Illness comes suddenly, and recovery is gradual.
Everyone desires 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: “The beginning of all diseases arises from dryness, dampness, cold, heat, wind, rain, yin, yang, emotions, diet, and living environment,” and also says:“All 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 sources of all human diseases.
Beware of air conditioning and artificial air
The Huangdi Neijing states: “Diseases arise from wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire,” indicating that external climates can lead to illness.
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 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 natural laws. 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 adapt to 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 nature—summer.
When summer arrives, the pores open, and people should engage in appropriate labor. Although it is said not to overexert, one must still work and exercise to sweat.
After sweating, the body’s channels open, eliminating many hidden dangers; 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 humans must “follow”.
Thus, the Huangdi Neijing states:
In the three months of summer, one should not be weary of the sun,
In the three months of summer, we often dislike the sun.
However, it clearly tells us not to dislike the sun,
this is called “following it”,
because for humans to live healthily, the sun is necessary.
However, now we are increasingly accustomed to seeking temporary comfort; when summer arrives, many set their air conditioning to very low temperatures.
In a season meant for dispersing, the outside temperature is low, where does the yang qi go? It goes inward. This is called “going against” because it contradicts the natural order; “going against it” leads to disaster.
More and more women suffer from dysmenorrhea, cold in the uterus, cold hands and feet in adults and children, asthma, lung diseases, headaches… how do these diseases arise? They arise this way.
Diseases Arise from Yin and Yang
Harmonious marital relationships are very important
Why does the Huangdi Neijing say diseases arise from yin and yang? What kind of yin and yang? The greatest yin and yang are male and female. The most significant relationship between male and female is marriage. How do many diseases arise? They arise from the “couple”.
Confucius said: “The way of yin and yang begins with the couple.”
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.” Yin and yang must be harmonious, which means couples must be harmonious. How many couples do not argue nowadays?
Now many couples either blame each other or harbor suspicions; the man suspects the woman, and the woman suspects the man.
When the man goes out, the woman cannot sit still at home; it is not mutual support but mutual resentment, leading to disharmony of yin and yang.
Disharmony of yin and yang is a significant factor in the generation of diseases; many diseases actually arise from this path. The Huangdi Neijing points out that “arising from yin and yang” addresses this issue.
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 doctors repeatedly. Whether in Traditional Chinese Medicine or Western Medicine, after treatment, they relapse; where does the root cause lie? It lies with the parents, in yin and yang.
This point needs everyone’s high attention.
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.
Emotions are the key to health
The heavens have five elements governing five positions, producing cold, heat, dryness, dampness, and wind;
Humans have five organs transforming five qi, producing 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”.
Arising from joy and anger means arising from emotions; emotions greatly affect health.
Wang Shiren Wang Fengyi, who passed away in 1937, was an illiterate farmer but was remarkable. In Wang Fengyi’s teachings, there is a significant doctrine: studying the relationship between our emotions, character, psychological behavior, 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. Resentment and hatred harm the “heart”; cardiovascular diseases are closely related to hatred.
The third is annoyance. Annoyance harms the respiratory system, particularly the lungs.
The fourth is anger. Anger affects the liver system, including pent-up anger, frustration, and rage, all of which belong to the liver system in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The fifth is worry. Worry: women often say “very annoying” or “feel very troubled”. Worry directly harms the kidneys and reproductive system.
Diseases Arise from Diet
Cold drinks harm the vital energy
Diet includes issues of quantity and quality, especially among those who drink; “deep feelings lead to excessive drinking”, which is harmful to health.
Including “cold and warm without moderation”, consuming large amounts of raw and frozen foods is very detrimental. Especially now, everything is frozen, which can damage one’s yang qi.
Yang qi is crucial for life; do not waste it. It cannot be easily restored, and if you keep harming it, it will be detrimental.
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 we have four sharp teeth and the rest are flat; this indicates how much meat and how much vegetables we should consume, and everyone should calculate this for themselves.
Diseases Arise from Living Environment
Good sleep is essential for life
The living environment greatly impacts health; the environment is essentially feng shui. In the past, it was considered superstitious, which is absolutely wrong. Is there feng shui? Certainly.
As long as there is Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is feng shui; both discuss the five elements.
How to take in qi, the orientation of doors and windows, and what qi to absorb is all about yin and yang and the five elements, with no superstition involved. The human body is a small universe, embodying the five elements.
Each person’s five elements are different, so the harmony of the living environment’s yin and yang and the compatibility of the five elements will affect the mind and body of those living in that environment.
Sleep is very important. Sleep 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 consume 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 crucial; do not take it lightly.
A major method to nourish yang qi is to sleep early and rise early.
Why sleep early? The living environment must have “timing”; 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 conceal themselves.
We say spring is for birth, summer for growth, autumn for harvest, and winter for storage, ↓
What is the best state for the human body to store energy? ↓
It is sleep.
↓
In sleep, we conserve energy,
yang qi will 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 9 PM to 3 AM, when the kidneys are on duty, blood is produced.
In what state do the kidneys work? The body must be in a state of concealment and sleep for the kidneys to function. During this time, one must sleep; when sleeping, the kidneys can govern bones, produce marrow, and generate blood, thus nourishing yang qi.
If one does not sleep during this time, it will be missed; sorry, once this opportunity is gone, it is gone. Of course, you can sleep for eight hours, but your eight hours may not be the same as mine.
Modern people are accustomed to nightlife, which is clearly against the natural order. I hope everyone truly considers their health and adjusts their sleep patterns, “following the way of heaven”.
We are busy; what to do? We can wake up a little earlier to work. If that is not possible, then use your weekends to sleep early; sleep by 9 PM, which compensates for the five days of overexertion during the week.
However, if after those two days of rest, you indulge in staying up late until three or four in the morning and then sleep until eleven or twelve, that is even worse. So this is a very important issue.
I wish everyone can align with the laws of heaven and earth, living healthily and happily.
Editor’s Note
The basic theoretical spirit of the Huangdi Neijing includes: holistic view, yin-yang and five elements, organ systems and meridians, etiology and pathogenesis, diagnostic methods and treatment principles, prevention and health maintenance, and the theory of qi.
In fact, this world seems complex and changeable, including our bodies and the Huangdi Neijing, but behind it all operates according to the extremely simple laws of nature.
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