The Seven Fundamentals Of Longevity
& The Holistic Health Pyramid
Lengthen your life span with the help of this thorough, approachable guide to improving your health.
Health is more than weight loss or life expectancy. Anthony James Canelo’s book, The Seven Fundamentals of Longevity, argues that the key to happiness and health is returning to the basics. By following Canelo’s Natural Holistic Healing Pyramid, people can improve their spiritual, emotional, and physical health.
Divided into seven fundamentals, Canelo addresses the importance of breathing, sleep, water, attitude, food, exercise, and connecting with nature. Each chapter presents an issue, the importance of one of the seven tenets, and specific instructions for hydrating the body, purifying oxygen, and connecting with nature, among other tips and recommendations. The writer explains that people use roughly 30 percent of their lung capacity, which affects everything from metabolism to stress levels. Practicing deep breathing is a chance to heal the body and improve overall health.
Though the book discuses diet and exercise, the author is also quick to point out the healing effects of a positive attitude. Canelo explains the power of laugher by discussing Mira Nair’s film The Laughing Club of India, in which people assemble in parks and laugh in groups, sometimes for hours at a time. Canelo closes the chapter with suggestions for promoting mental health and a positive attitude, including everything from reciting classic poetry with feeling to writing down desires and reprioritizing life’s goals.
This book is well researched. Canelo pulls in a wide array of references to explain the importance of deep, intentional breathing and a diverse diet. For example, the author cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explain how Americans are “sleeping worse each year.” Such resources put a lot into perspective: Canelo uses information from Eco-Cycle to ask the question, “Why do Americans make up an estimated 5 percent of the world’s population, yet produce an estimated 30 percent of the world’s waste?” This book is thus not only about personal longevity but also about the world’s life span.
Accessible language and clearly introduced data make all seven fundamentals easy to understand. Readers can experience this book in chronological order or pick and choose the chapters that interest them. However, the chapters’ closings feel cluttered because they include exercises, the pyramid, and inspirational quotations or poems. The “Afterthoughts” section is out of place because it focuses more on the book-writing process than on key ideas about health and longevity. Similarly, the appendix includes a Chlorophyll Pollen Fast but does not properly introduce this regimen in depth.
If people are not happy, life is nothing but a series of minutes and hours. Moving back to the basics means understanding the power of a breath or the importance of sleep. As Canelo writes, “the first thing any person ever does is inhale. The last thing any person will do is exhale.” It’s up to each individual to make the most of the moments in between.
Reviewed by
Lisa Bower
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
