Bowen Technique By Karen
Shopping Basket
Your Basket is Empty
Quantity:
Subtotal
Taxes
Delivery
Total
There was an error with PayPalClick here to try again

Helping the Body to Rebalance and Repair
My Blog
My Blog
Blog
Adventurer Bear Grylls' battle with back pain
Posted on 20 January, 2013 at 9:04 |
![]() |
Daily Mail 24th April 2007
Adventurer Bear Grylls' battle with back
pain and high cholesterol
by MOIRA PETTY
To
the outside world, the adventurer Bear Grylls epitomises supreme fitness. The
man who catapults himself into alien, life-threatening environments, surviving
on his wits alone, practically bursts with good health - or so it seems to the
viewer watching him on television from the comfort of the sofa. Yet despite
appearances, Bear has been plagued with back pain for over ten years - for
which he only recently found an effective treatment.
More
worryingly, he also suffers from high levels of cholesterol, caused by a
genetic disease which killed his father and grandfather - and which poses as
much of a danger to him as his Boys' Own exploits.
Adventurer
Bear Grylls may throw himself into some of the most uninhabitable places on
earth but the super fit action man suffers from a genetic condition which means
he suffers from very high cholesterol levels.
Bear's father,
former Tory MP Sir Michael Grylls, died suddenly of a heart attack at 66 in
2001; his grandfather also died prematurely of heart disease.
But it was
only six months ago that Bear had a cholesterol test. He was staggered to find
that he had a reading of six-and-a half, which is very high for someone of his
age and fitness.
"I had
been in the SAS Territorial Army and spent my life on physical challenges. Even
when at home I exercised six days a week, alternating circuit training, running
and yoga," says Bear, now 33. Without these
high levels of activity his reading could have been even worse; his older
sister, Lara, had an even higher reading of eight.
Doctors
recommend that cholesterol levels are under five and even lower for patients at
particular risk of heart disease. Bear appears
to suffer from a hereditary predisposition to dangerously high levels of cholesterol,
which clogs the arteries and can lead to heart attacks and stroke. The
condition - hypercholesterolaemia - affects seven people in 1,000.
Men with the
condition are at greater risk of heart attack: 80 per cent will have had their
first heart attack by 60, but many will suffer one in their 40s or 50s.
Although the
condition is not caused by a bad diet, it can be improved by one low in fats. Despite the
warning given by his father's and grandfather's heart attacks, Bear had enjoyed
a diet rich in animal fats, especially meat and milk which he thought necessary
to sustain his high-octane and physically strenuous existence.
But soon after
his cholesterol test, he came across The Rave Diet, written by American
filmmaker Mike Anderson, who had seen members of his family die of cancer and
heart disease. Based on
fruit, vegetables and wholegrains with as much raw food as possible and no
animal fats or vegetable oils, it is a Spartan regime, but Bear has embraced it
enthusiastically.
"After I
read this, the links between the heart disease which killed my father and
grandfather, my high cholesterol and my fatty diet became startlingly clear. My
mother fed my father butter and cream all day long.
"It
breaks my heart that my father never knew my children. He should have been
around for another 25 years." Bear has
learnt that the key to his survival may lie not in his awesome ability to live
off hostile landscapes, but in adhering to the sort of lifestyle advice
promoted in every GP's surgery.
"I am
planning to have my cholesterol tested again soon. But I think my new diet is
the answer."
Bear, his wife
Shara and two sons (aged four and one) now eat neither meat nor fish, but get
their protein from nuts, seeds, pulses and quinoa (a protein rich grain which
can be used like rice or as a porridge).
They also
drink oat milk (made from oats mixed with water and other grains and beans; it
is high in fibre, vitamin E, folic acid and phytochemicals, which fight cancer
and heart disease). "We're
not bonkers about it - if we go out, we eat what's available. And when I'm on
an expedition I eat what I have to in order to stay alive. I've eaten sheep's
eyes, the still hot meat from a zebra killed by a lion, and maggots which give
you 70 calories to the ounce." As well as his
risk of heart disease, Bear also suffers from chronic back problems.
Twelve years
ago, aged 21, he broke his back when training with the SAS after his parachute
failed to inflate at 16,000 feet.
"I should
have cut the main parachute and gone to the reserve but thought there was time
to resolve the problem." He landed on his parachute pack, which was like
an iron bar, and fractured three vertebrae. It was
extraordinary that he was alive, let alone not paralysed - but incredibly the
spinal cord, which channels messages between the brain and all parts of the
body, had not been severed. Bear was
treated at Headley Court, the defence forces' rehabilitation centre in Surrey. "The
doctor said I was a miracle man. I had come so close to severing my spinal
cord. Because of my age and my fitness, they decided I could avoid
surgery." Instead, he
underwent ten hours a day of physiotherapy, swimming, stretching and ultrasound
treatment - a programme designed to help servicemen get back to active duty,
but rarely available to civilians. The
alternative - and one offered to most people in a similar situation, but
without Bear's peak fitness - is surgery to fuse the broken vertebrae. 'I had
nightmares for months. Still, I was lucky to walk away without surgery - but
ever since, I have suffered twinges and pains." Deep massage
helped, but he says he always felt physically 'unbalanced' by his injury.Then a year
ago his wife suggested he see a Bowen therapist. The Bowen technique, developed
in the 1950s, involves using rolling movements over muscles, ligaments and
tendons. This is said
to send impulses to the brain to trigger the body's own healing system. Precisely how
it works is a mystery, but many professional football clubs maintain a Bowen
therapist as it has been shown to be very effective in realigning the skeletal
structure. "I was
sceptical, but wanted to keep an open mind," says Bear. He went to see
East Sussex based Bowen therapist Sarah Yearsley. "With the
slightest squiggle of her fingers, it felt like petrol was being put back in my
tank and I could feel all the stress seeping away. More importantly, after my
back accident, my spine and pelvis had lost alignment, so I felt
unbalanced." Sarah
explained that Bear's pelvis was slightly twisted - and that this would cause
endless problems and backache. Most fans of
Bear's Born Survivor series will not have noticed anything wrong, yet a subtle
misalignment - visible only to the expert eye - can impact on total
health. For Bear, who is often jumping
out of planes, having complete structural alignment is even more important than
for the average person. Bear describes
himself as now 'hooked' and has treatment every month. It has helped
him prepare for his most perilous challenge yet. Next month he is attempting a
powered paraglide over Everest's 29,035ft summit. "I am
scared I could black out in the click of a finger." If this venture seems
inconsistent with his desire to lead a healthy life, Bear has an announcement. "This is
the last of my big expeditions or challenges. They're getting too dangerous.
I'm not on the Ranulph Fiennes road of trying to beat the last
expedition." Sir Ranulph has been an inspiration to Bear all his life. As a boy, Bear
climbed the bell tower at Eton, where the baronet had also once been a pupil.
"In the lead lining, I found the initials RF. I put BG next to his,"
he recalls. But while he
is 'full of dreams and ambitions,' he also has a family and a long-suffering
wife at home. In fact,
relaxation is vital to Bear, who says, somewhat surprisingly: "I don't
thrive on stress. I love lying on the deck on our houseboat reading a book. "I'm
terrified of walking into a room full of people. Sitting down at a dinner table
with 15 strangers brings me out in a sweat." Yet, he says, fear isn't the
reason not to do something. "I'm
scared of heights, yet I've just abseiled 770 feet off Canary Wharf for
charity. "But the
folly of youth is that you think you're immortal. Losing my father and having
my children has brought me to my senses. I want to be around to love and guide
my sons for a long time." Contents
provided by the European School of Bowen Studies (ECBS)
For
further details about the Bowen Technique please contact Karen on 01954 260 982
/ 07714 995 299 or email [email protected]
|
Categories
- Helping Yourself (1)
- R.S.I. (Repetitive Strain Injury) (1)
- Noses (1)
- Respiratory Problems (1)
- Peripheral Neuropathy (1)
- Pelvic Area (2)
- Parkinson's Disease (2)
- Panic Attacks (1)
- Palliative Care (1)
- Nervous System (1)
- Neck Pain (2)
- Multiple Sclerosis (1)
- Strokes (1)
- Tachycardia (1)
- Brain Mapping (1)
- Babies (1)
- ADHD (1)
- Body Imbalance (2)
- Case Studies (2)
- Bear Grylls' Battle with Back Pain (1)
- Pregnancy (2)
- The Tom Bowen Story (3)
- Asthma (2)
- Tinnitus (1)
- Teeth / Jaw (1)
- Migraines (2)
- Meniere’s Disease (1)
- Memory & Emotional Release (1)
- Eczema (1)
- Depression (1)
- Bowen - How does it work? (14)
- Children (3)
- Anxiety (4)
- Bell's Palsy (1)
- Batten's Disease (1)
- Pain Relief (1)
- Bowen Press Articles (72)
- Research Articles (6)
- Hayfever (5)
- Elderly (1)
- Sports Injuries (5)
- Lymphatic drainage (2)
- Knees, Ankles & Feet (3)
- Insomia (1)
- Grief (1)
- Stress (3)
- Sinusitis (4)
- Hydrocephalis and Hemiplegia (1)
- High Blood Pressure (1)
- Hamstrings (1)
- Frozen Shoulder (4)
- Fibromyalgia (2)
- Back Pain (12)
/