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Howard Beardmore DO – Founder of Biometherapy
I first trained to be an Architect studying in London and Yorkshire gaining a Bsc Hons degree in Architecture and RIBA II post graduate qualifications.
Recalling early personal experiences within Natural Hygiene, I decided to change course and train to be an Osteopath. It seemed logical that the background I had in solving design problems would easily translate into finding solutions for living beings.
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Howard’s Osteopathic journey
Howard’s experience with Osteopathy began from childhood, as a patient of Osteopath Elizabeth in Reading Berkshire. Elizabeth knew A T Still when she was a child. Her parents were among the first cohorts of Osteopaths trained by Still in Kirksville. I went on to locum for Elizabeth after my graduation and when she passed, Howard was lucky enough to buy her McManus Osteopathic bench, designed by Still, that came over from the US in 1935 – which he uses every day in his practice in Reading.
Howard’s whole family was treated by the Jacksons, and he grew up firmly steeped in the Osteopathic method. By chance the Latto family of surgeons who renounced their medical background and started the World food reform society, also lived in Reading. Howard regularly attended health food and Natural Hygiene lectures as a young adult and saw family members mentored through recover from chronic conditions.
When Gordon Latto died Howard was lucky enough to buy his library, full of Natural Hygiene authors, many signed first editions.
Howard’s Osteopathic education began at Maidstone College in 1992 under the tutelage of Osteopath Mr John Wernham, but his learning did not stop there. During this 4-year full time course, it became clear to Howard that his greatest learning was not coming from the college itself, but from the questions that were not being answered about what the college was actually teaching.
Maidstone was a good place to start a therapeutic journey, but there was no narrative taught about mentoring patients through the cleaning and healing events that can follow therapeutic treatment. This vital part of any treatment, mentoring the patient, was missing.
Howard graduated as a DO from The Maidstone College of Osteopathy in 1996 with a Diploma in Osteopathy and started working immediately – quickly building a busy, Osteopathic practice which thrives to this day. Simultaneously Howard began teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in Osteopathic principles and mechanics with an evolved constitutional approach based on my exploration of Natural Hygiene.
Evolving the Osteopathic approach
Howard found himself researching and evolving his own narrative to explain and understand what he was doing each day in clinic. Original Osteopathic writings and ideas were written at a time when patients had no access to suppressive medications, their treatment reactions were more obvious on the healing pathway. Howard started working how to treat modern patients in a modern clinical setting and also understanding the way that ‘modern’ patients have to be mentored.
The profession really needed an overhaul with regards to its approach, too much medical pathology had crept in and erased the core ideas of the Osteopathic approach. Osteopathic undergraduate education, for a long time has become a muddle with too much focus on trying to treat conditions, when Osteopathy is about removing obstructions to health.
Naturopathy was no help, it offered alternative techniques for the same medical diagnosis, still trying to treat conditions.
Natural hygiene
Natural Hygiene sees obstructions in health as the ‘field of treatment’, our job is to identify and remove all obstructions to health and the body will then go through cleaning and healing events on it’s journey back to health.
Obviously acute trauma medical work is extremely valuable, but most people are suffering from a long accumulation of ‘overdue, self maintenance.
‘Our job is to identify and remove all obstructions to health, and remove them, then stand back and let nature take over’ Hildreth early Osteopath
‘There are no diseases, only obstructions to health’ Hippocrates 460BC
Along Howard’s evolving journey, He has been fortunate to build professional relationships with some key players in constitutional therapeutic. These included Keki Sidhwa a Natural Hygienist who was trained by Herbert Shelton and Charlotte Gerson, the daughter of Max Gerson, the founder of ‘Gerson Therapy’. I have shared many complex cases to resolution with them, sharing ideas and approaches to help patients recover.
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Howard has lectured internationally on Osteopathic methods to students and practicing Osteopaths for almost 30 years which led to the formation of the British Institute of Osteopathy in 2012. Howard’s newsletter has a readership of over 3000 Osteopaths worldwide and is a leading “go to” publication for Osteopathic discourse. You can register for current newsletters on this site below.
Our ability to rally the profession, when politics dictate a call for action, have resulted in regime changes at trade and regulatory levels – on many occasions. The threat to the survival of constitutional approaches in the modern day is as strong as it was in the days of Hippocrates. The public have a legal right to consider their health options when faced with health choices and nothing should get in the way of that freedom.
Are we trying to treat disease or remove obstructions to health?
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Howard has personally directed the successful BIO Practical Course that has trained over 70 Osteopaths to think with more clarity and practice with more integrity. Learning to apply a constitutional therapeutic approach that encompasses the fullest scope of Osteopathic practice possible in the modern clinical setting.
The 4 films online course is an extension of the original BIO course and you can start that pathway today by going to Fast Track to Better Practice
You can find details on Practical Training courses in the shop.
Howard has an extensive resources library of historic books on constitutional therapeutics, with many early editions signed by the authors. Going to source, constructively criticising, referencing the sources and more importantly – evolving these works, is a life-times work. All of this sifting and consolidating work has gone into making those 4 films the fastest way possible to get the Natural Hygiene narrative up to speed and working, in the modern clinical setting.
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Mr John Wernham and Howard after a talk to a Japanese delegation. 4 months later he died, aged 99. Howard’s most important learning experience with Mr Wernham was being a patient of his, for 20 years.
Howard’s continuing journey has been to update and evolve Osteopathic principles and methods to take account of the much changed modern clinical environment that was not able to be considered with the earlier Osteopathic pioneers.
You can read about some of the influences and thought processes that have gone into developing a modern Osteopathic approach that is fit for purpose here:
Timeline of Osteopathic influences and thought processes
This is not to dismiss earlier influences, quite the opposite. The Osteopathic oath from A T Still makes it clear that we all have a duty to evolve the basic underpinning biological truths with newer knowledge as it emerges and to develop Osteopathy to make it fit for purpose.
If you would like to update your clinical Osteopathic approach with Howard’s evolutionary approach there is no better way to do it than start with the Osteopathic underpinning theory course here on this link:
Fast Track to Better Osteopathic Practice Overview and courses
Sign up for a newsletter on the site or email me:
Contact Us
- 13 New Road Reading Berkshire RG1 5JD
- howard@biometherapy.co.uk