Illness comes like a mountain collapsing,and departs like pulling silk.
Everyone desires to have a healthy body,
yet often in life,
they recklessly squander their health.
It is hoped that in this article,
everyone can truly face their health.
The Huangdi Neijing states: All diseases begin from dryness, dampness, cold, heat, wind, rain, yin, yang, emotions, diet, and living environment.
It also says: diseases arise from qi. “Qi” refers to emotions.
Anger causes qi to rise, joy causes qi to relax,
anger is to be angry, joy is to be happy;
sadness causes qi to dissipate, sadness is sorrow;
fear causes qi to descend, cold causes qi to contract,
heat (jiong) causes qi to leak;
shock causes qi to become chaotic, overwork causes qi to deplete, and overthinking causes qi to stagnate.
These words encapsulate the origins of all diseases.
01
Illness Arises from ClimateBeware of Air Conditioning and Artificial Qi
The Huangdi Neijing states: “Illness arises from wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire,” indicating that external climate can lead to disease.
In the past, “wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire” were purely natural, but now times have changed.
Today, our “wind” includes not only natural wind but also fans; “cold” includes not only natural cold but also air conditioning and refrigeration. “Heat” includes not only the natural heat of summer but also excessive heating in winter.
These artificial elements, while seemingly making us more comfortable, often go against nature. Going against nature can lead to health issues.
The Huangdi Neijing clearly states: the human body also has its own seasons and rhythms. When it is hot, yang qi disperses, releasing internal yin and cold; when it is cold, yang qi contracts, allowing us to conserve energy for better health in the coming year.
Humans must consume grains and endure the four seasons of yin and yang; our physical state cannot be ideal at all times.
Our bodies will have yin, cold, and dampness, and what force can help disperse these? It is the power of heaven and earth—summer.
When summer arrives, the pores of the skin open, and people should engage in appropriate labor. Although it is said not to overwork, one must still work and exercise to sweat.
After sweating, the body’s channels are opened, allowing many hidden dangers to be expelled; this is the body’s self-regulation.
Nature requires heat, and the human body also needs heat; at this time, yang qi disperses outward, bringing out internal issues, and people must “follow the natural order.”
Thus, the Huangdi Neijing states:
In the summer months, we should not be averse to the sun;
In summer, we often dislike the sun.
However, it clearly tells us not to dislike the sun,
this is called “following it,”
because human health requires the sun.
However, now we are increasingly accustomed to seeking temporary comfort, and when summer arrives, many people set their air conditioning to very low temperatures.
In a season meant for dispersing, if the outside temperature is low, where does the yang qi go? It goes inward. This is called “going against nature,” as it contradicts the natural order, leading to disasters.
More and more women suffer from dysmenorrhea, cold in the uterus, and both adults and children have cold hands and feet, asthma, lung diseases, headaches… how do these diseases arise? They arise in this manner.
02
Illness Arises from Yin and YangHarmonious Relationships are Important
Why does the Huangdi Neijing mention that illness arises from yin and yang? What yin and yang? The greatest yin and yang are male and female. What is the most significant relationship between male and female? It is the relationship between husband and wife. Many diseases arise from this “couple” relationship.
Confucius said: “The way of yin and yang begins with the husband and wife.”
Traditional Chinese Medicine states: “When yin is balanced and yang is secret, the spirit is treated; when yin and yang are separated, the essence and qi are lost.” Harmony between yin and yang means harmony between husband and wife. How many couples do not argue nowadays?
Many couples are either blaming each other or harboring suspicions; the husband is suspicious of the wife, and the wife is suspicious of the husband.
When the husband goes out, the wife cannot sit still at home; it is not mutual support but mutual resentment, leading to disharmony in yin and yang.
Disharmony in yin and yang is a significant factor in the generation of diseases; many diseases actually arise from this aspect, as pointed out by the Huangdi Neijing regarding “arising from yin and yang.”
If the couple is not good, yin and yang will not be good; if yin and yang are not harmonious, then the children born in such an unbalanced environment cannot be healthy.
Now many parents bring their children to see a doctor repeatedly. Whether in Traditional Chinese Medicine or Western Medicine, after treatment, the issues recur. Where does the root cause lie? It lies with the parents, in the yin and yang.
This point needs to be taken seriously by everyone.
A harmonious family is a harmonious yin and yang; “when yin is balanced and yang is secret,” the spirit can be treated, and the body and spirit can be healthy. If this is not managed well, no amount of health supplements will help, and no oral solutions will be effective.
03
Illness Arises from EmotionsEmotions are Key to Health
The heavens have five elements governing five positions, leading to cold, heat, dryness, dampness, and wind;
humans have five organs transforming into five emotions, leading to joy, anger, sadness, thought, and fear.
Why must humans align with yin and yang?
Because humans and the heavens are a whole,
human emotions are actually similar to the six qi of heaven and earth: “wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire.”
Illness arising from joy and anger is illness arising from emotions,
emotions significantly affect health.
Excessive or insufficient emotions can both impact health. “Cold, heat, dryness, dampness, and wind” are external five elements that can cause disease; “joy, anger, thought, worry, and fear” are internal five elements that can also cause disease.
Wang Shiren Wang Fengyi, an elderly man from Northeast China, passed away in 1937. He was an illiterate farmer but was remarkable.
He is similar to the Sixth Patriarch in the history of Chinese Zen, who was also illiterate but later realized his true nature.
In Wang Fengyi‘s teachings, there is an important doctrine: studying the relationship between our emotions, mental state, and diseases.
Our psychological behavior directly affects health; at least fifty percent of diseases are caused by unhealthy psychological behavior.
Wang Fengyi summarized unhealthy psychological behaviors into five points:
The first is resentment, a tendency to blame others.
The second is hatred.
The third is annoyance, feeling irritated.
The fourth is anger, being easily angered.
The fifth is worry.
Resentment harms the “heart”; cardiovascular diseases are closely related to hatred.
Annoyance harms the respiratory system, particularly the lungs.
Anger affects the liver system, including the liver and gallbladder. Anger encompasses suppressed anger, frustration, and rage, all of which belong to the liver system in TCM.
Worry: women often say, “It’s so annoying” or “I find it very annoying.” Worry directly harms the kidneys and reproductive system.
04
Illness Arises from DietCold Drinks Harm Vital Energy
Diet includes issues of quantity and quality, especially among those who drink alcohol, “deep feelings lead to drinking in one go,” which is harmful to health.
Including “cold and warm without moderation,” consuming large amounts of raw, cold, or frozen foods is very detrimental.Especially now, everything is frozen, which can damage a person’s yang qi.
Yang qi is crucial for life; do not waste it. Even if you try to save it, you cannot, and yet you continue to harm it.
Another issue is the balance of meat and vegetables.
Our physiology indicates that the intestines and teeth of herbivores differ from those of carnivores, which is an objective indicator.
Carnivores have sharp teeth, while our four teeth are similar to the sharp teeth of carnivores. Herbivores have flat teeth; apart from these four sharp teeth, we have flat teeth.
We have thirty-two teeth, twenty-eight of which are flat, and four are sharp; this indicates how much meat and how much vegetables we should consume, and everyone should calculate for themselves.
05
Illness Arises from Living EnvironmentGood Sleep is Vital for Life
The living environment greatly impacts health; the environment is essentially feng shui. In the past, this was considered superstition, which is absolutely incorrect. Is there feng shui? There certainly is.
As long as there is Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is feng shui,
feng shui and Traditional Chinese Medicine share the same principles: they both discuss the five elements.
How to take in qi, the orientation of doors and windows, what qi to absorb, is all about yin and yang and the five elements, with no hint of superstition. The human body is a small universe, and the human body embodies the five elements.
Each person’s five elements are different, so the harmony of the living environment and the compatibility of the five elements will affect the mind and body of those living in that environment.
Sleep is very important. Sleep in life is essentially a process of replenishing yang qi. We just mentioned that yang qi is the root of life; how is yang qi replenished?
There are many ways to deplete yang qi: movement, action, and all thoughts deplete yang qi; every gesture and action depletes yang qi. There are many ways to deplete yang qi, but very few ways to replenish it, almost solely through sleep.
Thus, sleep is almost the only way to nourish yang qi, which is the only way to sustain life. Therefore, sleep is extremely important; do not take it lightly.
A major method to nourish yang qi is to go to bed early and rise early.
Why go to bed early? The living environment must have “timing,” and sleep must have “timing”; why must there be timing? Because the yang qi of heaven and earth is hidden at this time, and humans also need to hide.
We say spring is for birth, summer is for growth, autumn is for harvest, and winter is for storage;
what is the best state for the human body to store energy?
It is sleep.
In a state of sleep, we can conserve energy,
yang qi can receive good nourishment,
and human life can continue to develop.
Traditional Chinese Medicine states that the kidneys govern the bones; bones produce marrow, and marrow produces blood. Blood production occurs in the bone marrow system, which is governed by the kidneys. When do the kidneys work? In winter, specifically from nine o’clock at night to three o’clock in the morning, when the kidneys are on duty, blood is produced.
In what state do the kidneys work? The body must be in a state of storage and sleep for the kidneys to function. During this time, one must sleep; if one does not sleep, they miss the opportunity. If you sleep for eight hours, but your eight hours are not the same as mine.
Modern people are accustomed to nightlife, which is clearly against the natural order.
It is hoped that everyone truly considers their health,
and adjusts their sleep patterns, “following the way of heaven.”
We are very busy; what can we do? We can wake up a little earlier to work. If that is not possible, then use your weekends to sleep early; go to bed by nine o’clock, which compensates for the five days of overexertion during the week with two days of rest.
However, if after those two days of rest, you indulge in staying up late until three or four in the morning, then sleeping until eleven or twelve is even worse. So this is a very important issue.
Wishing everyone can follow the natural laws of heaven and live healthily and happily.
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