Ape Living
Liberate the Great Ape Within!
Wellness Services
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Nutrition and Detox Consultation
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$30/hour |
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Primal Movement and Breathwork
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$30/90 minutes |
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Rewilding Massage
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$60/90 minutes |
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Achieve Your Health Goals
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$180/month |
Zander is a Radical Health Consultant and naturalized Costa Rican from California now offering wellness services in Tinamaste. His mission is to co-create a thriving world by caring for all beings, learning from nature, and sharing regenerative solutions. He draws on 20 years of experience with many natural and holistic modalities. His “radical“ approach aims to address the “root” causes of health challenges and turn them into opportunities for healing, learning, and growth. Learn more about Zander’s background here.
- English and Spanish
- Flexible Prices for Those in Need
Ready to Schedule Your Session?
Testimonials
“I was calling for the exact kind of truly helpful and unique health coaching Zander offers. I’m so grateful for his immense understanding of regeneration practices and ability to share them. He skillfully trained me in empowering ways that rapidly improved my wellbeing. He models and lives what he teaches. I love and greatly benefited from his enthusiasm, clarity and passion for vital living and nutrition. Thank you, Zander!!”
~ Sheya Jordan
“This retreat is an amazing opportunity to take yourself out of your normal routine and commune with nature like our ancestors did. It was wonderful to experience the raw beauty of Costa Rica by learning about edible plants, swimming in waterfalls, and foraging delicious fruits. Zander really helped elevate my perspective on living a happy life in alignment with nature. I definitely recommend Ape Living to ‘get your wild on’ and experience life to the fullest!”
~ Brian Russo
“I wanted to feel more pure (body, mind, spirit) with help of nature, fruits and people at the retreat. It just reminded me to be the natural me that I am, reminded me of importance of simplicity and the calmness it brings to me. Like an ape, I should be allowed to be natural and free! It made the naturalist in me want to speak out about how society judges nakedness as something to be ashamed about, when in reality it is a really important part of our health. And Zander is the best host!”
~ Elise Sigernes
“Ape Living was a fun, open-minded, and open-hearted retreat, where I could express myself without fear of judgement. I was able to ground myself and get back to the simple, stress-free, flowing way of nature, with all the beauty of the Costa Rican jungle around.”
~ Bradley Blakely
Are humans really apes?
Indeed, it’s time we embrace our ape nature! While there are remarkable differences between humans and other great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas), especially with respect to our use of technologies like fire and written language, we all have far more in common, physically and psychologically, than most of us realize.
Have you ever noticed that many of the most natural and holistic health modalities are being modeled for us by our fellow apes?
Consider barefoot hiking and grounding (being connected to the Earth’s magnetic field), deep breathing, primal movement (moving in natural ways, animal flow, yoga), climbing, foraging raw foods, cyclic fasting, resting when it’s dark, sunbathing (in moderation), naturism (being naked in nature), and simply living in a tropical climate with fresh air and pure water — each of these provides many health benefits. Is it a coincidence that all apes in the wild already do these things?
The fossil record indicates that our distant ancestors, including our common ancestor with other modern apes, lived in this way for tens of millions of years prior to their “recent” mastery of fire and hunting (within the last one million years). It stands to reason that since our bodies (notably our digestive systems) haven’t significantly changed during that time, we are still adapted/designed to live more like wild animals — eating natural human foods that don’t require cooking, living in a climate that doesn’t require heating/clothing, etc.
Furthermore, there are other natural modalities in the realms of social and ecological health, which are being modeled for us by other apes in the wild. The Continuum Concept is an approach to raising children that involves constant contact with caretakers before children gradually learn to become independent and useful members of society without separation from the adults. Likewise, permaculture is an approach to meeting human needs that is harmonious with nature and mimics natural eco-systems with food forests, much like our ancestral habitat and the habitats some wild apes still enjoy. As a supplement to compassionate communication, non-verbal communication is a powerful way to turn off our “monkey minds” (an ironic term because monkeys are not programmed with symbolic language as we are) and express ourselves in more natural and authentic ways through actions, body language, and primitive sounds. Other examples include natural law, unschooling, volunteerism, anarchy, agorism, tribalism, intentional communities, sharing/gifting economies, and ecovillages.
Ape Living is an approach to natural living that is inspired by our closest cousins and archaic ancestors. It explores how we, civilized (domesticated) apes, can rewild ourselves to enjoy greater health, happiness, freedom, and harmony with nature. The concept is simple but its application in modern society can be complex and challenging. I’m here to support you on your journey of awakening and empowering your inner great ape!