of us are actually doing this sort of thing? preventatively? I don't know. I mean, we talked to Jake about this the other week, because we live in a strange bubble down here, don't we? Yeah. Take time. Like everybody is fit as a fiddle down here.
Alister Cran 41:25
All good looking people
Martin O'Toole 41:28
beautiful. Yeah, incredible bodies. Yeah. And that's anybody from the age of whatever. 20 to 60s, incredible This 60 Plus? Yeah, yeah. But I think it's safe to say that is an unusual, it's an unusual population. Yeah. Very atypical. Isn't it? But then
Julia Malcolmson 41:49
priority, isn't it? So I think, I think here, it's easier for us to prioritise our health because because we're living such an outdoors lifestyle, aren't we? Yeah, there's so much fresh produce. And I think generally when you get to live more outdoors, yeah. Does equate to healthier living.
Martin O'Toole 42:04
Yeah, yeah. Well, I absolutely no, no, no, no, no. And in stark contrast, I think back to my life in London, where my commute was an hour. Yeah, every morning and an hour an hour plus every evening. So very, very difficult to bake that into a day when you're in the office for 5:36am. You leaving the office at seven 8pm. Yeah, you know,
Julia Malcolmson 42:30
it's funny, it's extremely I love it when you look at different countries and how they look at health. And I remember saying something like England, not all the time. There's a huge difference in to people, but we would generally after work as a group of friends go to the pub. socialising. Yeah, guilty. Yeah, when I was in Scandinavia, you would meet your friends at the swimming pool. Oh, really? And then open it open air freshwater swimming pools. Yeah. And that's generally where you would meet after work and have a swim and have a chat in the hot tub. Well, I can I but I still go to the pub and have a drink but it's just But it's I when I was there, I found that really amazing that people would say Jonna come and meet me at the swimming pool, rather than accompany me at the pub, you know, it was a balance. Yeah. Or we'll go swimming and then we'll go to the pub afterwards.
Martin O'Toole 43:17
Yeah, because we've earnt it out. Yeah. Well, that's the thing though, isn't it? I mean, I don't know because I'm obviously as you know, I don't drink anymore. So I'm not not really plugged into the whole drinking scene here. And I think I'd convinced myself there wasn't really one but there isn't actually there is quite a big scene down here anyway don't is didn't
Alister Cran 43:40
Yeah, yeah, it's pretty big party town. I I'm not really into that scene either. But there there used to be before the pen over there used to be something every day of the week here. It steadily getting back to that I think. And then you got your Australian friends come over every second week now, post pandemic and I always want to do something. It's Sunday. It's got a single fin. I got them. I gotta work tomorrow, man.
Martin O'Toole 44:07
You see the the the internet the global Internet, in fact, well, I mean, the internet is global. Right but but what I mean is that it made global news this week. And Ozzie guy an unruly tourist, as they called him was was doing donuts on a on a scooter. Yeah, Canggu was it Do you see this?
Alister Cran 44:26
No, that sounds pretty consistent with drunk.
Martin O'Toole 44:30
Drunk I mean, this guy was just in the middle of the road just basically fall on break fall and accelerate it just filling the whole street with smoke. They're filming him there's a traffic cue behind him and he's just you know, ah, anyway, the police are searching for it now is that there's a there's a nationwide really on the hunt for this guy. And they're kicking him out when they find him. But they've also said that there's been there have been several complaints obviously since Bally's reopened. Yeah, I mean, let's face it, a lot of people was stuck in their countries. Yes, saving money as well. Get free money. You're getting free money then. Okay, go so they all pile onto planes and then Bali, and they're all party in in Bali. So I guess there's been a few months of absolute madness here. Yeah, big time. God knows we've nearly killed the first few kids on scooters and motorbikes. That's crazy in the air traffic accident.
Alister Cran 45:26
Yeah, yeah. Especially Canggu good. I don't. I used to do one day a week down there. Okay. But I stopped doing that just because of traffic. And it's just, it's just scary. On the road now, as well, you're pulling out in front of you. And they've been looking on the phone texting while they're revving the throttle.
Martin O'Toole 45:44
That's an interesting question. Do you how many injuries are you treating like that you're looking after a lot of people who have had a had a bang on a bike or is it more sports related?
Alister Cran 45:55
Um, so because I came here, mid pandemic. My client base is primarily, you know, people that live here, like expats. And they're generally a bit more responsible on the road. I do. I have had one or two people, various motorbike accidents, but I don't actually treat many tourists. And I would imagine that where the bulk of the motorcycle accidents come from. Yeah, so I get well, I suppose they go to a hospital.
Martin O'Toole 46:27
But do the hospitals here offer physiotherapy?
Alister Cran 46:31
They do. Um, but it's, it's just like every other medical service here. It's not at the level of a first world country. Yeah, it's definitely not the level of a first world country. So there are there are gaps between my knowledge and you know, that average physiotherapy, physiotherapist, Indonesian here, as well. So they do offer it, but it's definitely not as good as you know, first of all, train Australian Canadian or English physiotherapist? Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 47:06
So how many people are percentage wise? How many? How many people come to you with something like me? That is to say, I've got chronic pain. And actually, when I think about it, I've had it for five years. Yeah. Versus I snapped something on the surfboard last week.
Alister Cran 47:28
I'd say the vast majority are repetitive gradual overuse injuries. So similar to similar to you. Yeah. Interesting.
Martin O'Toole 47:36
Do you think that's because we have I don't know, it's bizarre thing we do. As humans, we start to go, Oh, that hurts. Yeah, I'm going to ignore it. Yeah. And I'm going to ignore it, maybe take some painkillers, or I'm going to ignore it and just keep kind of keep going, do what I'm doing. And every now and then I'll grumble about it. But I won't. I won't hurt myself. Do you think that's like,
Julia Malcolmson 47:55
a lack of awareness in the sense of we're not as aware of our bodies. So we start to just think it's normal to feel that pain rather than going oh, wait, that doesn't feel right. I need to go and see somebody.
Alister Cran 48:04
Yeah, definitely. Um, and there's a lot of people you talk to as well, but they'll tell you that they've just had this niggling problem in their shoulder forever. And they're just like, yeah, it's just part of who I am now. It doesn't have to be that way. We get
Martin O'Toole 48:19
used to pay the site. You're talking about me? Yeah. But yeah, I mean, when you listen to you to talking about it like that, objectively. Yeah, it sounds insane. But it is also a thing. And for me, I think also as you as you get older, the oldest person in the room. I think you do. Not all of us, but some of us do tell ourselves well, that's just that's just gonna happen, isn't it? You know, these things are just gonna hurt. But, but obviously, you're both right. Yes,
Julia Malcolmson 48:49
we should feel good. Like, our bodies feel amazing. And when everything's aligned, we have none of those niggles? Yeah, we just feel great. Yeah,
Alister Cran 48:59
and the amount of medical research now on, you know, reversing or slowing down the ageing process, or even preventing it, like you can do things like strength training, or you can reverse arthritic changes and all that sort of stuff. The amount of, you know, information out there now, they, you know, it is at a point where you can get to a point where you're pain free, but you know, willing to old age,
Martin O'Toole 49:23
I thought you said inflammation for you said information. Yeah, the amount of inflammation. Yeah, it's incredible.
Julia Malcolmson 49:30
I find that really interesting. Within yoga, like, I really like to work on mobility and preventative work. So thinking about, okay, so why am I doing this specific fastener versus say, like a different asna that means when I'm at, I can still touch the floor, I can still reach the higher cupboards I can be really mobile. Sometimes I feel like I like to look at it in that way and to see like, I want to maintain the health of my body so I can do all the things I want to do. Oh, yeah. All right up into my 80s.
Alister Cran 50:02
Yes, perfect. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Well, that's, that's what that's what it's about, like, you maintain the body. You just want to keep doing what you've always done for as long as possible.
Julia Malcolmson 50:12
And even make it feel better than you knew you could make it feel. Yeah, exactly.
Alister Cran 50:16
Sure. Yeah, I got, like, 67 year old guys. They're coming in, they're still surfing. Happily. You know, they might not be as fast or as agile as they used to be, but they still work on that stuff in the gym, and they're fine.
Julia Malcolmson 50:32
80 year old guy the week. I want to call them Graham. They might have been called Great. Yeah. And he he surprised us a shout out Graham. If you're listening. He told us he was in his 80s or he was at he was I think it was 80 or 80. He doesn't look it. I was like your AC. I mean, he's sitting in Yeah, yes. Having some Asian food. And he says he can't say he doesn't surf anymore. Because he finds the pop up too much now. Yeah. The body boards. Yeah. And he's like, and he's travelling and living a great life. And he's like, Oh, I know. Like it was
Martin O'Toole 51:01
radiating. Yeah. to somebody and you just see him glow. Yeah. Actually, she she spotted a grey hair on my head and started pulling it. And then she started to route, okay, he's rooting around looking for these grey hairs. And I sort of looked at him and he started laughing because he had a full white, you know, yeah, had a white hat. And he's laughing. I'm going right. And he's sort of like, looks and we got chatting to him. And he was radiating. And so we got we had a conversation about about all of this stuff. Does
Alister Cran 51:31
he live here? No.
Martin O'Toole 51:34
Was he going he was meeting his daughter, it
Julia Malcolmson 51:36
was meeting his daughter, his daughter was going to come out and have a holiday with him. And it was just really nice chatting, because he said being in his 80s A lot of people ignore him. It's like he's invisible. Because he's an older man. Yeah. For us. We were like you're sitting in drift in Yeah, yeah. It's radiating. Yeah, great energy. And you're his daughter's in her 50s. She's coming out to hang out with a dad and have a holiday. And I love it.
Martin O'Toole 51:58
I mean, I Well, this is a little bit makes makes you a little bit sad thinking that, that people see old folks as wallpaper like that, because I was really surprised when he said it. Because I'm usually really keen to to have conversations with people like that. They've been on the planet for a long time. They've done some stuff with some stories. Yeah, exactly. They've got wisdom. But it's an interesting, because when he said it, I was super surprised. And I don't think he was exaggerating. You think it was he was probably a fair and honest point. But it does make you wonder about the West. And when I say the West, Australia isn't the West is it? But it is, you know, I don't know, we're gonna call it a developed Christian country, I suppose that's that's the difference. We have a very different view of our old folks. Compared to the to the east, in the east and barley, for example, where we are now the old folks live with the family. They might all live together in the same compound, the whole the whole
Julia Malcolmson 53:05
little space, but they're part of the family and they still have their jobs within the family and they take care of the kids a lot.
Martin O'Toole 53:11
Yeah, whereas we would have been a home we still is that is the same in Australia. Yeah, big time. Yeah. And the US as well. It's absolutely the numbers are absolutely insane. And
Julia Malcolmson 53:21
then meanwhile, everyone's complaining about child childcare costs and having to put their kids in childcare. And you just think hang on a sec, this doesn't make any sense. Your grandparents are all in a home. Yeah, your kids are all in a childcare centre. There's actually your your parents just be looking after your kid. Yeah, you know and then keep it in the family.
Martin O'Toole 53:38
It's a really good point I'll I was I was actually doing some research for the book because I talked about this in the box about how we look after our or don't look after the elderly and of course, death and dying and all of that sort of stuff that's on the book. But But rising. House prices are apparently one of the main reasons were the main reasons given as to why we don't, we don't well, we ship the old folks off to homes. But we didn't didn't to me because surely, to other to get a house with an extra bit extra bedroom compared to the exorbitant costs for for putting an old person and elderly person old elderly in a home for a year, two years, five years before they die. Surely the latter is significantly more expensive.
Julia Malcolmson 54:24
And as Dan said, you say one other costs because they can help out. Yeah, no.
Martin O'Toole 54:28
And also, I mean, don't get me wrong. Look, there's no judgement here. By the way, folks, in case you know, case you got in case you're sitting there going wow, it's alright for you to say but if you're if you're my mum and dad, you wouldn't be wouldn't be keeping him in the house. Yeah, and I think this perhaps is part of the issue as well. And I know we're going way off piste and we'll get back to the throbber maintenance in a minute but perhaps it's to do with the broken familiales setup in the west where we of trauma after trauma, a generational trauma where some parents really weren't all that great to their kids.
Julia Malcolmson 55:07
But also we've wanted to be super independent. And we've become very individualised, rather than here where we see. And we're lucky because we've seen this, you know, I might not have the same viewpoint. If I was still at home, I've got to come here and see it. Here. It's about community, and you stay together as a community and you support each other and help each other. And as you get older, you become, you're really respected and you see it, don't you the way like the younger men here or say help one of the older men onto a motorbike will carry them. And there's a lot of respect
Martin O'Toole 55:39
across the road. They'll stop traffic. Yeah, that's just coming back to Earth rover maintenance and combining that with our elderly false story. One thing I one thing I have noticed here I don't know about you guys is you see a lot of elderly people, men usually, like speed walking on the beach, you know, like, and they'll or they'll, you know, there'll be speed walking to be doing this with their arms or you know, and remember, we lived in Cape Town. Well, that was a Balinese village. Yeah. Well, there were no foreigners there at all. One or two foreign houses, and we were riding the beach. So everybody, the whole village would walk up and down that beach pastor house every morning, every evening, which was kind of weird sometimes because they would just stop and you're in the garden. Having breakfast, but but also you'd see countless old folks, you know. Or even jogging. You know, you can you can tell they were in the 60s 70s 80s. Yeah, still jogging down the beach. Not just that,
Julia Malcolmson 56:41
like we saw an older guy recently. And he was rip. I mean, very skinny. But rip. Yeah. And it's like, because a lot of the men here do such physical. He's not going to the gym every day. I mean, he is doing physical labour that like a lot of them is outfitting as well. Yeah. But I think in body maintenance, yeah, they really weren't keeping their bodies go in. And they said they're getting into the 80s with physically really fit. Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 57:05
Do you think al Do you think that that we are now more proactive about Earth rover maintenance than we ever were?
Alister Cran 57:20
That I think that depends on the population, you ask. And what I mean by that is, I think we're very lucky here. Because we don't have to work 5060 hours a week to earn a comfortable sort of income. And like you said before, you know, with your commuting, and all that sort of stuff, the amount of time taken up just by working and commuting and all that sort of stuff. I don't think people have the energy or the time to invest in looking into what sort of things they do to fix themselves. So it's just easier to take a pill.
Martin O'Toole 58:00
The truth? Yeah, and I suppose there are more and more pills becoming available, you may or may not work. Yeah, with those things.
Alister Cran 58:09
And, you know, we're pretty lucky here because actually actually worked it out. Because my prices are a bit less expensive than back home. But the, to end save the same amount of money as always doing at home for 60 hours a week. Given the cost of living and the tax rate and all that sort of stuff, you only have to work like 1413 hours,
Martin O'Toole 58:36
13 hours a week, as opposed to what bucks the shakes dinos. Yeah. So
Alister Cran 58:42
I think we have a lot more time here to, you know, ask questions. And and, you know, talk to people that are also invested, a lot of people are invested in health and wellness here. So it is a very specific pool of people here that are interested in, you know, wellness and preventative stuff. And, you know, you can tell because every every person is good looking here as well. You know, every person is healthy and fit and all that sort of stuff. So I guess it depends on the population. But in general, you probably weren't right, the Western, you know, society getting worked down to the bone working 40 5060 hours a week, they don't have time to invest or ask questions to the right people to get the knowledge to invest in themselves adequately.
Martin O'Toole 59:29
I don't think that's getting any easier for people although there has there have been some interesting noises coming out of Europe now. Since the pandemic is made it clear for people that they can
Alister Cran 59:45
find their neck I like that.
Martin O'Toole 59:48
Can't help myself. Yeah, that's that's got a lot of people very much more used to remote working right. So and as a result, actually, a lot of folks sort of went back to work INSAT actually sucks. Any chance I can work at home? So, major, major employers, big corporations around the world have had to say, Okay, right. Well, let's look at that. So they're, they're operating these hybrid working arrangements, where where folks are actually been able to and now able to, to due two days in the office and the rest and three days at home, but now there are a couple of countries. I can't remember I think Belgium might be one of them. It's actually looking into a four day week. Yeah. And a few countries are talking about it. So so they're actually and they're talking about essentially trying to make that a legal requirement. Yeah, much
Julia Malcolmson 1:00:39
more productive. We'd be yeah did for a week so that you, you probably still get just as much work done with less hours, and you just be a healthier, happier person.
Alister Cran 1:00:48
But what would you do with that extra day in Belgium though?
Martin O'Toole 1:00:54
Any Belgians listening to the show? Please? Drop some comments for us. Let us know what you will do.
Alister Cran 1:01:01
I was catching up with a friend yesterday.
Martin O'Toole 1:01:05
I haven't through Belgium, but I've never been to Belgium. But there's a great movie called in Bruges. Yeah, with Colin Ray finds which is and Brendan Fraser Brendan Fraser. Incredible movie. But the whole irony of that. Is that the split to two Irish hitmen? Yeah, who do a job in I guess Ireland or England goes wrong and have to escaped there to get out to Rouge and they're waiting for their boss to come and tell them what. Oh, and Colin Farrell. bloody brilliant. Yeah. salutely. Brilliant, deadly funny. Pardon the pun. But the whole constant theme is that Colin Farrell is bored. Braid. It's like fucking bruise has nothing to do in Bruges. That was a terrible Irish. Irish accent but we know he's trying to do Colin Farrell doing an Irish accent too. Didn't work very well. We actually do have a growing Irish contingency in our audience. So apologies to my my ancestors and and genetic brethren. For my poor Irish accent. Anyway, where were we so we were talking about Belgium? four day weeks? Yeah, various, isn't it? Tim Ferriss wrote a book called four day we didn't The Four Hour Workweek Four Hour Workweek no four day. Yeah, that's I read that. Yeah. I can't remember the title. Yeah. Well, there's a lot to be said for it. I think and I'm sure the reason why they are now evaluating this on a larger scale is a because of the pressure from from people saying, I'm not going back. Yeah. But be because somebody must have actually started to do some some analysis on this. And, and today, I think you're significantly more productive. Yeah, I think Sure. I think I spent a long while since I had since I worked a five day week.
Julia Malcolmson 1:03:03
No one should be sitting at a desk for eight hours staring at a computer screen. It's the same as schools, like kids should not be sat at a desk. Eight hours a day, pretend. I mean, it is they're not concentrating, wasting their day being told stuff. It's not going in.
Martin O'Toole 1:03:16
Have you read Why We Sleep?
Alister Cran 1:03:18
Yeah.
Julia Malcolmson 1:03:19
Have you been loving that book?
Alister Cran 1:03:21
I don't want to read it right now. We know. So I don't want to know what we're
Martin O'Toole 1:03:24
well. Interesting. Obviously, before you got here, just as you got here, you said I didn't get a lot of sleep and you couldn't and you had short term memory issues. Yeah, one of the many. One of the many problems of lack of sleep is short term memory issues. One of the bigger ones is apparently is if we don't have eight hours sleep average every night. So we're doing we're having that on a regular basis, we are doubling our potential for cancer. Yeah. And of course Alzheimer's and dementia and so on, so forth. So everybody read why we sleep. But the point I was gonna make was, I'd never even considered this but one of the points he he dives into is how we force our teenagers. Yeah, to adapt the schedule to get up at the same time to drag their ass to school. Yeah. And to sit through that hole when actually the teenage circadian rhythm is naturally completely different
Alister Cran 1:04:20
to that biotic or what was that? I can't remember. I think it
Martin O'Toole 1:04:24
was. I think the point is actually a teenager. Teenagers circadian rhythms more like they're more likely to get up around 1011 and they're more likely to go to sleep around midnight. Plus, because here's why teenagers do want to stay up until
Julia Malcolmson 1:04:36
do naturally just want to do that. Don't fight with them. But we
Martin O'Toole 1:04:40
exactly but traditionally we fight with them and say go to bed. Are you in trouble that it's not that they it's not that they are being truculent teenagers or long shots? There's an element of that is because their circadian rhythm isn't set up for it. So forcing children to go to school at the time we send them to school isn't actually doing them that Uh, ability to learn significant damage to sleep. Yeah, Katie writtens ourselves. So the brain is not set up to store the energy store the memories in the way traditionally would
Julia Malcolmson 1:05:11
have just been, but we've forgotten that we're cyclical beings, you know, you think about in England, it gets darker. So the winter, you've got a lot less daylight hours. And traditionally, you would just do a lot less in the wintertime, you'd more you take the opportunity to go a bit more inwards and let your body recover. Yeah. And then when the sun comes out in the summer, great, you can spend more, get up earlier, go to bed later and be more productive in the day. We just got no, no, let's ignore all of that. We're just going to get up at this time every day, right about at this time every day and fit in eight hours of work. Life in the matrix and then you've got obviously women, they've got an additional cycle to work with that. Yeah, their cycle does not work with the Male Cycle indefinitely. You shouldn't be doing like the same regiment every day. And it's Yeah, it'd be really beautiful to see if things start to transition. And people get more freedom with their work days. How people start living with that, well,
Martin O'Toole 1:06:06
I think people are just seizing that freedom. People are really stepping into their sovereignty now and it's a wonderful thing to watch. Because it's it's insane that we've over the course of what 50 6070 years we've we've allowed ourselves to become imprisoned to, to the system to the matrix if you like, where? Yeah, you've got to work five days a week is traditionally work from these hours and hours. You got to do this. You got to do that. Yeah. And all of it is very counterintuitive to, to watch to what's good for us from a physical and a mental health perspective.
Alister Cran 1:06:43
And yeah, coming back to that, like nine to five workday. How long ago did you guys work like a nine to five job well,
Martin O'Toole 1:06:53
yet 2018 Or just Well, early 2019. I moved here in April 2019.
Alister Cran 1:06:59
In you guys remember like it a day when you work that nine to five where you were productive for those full eight hours? Ever?
Martin O'Toole 1:07:07
Well, it's an interesting question, because because I was a business owner, so I suppose there's probably perhaps extra onus from me. Yeah, yep. From me on me to do it. I would work from maybe 530. So I'd be in the office from 536 in the morning. Yeah, I would spank it out until seven or eight. But very interesting question. How productive was it? Yeah, I don't know. I obviously I was for a long time a high functioning alcoholic and cocaine addict. So imagine I was all through
Julia Malcolmson 1:07:40
I think I was lucky because my last I mean it wasn't really a nine to five call it nine to five was helped was running a deli, like a deli slash cafe. Yeah. So for me I was getting I was on my feet all day chatting to customers, much more sociable job and I think I used to go in I'd I lived above the shop. So I'd get in at seven and just things like set out the bread display because I never wanted to death. Yeah. And I would have bits of the day where I had to do my manager stuff and sit at the desk, but I was fine. And lucky for that. Yeah. I mean, I was probably there for three hours, but it wasn't like sit down and work three hours a day.
Martin O'Toole 1:08:10
Yeah. Do you do nine to five though is a physio.
Alister Cran 1:08:14
Not yeah, there's no evidence. No, not
Julia Malcolmson 1:08:18
only nine to five surfing?
Alister Cran 1:08:20
Yeah. Yeah, schedule around my schedule. It revolves around what the surf is doing. Yeah, pretty much.
Martin O'Toole 1:08:31
You're not the only person living
Julia Malcolmson 1:08:33
here. Need to get into that though. Yeah. The best now I really want to start.
Alister Cran 1:08:39
Yeah, it's yeah, it's just a good fit. Mental Health thought of things as well. I don't really understand why but after every time I do it, I feel great. Simply put,
Martin O'Toole 1:08:50
was probably a combination, isn't it of the of the cardiovascular because you're actually doing a lot of exercise. But also it's like any sport you are, you're meditating. Yeah.
Julia Malcolmson 1:09:01
With your with the with the elements or the best place you can be.
Alister Cran 1:09:05
Yeah, no phones, no notifications. Yeah,
Julia Malcolmson 1:09:09
I'd love to be able to get up every morning. Surf yoga then breakfast like yeah, thanks. start to the day.
Alister Cran 1:09:15
Yeah, it'd be perfect. You guys live in a good place because you've got all the wet season waves just next door
Julia Malcolmson 1:09:21
and we'd like bang in the middle of all Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 1:09:24
What? What What season as in Melasti and Melasti.
Julia Malcolmson 1:09:29
And the word
Martin O'Toole 1:09:30
Pandawa,
Alister Cran 1:09:30
yeah, like green baowl and all that sort of stuff. Yeah, yeah.
Martin O'Toole 1:09:35
Melasti or karma or Ngang ngang. Can
Alister Cran 1:09:37
you can surf ngang ngang. Yeah, that's all up that beach. Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 1:09:41
Big aass waves thoughin. Nyang Nyang
Julia Malcolmson 1:09:43
I just want little. Yeah. Yeah,
Alister Cran 1:09:43
yeah it's fun, but this is it's just it blows your mind. Like you know, sometimes we have some things that are just, you know, really great in your life. You see it every day and you know it You kind of get numb to the fact of how great it is. But when it comes to like surfing, it's just all year round. There's as waves going in there like world class to Surfers Paradise, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. As opposed to back where I came from this time of year until about January, February. It'd be choppy on shore. knee high. Most of the time, maybe the old sock line, but that's about it. Really? Yeah. So you
Martin O'Toole 1:10:29
have to So what would you do you were you come to Bali? Yes. Yeah. Oh, yeah. The
Alister Cran 1:10:33
longboard or something like that? Okay. Yeah. Yeah, typically
Martin O'Toole 1:10:37
longboard. Yeah, they're
Alister Cran 1:10:38
fun. Super fun. I
Julia Malcolmson 1:10:39
love watching people when they It looks like they're dancing, doesn't it on them? Yeah. Love it. Yeah,
Alister Cran 1:10:43
I feel like the female still really well. I have like a really good sort of flow on longboard. I really enjoy watching female longboarders
Martin O'Toole 1:10:51
there are some very accomplished and stylish long female longboard is around here if I watched them as well. Yeah, just tippy toe to the end. And then
Alister Cran 1:10:59
yeah, yeah, this looks like a good flow does very beautiful.
Martin O'Toole 1:11:04
So what advice would you have then for the typical person listening to this? Who's got that chronic injury? And, and it's been sitting with it for five years? I mean, is it? Is it obvious advice is it go and see, come and see a physiotherapist.
Alister Cran 1:11:26
I, I don't know if it's obvious advice. Because again, we come from a bias sort of standpoint where everything we do in this community is geared around learning, you know, long term management strategies and wellness strategies that aren't necessarily going to fix you overnight. But when it comes to specific advice for someone with, you know, long term chronic pain issues, you also got to take into account what's happening outside that muscular skeletal sort of sphere as well, and where there's other things that are affecting their ability to recover. So you know, excessively stressful lifestyle, and all that sort of stuff. But just letting them know that, like, anything in life, nothing good, comes easy, or straight away. If you want long term, you know, quantifiable results, that actually going to keep you healthy, it's going to take work. No, there's no therapist out there. That's going to structurally fix your problem. You've got to do the work yourself, you need to load it a specific way. You need to learn how to load it and you need to adhere to it for a good amount of time to fix it, as well. But yeah, as I said, like when it comes to people with five year history, of like, chronic sort of pain, there's usually other things apply to, like, you know, psychosocial staff. Also ingrained beliefs from other therapists what other therapists have told them to. But yeah, there's, there's no quick pill that's going to fix it. No amount of massage or manipulation or cracking is going to structurally change your injury. You're gonna have to do it yourself.
Martin O'Toole 1:13:20
Now, it's good advice, because I think we do get into the habit of thinking, Well, you know, I'm going to, I'm gonna get a massage every week. So hopefully that's doing it but obviously, some massage folks are significantly better than others, right? Some body workers are better than others, but they're you the first time he came to see you. You knew exactly what the issue was. And you went straight to that point and your massage while wailing well notable
Alister Cran 1:13:48
polite way to put it for Russia
Martin O'Toole 1:13:49
perspective. Yeah. Yeah, there were a couple of times where I saw it. Talking to you about you tell me all about your life my Well yeah,
Alister Cran 1:14:02
I just wanted you to be quiet.
Martin O'Toole 1:14:06
But I felt infinitely better after you did it. Yeah. Immediately after
Julia Malcolmson 1:14:12
he was raving about your work when he came home? Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 1:14:16
And that's the difference right? I mean, that's a difference between being a being a properly qualified body worker is was going after the injuries as opposed to Yeah. All due respect. You know, Pete There's there's a time and a place for relaxing.
Alister Cran 1:14:30
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Julia Malcolmson 1:14:31
Like I was saying this morning to you like, I'm at the point. I feel like I want to work with a body worker that I work with so regularly that they know my body. Because obviously, teaching yoga like I use my body every day and sometimes. Honestly, like, if I haven't managed to do my practice, and I've gone to teaching for classes, never fully properly do a practice. You're always dipping in and out. And yeah, and you're, I think sometimes you put your body in a little bit of risk because if you're slightly unmindful for a moment, and you go into a posh Just quickly to show somebody Yeah, and I can feel it every now and then you get a twin. Yeah. Do you kind of like if you want to work with a body worker that helps you maintain and also they can help you like when something's out? Yeah, but it's really hard to on a financial sense to work with somebody that regularly but yeah, I think it's so important. It's a big investment, isn't it? Yeah, like for ages I was going for like massages like because they're cheap here. I got my eyes realising Yes, it's really nice in the moment, but it's actually not doing anything for my body. Yeah, almost rather just put that money aside and then go once a month to like a bodywork.
Alister Cran 1:15:33
Yeah, yeah. And, um, you know, you can you can, you know, um, I've only talked about this with clients as well, like, you know, obviously, everyone's concerned financially, let me you know, let me know what you can work with. And I'll try and cater your rehab around it. So, you know, you have progressions, and things like that, too. I can't necessarily say that these progressions will be exactly what you need, you know, given if you leave three months space between, you know, treatments, but at least you got a guide of what, you know where to go.
Martin O'Toole 1:16:07
That's very helpful. Yeah. Yeah. What? So, you know, your neck injury? Is that Is that something you would take to a physiotherapist? Or do you think this is back to the original question about osteopaths and chiropractors? What does an osteopath do?
Alister Cran 1:16:22
Um, I don't know exactly how they you know, Davis, I can't I can't comment completely. But in in general, I think that Physiotherapy is more evidence based. So everything we do has to have evidence behind it that it's actually going to work.
Martin O'Toole 1:16:46
You don't think chiropractors or chiropractic or osteopathic. I'm losing my Yeah, yeah. Use of language here, but a chiropractor or an osteopath? Surely that surely that's scientifically based? No.
Alister Cran 1:17:03
It depends. So when it comes to manipulating, like, you know, Cairo's do like cracking bones or, you know, cracking bones, manipulating joints. It has transient effects that will make you feel better for a short period of time. But again, it comes back to it's passive work, if it's passive work, and it's predominantly passive work, and they're getting you to come back every week. It's not fixing anything. Nothing's getting fixed. Yeah, the
Julia Malcolmson 1:17:29
I was seeing a chiropractor years ago, had ongoing pain issues of my knees. And it was great for beginning because obviously, you know that he's looking at the structure of my whole body and trying to figure out where I'm out of alignment, where that was coming from. And so to begin with, it was helpful because it did get me into alignment so that the pain was better. So I could actually then do the stuff. Yeah, help find the strength and to help kind of build everything back up. But there was a point where I was going like, three times a week, and it was expensive. And you were in that like 20 minutes, and eventually was okay. Like, I need to go to someone who's going to give me I mean, I think I didn't get given exercises to do. Keep the maintenance up. Yeah, I now know people who were like every week still years down the line, going every week to get that quick fix. But I don't think anything's changing long term that doesn't
Martin O'Toole 1:18:20
feel like the right route does it? I've never actually been to see a chiropractor though. Maybe it's maybe it's good to go. Once or twice in your life.
Julia Malcolmson 1:18:30
I saw an amazing chiropractoe once. And she did something to my neck that no one has ever done before. And I wouldn't I don't know anyone touched my neck really. And she was very energetically based as well. So when she went in, I didn't know like it kind of she that it allowed my body to let her touch my neck. And she did an assist that scared the hell out of me because the noise that my neck made. But actually, it freed up my neck so much. Yeah. Then I was then able to more more confidently do other exercises. After your neck surgery. Yeah, yeah. And I felt that I now had a new spaciousness within my neck that allowed me more freedom of movement. So I could do physiotherapy. Because up until that point, I was so like, trapped in it. Yeah. So I think yeah, there's that balance of getting the treatments to help you assist with other treatments, maybe
Alister Cran 1:19:19
Yeah, and that's perfect. That's perfect way to utilise that sort of treatment as well. If it gets to a point where you feel comfortable in doing the work that's going to fix it long term than it's perfect. But if you're getting someone telling you to come back every week, because this is the only way the rest of your life that you're going to feel unblocked in your neck. Then you need to run. Yeah, really quickly,
Martin O'Toole 1:19:48
as quickly as you can with your injuries.
Alister Cran 1:19:50
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, it's it's exactly it has applies. But at the end of the day when you talk about going back, you know, three times a week, every week. A general rule I find with my, you know, trading history, if I'm not seeing good discernible changes that are going to put you on track to get to 100% within three sessions two or three sessions, then there's a good chance that I need to refer on to something else. Yeah,
Martin O'Toole 1:20:24
that's good. That's a good rule of thumb. Yeah, you should know where you are. Have you? Because obviously, Jules, so Jules had a serious injury in her neck and she had a surgery. You still suffer with it don't you?
Julia Malcolmson 1:20:37
Ah, yeah, I think for me, though, a lot of it is about the way my muscles had to carry my neck because of the injury to the spine. So my neck, my muscles took the brunt of it. And I think I stopped using any of my anatomy right now. I wasn't using had bones connected to muscles. Today, they weakened. Yeah, there was like this a complete imbalance in my neck, because how I'd been carrying my neck. And I actually think a lot of my current pain stems from the neck muscles going into the shoulder. But I think a lot of it's psychosomatic, because I carry that pain for so long. Yeah, that I also built up a fear. And actually recently, it's actually through my Kundalini practice. I'd be in the classes. And I'd be like, Oh, I can't do this, because it's gonna hurt my neck, because you're carrying this fear of reinjury. And there was one day I just said, because a lot of it's about mine, controlling the thoughts in my mind when your Kundalini and I was like, You know what? You'll find there's nothing wrong with your neck anymore. Like, kept my arms up. I finish the exercise. And yeah, I had an ache. Yeah. But then it was fine. And I was like, it's fine. There's nothing there anymore. It's just Yeah, it's that mindset, I think. And just bit yeah, being able to push through because it does carry the muscle memory. Yeah, for a long time, after an injury.
Martin O'Toole 1:21:51
We just get used to the pain though. And as I said, beginning of the conversation, we we convinced ourselves, I have an injury.
Julia Malcolmson 1:21:59
And then also you're like, I can't do certain things. I don't want to render it. Yeah, that hold you back from so much. Thanks so much stuff. I mean, I know there's certain things I can't do. Like I don't do handstands, I don't carry, I'm not meant to carry heavy things in my arms. But for the rest of it, I might, of course, I can do that. Yeah, just do it with mindfulness and,
Alister Cran 1:22:18
and you need to ask yourself again. So most structures, like in the body, have a pretty good capacity to heal themselves or adapt. Yeah. After three or so months, unless it's something seriously displace your body's your body's got to figure out a way how to heal it. So if in three months or so onwards, the pain you're feeling is more in your brain. Yeah, as well. And so that's big part of chronic, a big part of chronic sort of rehab is educating people. And you already you already figured it out yourself. But a big way to teach people that they can do stuff, again, is to load it and put it in those uncomfortable positions. At a safe rate that's going to feel, you know, not necessarily completely comfortable to them, you push to the point where it's a little bit uncomfortable. But as soon as you back off, the pain goes away. And you keep doing that over and over again, you're going to find that you're going to build that low tolerance again, you got to do everything you're able to do for example, like lifting things. Like what why do you think you can't do that?
Julia Malcolmson 1:23:24
Do this the surgeon was just like, Just be mindful of how much load you carry? Yeah, like carry, you can carry stuff, but just be mindful when it gets too heavy. Because I had what happened? I fall prolapsed discs in my neck. Okay. So obviously, probably now it's fine. But again, it's probably still in my mind from those days we had he was like, just don't. Yeah, just be mindful of what you carry. And what sort of surgery did they do for they what first of all, I said, can we wait a while? Yeah, give it six months, I want to see if I can heal myself. So I spent six months of yoga like rehab, rehab for my neck, and actually three of the discs retracted and went back. But one of them didn't. And it was pushing right back into my spinal cord. Okay. And I did a lot of like snowboarding, it was very fun. He was like, because you're so active. You run the risk of it. Right, going right into spinal cord. And then what issues are gonna happen. So yeah, they went in here in the front of my neck. Yeah, they pulled it out. scraped it out. Yeah. Then they put in a little fake disc. Yeah. Through that. The discs above it. And below it a start. They have started to fuse, which he said might happen, but it would have happened more if they'd fused natural fusion, but then it's developed a bit of arthritis. Right from the heating process like the Yeah, but to be honest, like I think it's super strong now. It's just again, it is that fear because it was like that for so long has been really mindful.
Alister Cran 1:24:47
Yeah, yeah. And teaching people how to conquer that fear, in a safe way, is a very important part of chronic pain, rehabilitation to
Julia Malcolmson 1:24:59
the pain Pain is so bad when something out your neck goes. Yeah, I don't ever want to be. I don't want to feel that again. Yeah, I think then you just hold back and then I think you make it worse. Yeah. I kept doing I kept tensing and holding and like,
Alister Cran 1:25:10
not avoiding thing. Yeah, yeah.
Martin O'Toole 1:25:12
What kind of exercises would you do though to strengthen your neck seems like a strange place to to be able to do any work. For
Julia Malcolmson 1:25:20
me it was more a lot about like, giving my neck space at the time, like allowing my the neck to space for gentle movement. But I think my neck actually strengthened on its own because it was holding, there was so much injury in spine that my muscles. So before my surgery, actually the physio seeing a physio before surgery. They wanted to come on board. The thing was they wanted my muscles to something to change in the muscle structure for the surgery. And then they started giving me loads of acupuncture. Okay, because they weren't your muscles in the neck are so tense. We need to everything just needs to chill out, relax. Yeah, so that we can actually go in and do the surgery. Yeah. And that was all through physio work and.
Alister Cran 1:26:00
Right. Yeah, let's get in there. Yeah,
Julia Malcolmson 1:26:02
yeah, it's fine. Yeah, it's just me Don't stand on my head. Yeah.
Martin O'Toole 1:26:07
Me with the brokenness rover?
Alister Cran 1:26:09
Yeah. I'll get around to get on the routine.
Martin O'Toole 1:26:14
And the resistance bands has. So what is what's next for owl? Then? What are you? What are you up to? What exciting projects are you working on?
Alister Cran 1:26:22
Um, right now I'm just I'm focusing a lot on. Like, yeah, the workshop side of things. Because there has been a pretty good response with the first two or three, or,
Martin O'Toole 1:26:37
when I went on one do want to talk about the workshop. IDEA, the premise the premise of the of what you what you did what we did versus what you want to do.
Alister Cran 1:26:45
So I just basically mapped out the process from, you know, an inflammation when you're at that reactive point of view, when you first get an injury to you know, long term maintenance. And I taught I tried to keep it as simple as possible and teach people specific things I can do for each step, push themselves along the path of rehabilitation, with simple things like bands and, you know, tape and all that sort of stuff. That's that's essentially it. And, yeah, that that was a it was a that was a really good response for the first new one.
Martin O'Toole 1:27:20
I enjoyed it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Cool. It's good. Very good. Yeah. Helpful. Yeah. Another reminder of the things that I'm not doing that I should be doing. Yeah. And now you're the next one is a shoulder. Yeah. Workshop and the
Alister Cran 1:27:34
19th. And the 20th. Both days almost sold out. Again. I might even do a third day. Actually, no, I don't know. It's just a little work. Yeah. Exactly. That's hitting the 15th. Just. Yeah, we Yeah. But but it from there. I, I kind of want to set something up. Where? Because I've had, I've had actually a lot of people ask if they can download the PowerPoint, and voiceover it. So I want to package all that stuff up and put it online. Somehow. That's kind of I don't know how to do that create
Martin O'Toole 1:28:19
an online course. Yeah. And put it all online.
Alister Cran 1:28:23
as well. Yeah, cuz I, I've had, I've had a few people already, they've already paid for the shoulder workshop online, and they haven't even they're not even coming to the actual shoulder workshop.
Martin O'Toole 1:28:33
They're just gonna get the deck and some sort of a voiceover. Yeah, yeah,
Alister Cran 1:28:37
yeah. And, you know, I'll give them the exercise equipment they need and all that sort of stuff. But that that's what I kind of want to steer towards, as well. I want to I want to put more and more stuff online. And, you know, I've, I've got a relationship with a couple of surf camps as well. So if I have more online, stuff like that, then I can do more of the retreats. You know, in the mentors and all that where I go away for a month and surf for a month and see which would suck
Martin O'Toole 1:29:05
Yeah, it's just awful. Yeah, totally suck. Yeah. Into eyes. Yeah,
Alister Cran 1:29:11
yeah. Yeah. So that's, like, short term. That's what I want to kind of do. Yeah, I just just having the know how on how to do all that stuff is
Martin O'Toole 1:29:22
maybe we can give you some context or hints and tips and yeah, that'd be great. Also, we
Alister Cran 1:29:27
have recording equipment. Yeah, but I yeah, I'd like to do that sort of stuff, as well. I do. I do get a fair few patients that asked me for just general life advice and all that sort of stuff, too. You know, in terms of habit forming and all that sort of stuff, because I do a lot of that sort of work on myself. I don't know if and I want to find a way how to give that information. to PayPal, not necessarily for any sort of money. I just, you know, it's just cool. Helping people. You know, I think servicing other people, it's pretty cool. At the end of the day.
Martin O'Toole 1:30:13
Amen to that brother. Yeah. Well, it sounds like you need to start a podcast.
Alister Cran 1:30:20
It's too much work. Okay. If it doesn't fit in the 15 hours, if you don't a couple of times this this week, then
Martin O'Toole 1:30:27
yeah, there's an hour to set up the studio, but it but just to double down on what you said, you know, I spent a great deal of my life in service to self in many ways. And granted, I was an employer and and I've never been greedy. I've always been, I suppose generous, but still primarily service itself. But since we started this podcast, and we are, we share what we know. And yeah, that's all we can share. And but of course, then we're getting other people in, like you who share what they know. And, and it is, it's an incredible, it's an incredible gift. Yeah. And we're told it's an incredible gift as well, I suppose if we were just gibbering and jabbering, and nobody was actually listening to a comment. And then by now, we might have packed it in here. But
Julia Malcolmson 1:31:16
yeah, but we said if you helped one person, yeah,
Martin O'Toole 1:31:20
it was worth doing. Yeah, we do have a lot of people who get in touch like that. So it's really it's, it's getting messages like that, that keeps it going. Because it's not like this. We don't make any money doing this. Yeah. You know, this is just, you know, time, energy, attention and love. Yeah. But I know what you mean, it's a wonderful thing to be able to, to impart something that you know, inherently. Yeah. Which has a profound effect on somebody else's day, or month or week or, or life.
Alister Cran 1:31:52
Yeah, I think I think, you know, when, I don't know if this is true for you guys, but when I was younger, you know, you'd be focusing a lot, especially in Australia, because everything's so high pressure and highly competitive. You just focusing on the dollar, basically, and I found once I came over here, and money isn't as much of an issue because you can keep your cost of living so low. It takes a weight off your mind knowing that you're not doing it anymore for the money. And I think I think people respond to that as well. Definitely. Yeah, I think people truly pick up on the fact of whether you're here to actually help them or whether you're just cutting him through the door every 20 minutes.
Martin O'Toole 1:32:39
Yeah, I think is all about doing what you love, isn't it? Yeah.
Julia Malcolmson 1:32:43
And teaching and preaching what you'd practice, as you said in the beginning, like you do what you teach people.
Martin O'Toole 1:32:50
What you preach. Yeah, exactly. It
Julia Malcolmson 1:32:52
didn't actually want to say that. Yeah. Yeah. And if you do that, people feel it. Yeah. Like for me as a teacher. I know. Like, if I haven't got up and done my practice. That's that morning. Yeah, I can tell in my class that I'm not like quite loving what I'm teaching. Yeah. Um, as soon as I'm really in my practice, yeah, I call them more students come. I'm not doing I'm not marketing them. I'm not advertising and asking them to come. Yeah, they just appear more students appear. Yeah. And I like really working on my own practice.
Alister Cran 1:33:22
Yeah. Do you work with a space? Is that right? Yeah. Yeah, that's a cool place. Yeah. Any pennies? Cool, dude. Yeah, he's
Julia Malcolmson 1:33:27
lovely. Yeah, he's
Martin O'Toole 1:33:31
just, you're all over the place. Yeah.
Julia Malcolmson 1:33:34
A few places. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, it's funny. We talk about commuting earlier. Yeah, I never used to commute so when I I've lived when I was living in Cambodia, my commute commute was to walk through some bamboo huts. Yeah, on a little path through the trees. Wow, yoga Shala. And then in Mexico, it was just on the beach to the yoga shell. Oh, wow. I was here. I'm actually riding my scooter like, three times a day. I'm probably on my scooter for over an hour each day. And I'm like, yeah, what is this new commuting? Yeah,
Martin O'Toole 1:33:59
it's strange because obviously for the whole lockdown business, nobody was working so yeah, I think and I was I was sitting around writing screenplays or Yeah, or whatever. Yeah, and yeah, no, no, Jules is just out and about all the time. It's it's weird. Where are you going? Well, I'm teaching yoga. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Alister Cran 1:34:20
Yeah, attentiveness.
Martin O'Toole 1:34:23
Teaching all over the place, which is brilliant. So yeah. That's, that's one of the beautiful things about this about this part of the world, isn't it? We are. We have so many options to stay active and to stay mindful for and also for an affordable price. That's, yeah, it's bone of contention for a yoga teacher because yoga is so poorly priced in Bali. Yeah, is
Alister Cran 1:34:47
it because it's really competitive. What's
Julia Malcolmson 1:34:50
what's the rate Yeah, well,
Alister Cran 1:34:51
what's like, is it because there's a lot of yoga teaches that you got to be competitive with your process or Well, I
Julia Malcolmson 1:34:57
think it's more I think it's the studios are being competitive. They will not be competitive but they all don't they don't want to compete with each other. So they're all charging the same, but I feel know that it's too low. Yeah, it's like you've got people now all the tourists coming here. They don't they're spending so much money on their food, their accommodation, buying clothes. Yeah, yoga is still really, really cheap.
Alister Cran 1:35:19
What I need do that do that the oil companies do just just sit in a room together and go Alright, this is a set price. This is what
Martin O'Toole 1:35:28
we suggested they should create some sort of an alliance. Yeah, it's
Julia Malcolmson 1:35:32
like, you know, you just say the people who live here, keep the price low, you get this kind of rate because you live here and then bulk put the prices up a bit. It's not cool. But
Martin O'Toole 1:35:40
you think about the there's a new gym open down the road, that bamboo gym, which I have not been in, but I know you've been in and I'm told it's an incredible gym. That's very fancy. So I'm not I don't criticise anything. However, the point remains that they're charging what nearly $100 100 US dollars a month. Yeah. And for a gym in Bali. It's working.
Julia Malcolmson 1:36:00
Yeah. Paying the prices and the prices are no longer is no longer barley prices here, you know, used to come here for much cheaper. It is in some aspects cheaper. But it's definitely going up as
Martin O'Toole 1:36:11
it is. Yeah. It's a live dollar for a foreign cash injection is driven the price up and of course, it's all to do with supply and demand. So So yeah, certainly not criticism of any of these businesses that are charging what they're charged, because as you say they're full. However, one of the one of the only things I can see that is isn't the increase in the price of yoga. Yeah. Which is strange to me. And obviously, I've got a vested interest in in yoga teachers getting paid well.
Alister Cran 1:36:39
Yeah. Just do it. I just saw sit in a room ago. All right. Let's put the price up. Yeah, the next three months, the next quarter 900k.
Martin O'Toole 1:36:50
Everyone room for a downward facing dog in chatter.
Alister Cran 1:36:54
And if anyone doesn't like it here to it, like Shannon. Every
Martin O'Toole 1:37:01
time you love, you'd be like, you'd be like a mafia. So you can Yeah, exactly.
Alister Cran 1:37:04
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Then
Julia Malcolmson 1:37:07
the other side of it. When your classes here are full. You can make you can do well. Yeah, but it's just it's always one of those things where you, you're never gonna work eight hours a day. Yeah, exactly. You it's very much. A lot of hours goes into the one hour and a half that you teach the side of that. So probably one class may even take you like three hours. Yeah. That's kind of Yeah. Okay.
Martin O'Toole 1:37:32
We've been talking for ages. So I think we might have to curtail our conversation. I had a question for you, though. Do you have five minutes left to live? Yep. What would be on your list of regrets?
Alister Cran 1:37:44
This regrets? Five minutes, five minutes left to live. I'd regret. Yeah, I'd regret focusing so much on the dollar value and trying to progress myself there my 20s. Whereas if I just focusing focus on serving others, I'd be a much happier person. That would be my biggest regret.
Martin O'Toole 1:38:17
Beautiful. Beautiful.
Julia Malcolmson 1:38:21
Okay, before we sign off, I'm gonna quickly get something.
Martin O'Toole 1:38:24
Will you do that? In the meantime, we'll just hang out chat. We'll just chat. Okay.
Alister Cran 1:38:29
What do you been up to?
Martin O'Toole 1:38:32
Loads of physio and working out? Yeah, I may have just been writing, writing writing. It's this book is just has been flowing.
Alister Cran 1:38:44
What, um, if you if you had to, like pinpoint your writing style, where is there anyone in particular, you know, similar sort of writing style, you kind of gravitate towards anything?
Martin O'Toole 1:38:55
That's a good question. I think all good writers. I'm not saying I'm a good writer, but I think all writers who, who work on their tradecraft develop their own voice. Yeah. And I think actually, there's a there's a real argument to say that if you try to replicate someone else, you're gonna fail. Yeah. There are writers I really look up to. Yeah, and one writer in particular has a chap called Steven Pressfield, who is an exceptional writer. Yeah. And he's an ex advertising writer like me, and he just he can craft an A Yeah, into very short paragraph or sentence. Beautiful Yeah, so you certainly somebody who I read you know, read read his work and I love some jewels. What you gonna say
Julia Malcolmson 1:39:47
already? Yeah. All of the how to die happy team. Basically, me and you, and I'll be back Are you happy birthday to you? Happy birthday dear Martin Happy birthday to you
Martin O'Toole 1:40:10
positively harmonious got a lot of time for the tea light on my on my would you call this?
Julia Malcolmson 1:40:18
You know me I didn't want to buy candles because they come in a little plastic.
Martin O'Toole 1:40:22
Thank you very much. Thank you. It's a wonderful thing to do on my birthday podcast as well. So well, thanks for coming. Yeah. Been really, really fun. Yeah brother we've really enjoyed it. Do you want to shout out your social media handles and website and website website.
Alister Cran 1:40:43
What's your website, your web
Martin O'Toole 1:40:45
address?
Alister Cran 1:40:46
It's just you can get me on my social media Alistair cran underscore surf rehab, als t er, c r a n underscore surf rehab. Yeah, that's pretty much it for now. When I do everything else other website and all that stuff, we'll put it on our
Martin O'Toole 1:41:04
website as well. We will share it on our website and under and on our show social because we'll we'll usually do a little trailer for this thing. So yeah,
Julia Malcolmson 1:41:11
sure. Sure. Sure.
Martin O'Toole 1:41:13
Speak. I didn't get enough sleep this happened a year older. might be considering how this tasted these cakes are going to be so yeah. Well, I think we should sign off on scuff this lot. What do you guys sounds great with wax on it? Yeah. So good. It's dried. Well, I think thanks for listening everybody. Please do share and comment and you know, do all the other good stuff that that keeps us motivated to make this podcast. And thanks again. Oh,
Alister Cran 1:41:43
thank you. That's awesome. Fun.
