The Four Pillars - Bespoke health care

Introduction
The four pillars are the foundation of health. They will allow you to support and maintain your wellbeing, and when disease occurs will hasten a speedy recovery. There are no
hard and fast rules, only suitable or unsuitable behaviour which alters day by day.
Your unique treatment plan will be discussed and devised on your initial consultation.

Sensible Exercise
The importance of sensible exercise is paramount. This will be discussed and an individual regime recommended. Anything from gardening, swimming, jogging, dancing, to working out will help. It is strongly advised to gradually build up the duration and intensity gradually over time - do not try and do too much too soon!

The case for exercise is well documented.
Exercise will:
* Improve your cardio vascular function. It will increase perfusion through the blood vessels and will strengthen the function of your heart. It will help to reduce cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of hardening of the arteries ( Arteriosclerosis and Atheroma ), and will also be of benefit for water retention (Oedema).
* Be of benefit to your nervous system. Exercise has been shown to help to reduce stress and the negative effects that has on the body. Exercise has been shown to release endorphins which are responsible for a sense of relaxation and calmness.
* Benefit your digestion. It helps to massage and regulate the bowels, whilst also helping to reduce wind and bloating. It helps your body to assimilate food and nutrients more effectively.
* Help your skin to be more radiant, Due to the increase of peripheral circulation and the enhanced excretion of toxins.
* Improve the capacity of your lungs and allow better gaseous exchange in your Alveoli.
* Aid your body in the processes of metabolism and elimination. Your liver will be able to metabolise better, the bowels excrete better, and also enhance kidney and bladder function
* Help for hormonal imbalances by regulating secretions from the Hypothalamus, the gland responsible with your Pituitary for controlling hormones throughout your body.
* Help for bone density and strength.

Positive thinking
Your mind is like a parachute - better when it is open!
Most of us wash our physical bodies regularly, but often omit to cleanse our spiritual / psychic being. Throughout the ages and in all cultures the benefit of correct breathing is fundamental to an individuals' wellbeing and engenders positive thinking.
This can be incorporated into any religious beliefs that you may hold. However if you have no specific religious beliefs it will still be of benefit.
Certain diseases have specific techniques which will be explained to you.
However the basic exercise is to inhale positivity and exhale negativity in what ever form you perceive these is an integral part of the treatment protocol.
You have 12 main and 8 extra channels where Qi (energy) and Blood (nutrients) circulate.
Imaging a warm sensation rising up your spine and down your front midline is the basic starting point and is called the small heavenly circle.
A walking form is based on inhaling positivity for 6 steps (and multiples thereof) and exhaling negativity for 6 steps (and multiples thereof).
Different techniques will be shown to you as you progress with your treatment plan.
These can be practiced sitting, lying, standing, or walking. There is no need to waste a precious moment of life. Now is the time, and every second can be usefully utilized bathing you internal organs in a flow of positive life enhancing energy.

Treatment

Herbal medicine
Herbal medicine has been used for up to 60,000 years. Approximately 50% of all modern day drugs originate from plants. A dandelion has approximately 130 different chemicals which can be identified. Scientists do not like the idea that a medicine has 130 different variable parts and thus try and isolate and purify what they regard as the active principle.
This gives you drug therapy - drugs do what they are supposed to. There is a totally valid role in health care for drug therapy and drugs have saved many thousands of lives where herbs may not have been so successful.
Herbs have provided us with some of the most powerful and effective drugs - Morphine remains probably the best pain killer, Caffeine is probably the most widely available and used stimulant. Ephedrine is of great benefit in allergic conditions and is often present in commonly taken cold and flu remedies.
Sadly as they are so strong and pure they tend to have specific effects, and give side effects.
Iatrogenic disease (i.e disease induced by treatment received from the medical profession) is regarded as the fourth (after cancer, strokes and heart disease) largest cause of death in the western world.
The advantage of using a whole plant extract over an isolated drug is that while the herbs may not suppress symptoms as rapidly they tend not to give side effects to the same degree, and thus offer a gentle, yet effective route to return to health.
Herbs, unlike drugs, can be safely taken not only to treat disease, but also as tonics and rejuvenatives to enhance wellbeing and, reputedly, prolong life.

Acupuncture
There is evidence that acupuncture was being used up to 3,000 years ago. It is the insertion of fine solid needles at certain points on the body to alter function.
Western medicine acknowledges a role for acupuncture, and trials have shown it to be of benefit in conditions as diverse as infertility to knee pain and migraines. Acupuncture has been shown to stimulate the body to release endorphins and cortisol, thus providing a role in pain management.
Acupuncture is a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM is a theoretical understanding of health and diseases which has been continuously used for the last 2,000 years. If a diagnosis is made then any or all of the practical applications of TCM can be a used to effect change - herbal medicine, acupuncture, diet therapy massage or Qi gong.
When used in a TCM framework and after a diagnosis the treatment parameters for acupuncture are infinitely greater than mere pain management.

Diet
We are what we eat is a familiar expression. We are what we absorb may be physiologically more accurate!
Traditionally it was regarded that in 40% of cases consulting a physician it was not necessary to prescribe medicines, merely altering the diet was sufficient to restore health. As we are not only interested in restoring health, but also maintaining and enhancing wellbeing the importance of a suitable diet cannot be stressed strongly enough.
This does not mean that you necessarily have to limit your diet or not eat things that are nice. Life must be worth living and eating is one of the greatest pleasures.
Depending on how you are feeling you alter your diet accordingly. If acutely diseased, then your diet will be different to when you are well.
Of course the line between medicines and food is often blurred.
For instance:
Garlic, has been called a natural antibiotic. It will help to reduce any infection and strengthens the immune system. It also has cardio-protective and cholesterol lowering actions.
If you do not have a gluten allergy (the protein found in grains such as wheat, barley, oats and rye) Oats are a fantastic food - they work as a non irritant bulk laxative, reduce your blood cholesterol, and act as a "food" for your nervous system thus allowing you to cope with stress better. They are a low GI food (Glycaemic index) which means that they release glucose slowly into your system providing you with sustained energy release.
Ginger is a warming digestive. It stops nausea, can soothe the digestion and enhances circulation. If you are feeling cold shivery and feverish often Ginger can help to expel the cold and make you feel better.
Mint on the other hand is a cooling digestive which again can help for nausea, but also is invaluable for fevers and chills. Mint is also regarded as helping to soothe irritability.

Conclusion
When all the four pillars are actively engaged in your individual treatment plan and life, then the benefits that you will enjoy are only limited by your own input.