A few weeks ago Hay House Publishing sent me John Pierre’s “The Pillars of Health” for review
As you all know I’m a huge advocate of natural healing and alternative medicine so was excited to see what this book had to offer.
In the book, John Pierre breaks health down into four pillars which are:
- The Pillar of Nutrition
- The Pillar of the Mind
- The Pillar of Motion
- The Pillar of Compassion
Right from chapter one I really appreciated how John coupled the scientific terms and explanations right along side simple easy to understand examples. Sometimes authors get so caught up in the science of their passion, that they forget to make it easily understandable for those who may be just entering the world of nutrition or exercise without “dumbing it down” for those knowledgable in the topic.
The pillar of nutrition gives a lot of great information on nutrition and how simple changes in your diet can make huge impacts on your health. For those already engrossed in health and nutrition it might not provide new insight, but for those who are looking to learn about foods and a health diet this is a great resource. It’s informative without being over the top with science terminology and is easily relatable.
The pillar of motion like the pillar of nutrition provides lots of great information while continuing to make the information relatable and doesn’t make a reader feel overwhelmed. His approach to explaining the importance of not only movement – but also fun it one that is so often lost in books and articles on fitness. With lots of exercises explained and demonstrated through photos it is a great place to get some new ideas even if you are a fitness “pro”.
I purposely skipped over the pillar of the mind as I wanted to write about it at the same time I wrote about the pillar of compassion. These two pillars are what really make the book for me. When most people think about health they think diet-exercise-diet-exercise-sleep-diet-exercise an so on. As a general population we focus health into what we do and what we eat, and sometimes sleeping (but not always). I think it is fantastic that John takes the time to explain why both your mind and compassion play just as big a role in your health as what you eat and what you do. He writes about how to take care of our brains, how to “exercise” your brain and modalities you can use to help enhance brain function, and then on the compassion side of things he writes about the importance of compassion and how to cultivate it. I don’t want to give too much away as these were my favourite sections of the book, certainly well worth the read.
As someone who has read many (many) books on health, fitness, and nutrition I can honestly tell you this is one of my favourites. It concentrates on your health as a whole, not a single aspect of it, and dives into so many areas that I really believe in (like aromatherapy, mind confusion, and having fun) while also covering the fundamentals of a proper diet (complete with recipes) and exercise. I was able to take away a few new ideas for exercises for my seniors fitness classes to make my classes more effective and enjoyable for them.
If you are looking for a great book to help to start on a journey to a healthier life, or are looking to add another resource to your library this is a must have. Even if you don’t agree with everything in it, I think there is something that everyone can take away an implement in their own lives to make their pillars just that much stronger.
This book is available for purchase on Amazon The Pillars of Health: Your Foundations for Lifelong Wellness
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.
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