Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.
Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)
Vibrant Health in Nursing homes
The purpose of VH in Nursing Homes is to implement preventative and regenerative health care measures into British geriatric care homes, to prevent or slow down degenerative processes, e.g. dementia; while improving general health and quality of lifestyle for those in care. The project has been developed by a team of medical doctors with over 20 years of professional expertise in treating elderly people.
The Vibrant Health educational programme in geriatric practice is designed to be particularly beneficial for those whose health is naturally in decline, such as elderly people living with dementia and other degenerative conditions. Although there is limited evidence-based research available, studies with controlled groups have already shown that lifestyle changes, such as nutritional changes or implementation of therapeutic methodologies that aim to improve physical and psychological capacities of an individual - do make a difference in slowing down dementia and other chronic diseases. Vibrant Health implements drug-free and side-effect-free therapeutic methodologies, specially adjusted for this third age of life. Delivered in the form of one-to-one and group bioregulatory therapies, which may vary from bodywork for musculo-connective spasms or lymphatic stasis, to grief counseling or nutritional supplementation. Our team of bioregulatory doctors have developed several geriatric-specific therapeutic programmes including: the anti-dementia, anti-rheumatism, or anti-depression program - to offer an opportunity for a whole new approach to treating and coping with disease.
Another objective of Vibrant Health Education is to raise the standards of British care homes and implement a new structure of lifestyle for geriatric inhabitants, enriched with new healthy habits. The program recommends highly nutritious food e.g. Hippocrates soup, 'Fun Food' (nutritious food, beautiful food, soul food) or 'Help from Nature' e.g. juicing and supplements. It also facilitates a more proactive use of mind and body by bringing in regular light physical exercise (e.g. stretching, walking, ballroom dancing etc), facilitation of social interaction (e.g. prompting communication and conversations, sharing jokes, watching movies etc); or 'Mental Gym' activities (e.g. games and puzzles, quizzes, crosswords, initiating discussions about current events or history, book clubs, discussion etc), and other playful activities that facilitate thinking and reasoning processes and incentivise elderly people to contribute more towards taking charge of their health.
The Vibrant Health initiative facilitates general health in London's nursing homes by providing preventative health care and education on health geared to the geriatric population. This avant-garde project represents a timely initiative and a perfect response to the rising needs for healthy lifestyle and a healthier living environment. Our long-term objective involves creating a generally happier and healthier older generation; it additionally caters for the ongoing professional development of medical staff and carers. Moreover, benefits of timely investment in geriatric preventative and regenerative health care would also mean cutting down expenses on already over-strained medical funds.
The geriatric Vibrant Health programme can be carried out by our experienced team of bioregulatory doctors, or it can be arranged in the form of regular educative, in-house sessions for existing members. Our educational and training programme for nursing homes is intended to boost preventative and regenerative care in the geriatric field. It equips carers to run Vibrant Health in-house facilities, which would meet daily needs of elderly people in a more profound way.
This course can be arranged within each nursing home, or it could be delivered at our in-house facility in central London. We are currently in the process of developing a digital platform for sharing educational material and delivering training through interactive media. Regardless which option you may prefer, each project will include the following:
- Spreading informational material to all members of a nursing home, including arranging a bulletin board providing regular tips and updates on health features.
- Lectures, leaflets and practical demonstrations on preventative health strategies, healthy lifestyles and eco-living, e.g. teaching how to improve concentration, vision, posture, nutrition, or emotional management etc. This tends to create an overall healthy buzz amongst students and silent competition for an even healthier lifestyle.
- Apart from group therapy e.g. Alexander Technique or Psychodrama, geriatric therapeutic approach includes structural bodywork - to manually improve circulation, lymphatic drainage, muscular tonicity, skeletal realignment; screening for mineral and vitamin deficiencies or environmental toxicities and consequent diet and nutritional adjustment; and bioregulatory therapeutic guidance towards improving emotional management and cognitive functioning. The more advance aspects of the project are recommended to be carried out by our already qualified, specialist practitioners during regular visits.
Proposed curriculum for Geriatric Care Homes
- Defining Health
- Health vs. Dis-ease
- Building health beyond 'the absence of disease
- Open Systems Theory and a human 'open' biological system
- Multifactorialism of optimal health
- Self-regulatory mechanisms: homeostasis and allostasis
- Supporting natural self-regulatory or homeostatic mechanisms
- Aspects of health
- Becoming a health-aware person
- Individual and collective health
- A Healthy Society
- De-hydration and re-hydration
- Daily water purification
- Structured water
- Water as an antioxidant
- Water as a 'keeper' of acid-base balance in the body
- Water as a detoxifier
- Vitalisation of drinking water
- Learning how to monitor and support your water metabolism
- How to recognise nutritional deficiencies and toxicities
- Nutritional re-mineralisation and detoxification
- Preventative nutrition
- Food combining
- Juicing
- Sprouting
- Nutritional supplementation
- Optimal diet for elderly populations - 'nutritious food'
- Fun food, beautiful food, soul food
- Optimal supplementation for the geriatric population
- The 'Art of Eating'
- Body Gym: light physical exercises and stretching
- Walking and dancing
- Ensuring regular bowel movement
- Sleeping and rejuvenation
- Increasing quality of sleep and regeneration
- Developmental stages and the ageing process
- Mortology and emotional management: transcending fears and prejudice regarding death and dying
- The power of positive thinking and the danger of negative beliefs
- Positive affirmations and Creative Visualisation Techniques
- Enhancing cognitive processes using different approaches
- Learning how to learn new skills
- Mental Gym: games, quizzes, crosswords
- Brain "Gymnastics" and "lateral thinking"
- Turning problems into opportunities
- Mindfulness
- Exercises for peaceful mind e.g. Thai Chi
- Brain function enhancing food
- "E-motions" as inner energy motions
- The emotional spectrum
- Emotions and the rhythms of nature (SAD, PMS...)
- Emotional self-abuse e.g. resentment or rage
- Anger management, fear management, grief management and worry management
- DIY strategies for improving emotional self-management
- Bringing JOY back
- Relaxation techniques
- Loving and being lovable e.g.'The Art of Loving' (Erich Fromm)
- Impact of sensory decline
- The power of sounds and spoken words
- Verbal communication
- Language of kindness and positive affirmations
- Universal language of non-verbal communication
- The importance of synchronised verbal and non-verbal communication
- Interpersonal relationships
- Happy relationships and relationships that last
- Posture and gravity - 'the gravity game'
- Psychomotor reflex and body 'armouring'
- Emotional anatomy and body language
- Psychosomatic relationships
- How to prevent or minimise postural faults
- Teaching a healthy and graceful posture
- Techniques for postural improvement e.g. Alexander Technique
- Prevention and treatment of postural entrapment
- Stretches, exercises and techniques for facilitation of function of musculo-connective and skeletal systems
- Stretches, exercises and techniques for facilitation of the cardiovascular system
- Massage techniques for peripheral circulation and lymphatic or venous stasis
- The Art of Breathing: importance of diaphragmatic breathing
- Breathing techniques for better oxygenation of the body
- Breathing techniques for optimal balance of pH status
- Breathing techniques for improving pulmonary vision
- Breathing exercises for prevention of breathing difficulties e.g. Buteyko Method for bronchospasm or bronchial asthma
- Breathing techniques for calming emotions and focusing the mind
- How to prevent and minimise sensory decline
- Faulty vision of a city dweller
- Reading body language of the eyes
- Importance of 'eye-to-eye' contact
- Natural methods for vision improvement e.g. Bates Method
- Eye-exercises for improving refractory anomalies e.g. short or far sightedness
- Eye-exercises for elimination of a habit of staring
- Eye-exercises for photophobia (sensitivity to light)
- Eye-exercises for better attentiveness, learning abilities and concentration
- Eye-exercises that facilitate synchronicities of left and right brain hemispheres
- Nutritional support of vision
- Nutritional, naturopathic and homeopathic support of vision
- Nutritional, naturopathic and homeopathic support for better hearing
- Improving hearing
- Importance of touch
- Revitalisation of skin
- Natural rhythms and personal biorhythms
- Energy uplifting and energy depleting habits and activities
- Nutrition that increases energy production
- Self applied bodywork to optimise energy metabolism
- Energy exercises
- Traditional Chinese bioenergetic pressure points and self-acupressure
- Environmental pollution
- How to minimise the impact of air pollution
- How to minimise the impact of water pollution
- How to minimise the impact of soil (food) pollution
- How to protect yourself from environmental pollution
- Preservatives and E-numbers
- Electromagnetic pollution: geopathic stress, cosmic radiation and man-made electromagnetic smog
- Resonance and Bioresonance
- Informational overload
- Timely self-protection from electromagnetic toxicity e.g. walking barefoot, earthling techniques or the use of Bioresonance devices and re-harmonisers
- Toxicity, homotoxicity and diseases
- General detoxifying measures and strategies e.g. scrubbing, lymphatising or increasing water intake and fluid outflow
- Facilitation of eliminatory functions of the body e.g maintenance of optimal bowel movement and urine outflow
- Enhancing liver and kidney detoxifying functions
- Nutritional detoxification
- Fasting
- Geriatric care within local communities, nearby family and friends
- Lowering anxiety and depression levels in the environment
- The difference between isolation and solitude
- Methods for improving psycho-social development e.g. Psychodrama, Intensive Interaction or Inner Child Work
- The use of social stories for enhancing communication
- Improving quality of companionship
- The Art of Living in the third age of life
- Social Interaction and using the brain to communicate
- Epigenetics
- Taking care of the environment
- Understanding and practising the "We Are All One" principle
- Eco-friendly lifestyle
Benefits for Elderly People
- Provides elderly people living in nursing homes with an education on preventative health principles that help them make healthier lifestyle choices.
- Provides bioregulatory therapeutic guidance specific to each person (e.g. helping to correct mineral deficiencies, physical or psychological resistances) to facilitate an overall health and wellbeing among the geriatric community living in care homes.
- Helps slow down degenerative pathologies and minimises symptoms and complications.
- Helps to improve or slow down deterioration of memory, concentration, emotional wellbeing or learning abilities. The initiative hopes to increase confidence, enthusiasm for life and a sense of self-fulfilment for patients in nursing homes; additionally targeting improvements in behaviour.
- Helps to increase awareness of new opportunities that elderly people may find purpose within their living environment and the community.
Benefits for the Nursing Home
- Provides nursing homes with additional in-house facilities.
- Provides additional professional, therapeutically effective and cost efficient medical service to advance the health of both body and mind.
- Additionally helps to improve the general health of staff running care facilities.
- Provides additional nutritional guidance.
- Brings new opportunities, purpose and a healthy "buzz" to British care homes.
- Raises the image of nursing homes in the eyes of the general public, medical and educational authorities.
Benefits for the Community at Large
- Vibrant Health in Nursing Homes brings back health and happiness for the older generation; emphasising their importance within a healthy community.
- Provides an opportunity for the wisdom of old-age to be better integrated into community values.
- Based on preventative health strategies and healthy living, this project also contributes to improving general health awareness of carers, family members, friends and the community.
- By teaching an eco-friendly lifestyle, the project also promotes care for the environment.
- Saves nursing homes and the NHS substantial sums of money, as it minimises the need for hospitalisation and expensive medical treatment for chronic conditions.