The 4 Pillar Plan: How to Relax, Eat, Move and Sleep Your Way to a Longer, Healthier Life

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This is a fantastic, common sense book which is certain to have something you’d be willing to try – and small changes can lead to great improvements long-term. Discover the Art of Japanese Tea: The Prince Akatoki’s Exclusive Monthly Tea Ceremony Experience – London, Marylebone He teaches us 3-4-5 breathing, breathing in for 3 seconds, holding our breath for 4 seconds and breathing out for 5 seconds. Rangan doesn’t just tell us what to do, he walks the walk himself. The book is crammed with photos of the handsome doctor doing the various activities he advises us to do, relaxing on a park bench, buying fresh vegetables at the market and taking a brisk walk, for example.

4 Pillar Plan by Dr Rangan Chatterjee | Waterstones The 4 Pillar Plan by Dr Rangan Chatterjee | Waterstones

Getting the right number of hours of sleep is important, but did you know that the quality may be more important than that? If you’ve ever slept eight hours and still woken up groggy, you know what I mean. There are two poignant personal stories behind Chatterjee’s missionary zeal. His father, who died four years ago, was also a doctor, a consultant at Manchester Royal Infirmary who came to the UK from India in the 1960s when the government was recruiting Asian doctors to fill a gap in the domestic workforce. Eventually, however, he was forced to give up work due to a chronic health condition, and for years Chatterjee acted as his father’s main carer. “As a first-generation immigrant, Dad worked and worked and worked to give me and my brother the life we now have. He did night shifts all the time and worked weekends. But I think there was a consequence for his health”. You can also try 3-4-5 breathing – you breathe in for three, hold for four, and breathe out for five. When our out-breath is longer than our in-breath, we activate the relaxation part of our nervous system.This is just a moment in the day when you press the pause button,” says Chatterjee. “Try starting with just two minutes of meditation a day. That daily practice will start to have a massive impact on your overall health.

4 Pillar Plan Checklist/cheat sheet 3. Download the 4 Pillar Plan Checklist/cheat sheet

An inspiring collection of relatively simple health interventions that are said to make a huge difference in many people's lives. I like that they all pretty much seem attainable, even the exercise ones, which otherwise are probably the ones I'd find the most daunting. But Dr. Chatterjee sets out some simple goals and suggestions that make you want to give it a try. He also doesn't promote any one certain diet, but rather the principles of eating whole, non-processed foods as much as possible, and de-normalizing sugar. This is basic stuff, but sometimes we need to hear it from a source that seems legit and can explain why.

I start with relaxation is because I think it is probably the most undervalued component of health,” says Chatterjee. “We think relaxation is something we’re going to fit in when we’ve done everything else, but unfortunately for many of us we never finish our to-do list.” In the comments, I saw some vegans disagreeing with her decision. But their thoughts reflected something I was thinking also. It’s the truth that we’re all different and foods affect each of us in various ways. We are given a five-minute kitchen workout complete with illustrations. This includes 5-10 squats, 5-10 calf raises, 5-10 press-ups (if like me you’re not strong enough to do them on the floor, you can begin by doing them against a wall and then a kitchen worktop), 5-10 triceps dips and 5-10 lunges.

NHS People Plan NHS England » NHS People Plan

One particularly beneficial bacterium is Akkermansia muciniphila, which feeds on onions, garlic, leeks, artichokes, yams, bananas, Brussels sprouts, etc.While The 4 Pillar Plan is a guide tailored to individuals, you can’t help wondering how the highly stressed National Health Service would be affected by all of us making small lifestyle improvements. Chatterjee is evangelical on this point too. “I believe the NHS is unsustainable unless we take the weight of lifestyle-driven illness off it. It doesn’t matter which political party comes in, or who pledges this million or that billion, the reality is that the NHS is creaking. And the reason is that modern society is driving ill-health. Try to eat at least 5 portions of vegetables every day– ideally of 5 colours. This is important because these contain chemicals called phytonutrients which help our hearts, fight cancer cells and reverse brain ageing. Good sources include broccoli, red onions, asparagus, carrots and olives. This is one of my favourite interventions in the book,” says Chatterjee. “Because although I would recommend changing what you eat, you don’t actually need to change what you eat, just when you eat. In our modern culture, we’re eating all the time. When we’re eating late in the evening, we’re generally just a bit bored. We’ve got what I call an itchy mouth. It’s just something to do. Simple Wellbeing Practices to Enhance Your Day! Written by Founder & CEO of Nutraleya, Aleya Chowdhury