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1. Coordination and Balance in Life Activities
TCM health preservation starts from the perspective of the opposition and unity of Yin and Yang, and their interdependence. It holds that organs, meridians, Qi, blood, and body fluids must maintain relative stability and coordination to sustain the normal physiological state of “Yin Ping Yang Mi” (Yin is balanced and Yang is secret), thus ensuring the survival of the body. As Engels said: “The possibility of relative rest of objects, the possibility of temporary balance, is the fundamental condition of material differentiation, and thus also the fundamental condition of life.” To achieve this “temporary balanced state” as the “fundamental condition of life,” maintaining the coordination and balance of Yin and Yang in the human body becomes an important health preservation principle. Whether it is the regulation of spirit, diet, daily life, self-care, or the use of medicine, it is inseparable from the coordination and balance of Yin and Yang, with the aim of achieving balance.
The process of life movement in the human body is also the process of metabolism. In this process, the various metabolic activities in the body are completed through the coordination of Yin and Yang. Various contradictions within the body, such as absorption and excretion, assimilation and dissimilation, enzyme generation and inactivation, acid-base production and excretion, etc., all maintain relative coordination and balance in the movement of opposition and unity, and this runs through the entire process of life movement, thus keeping internal environmental factors such as body temperature, blood sugar, blood lipids, and blood pH relatively stable within a certain physiological range, maintaining the dynamic balance of Yin and Yang in the human body.
At the same time, the human body exchanges materials with the natural world through the movement of Yin and Yang, absorbing materials from the surrounding environment, such as water, air, and food, to meet the body’s needs; and expelling waste produced by the body to maintain the coordinated balance between humans and the natural world. Therefore, the human body is a unified whole of coordinated balance in the movement of Yin and Yang, and the journey of life is a process of balancing the movement of Yin and Yang.
2. Coordination and Balance in Health Preservation Techniques
Mastering the laws of life activities and conducting health preservation around the coordination of Yin and Yang to achieve balance is the key to TCM health preservation theory. As stated in the “Su Wen: The Great Discussion on True Essentials”: “Carefully observe where Yin and Yang are and adjust them, aiming for balance.”
“Aiming for balance” means using the dynamic balance of Yin and Yang as a criterion. Traditional Chinese fitness techniques and methods embody this idea, summarized as: emptiness and fullness, hardness and softness, attraction and repulsion, movement and stillness, opening and closing, rising and falling, releasing and collecting, advancing and retreating, known as the Eight Methods. This fully complies with the principles of Yin and Yang changes, as well as the natural laws of “opposition and unity” and “coordination and balance.”
Taijiquan (Tai Chi) views the human body as a whole of Taiji Yin and Yang, advocating for the integration of emptiness and fullness, hardness and softness, movement and stillness, where each posture and movement reflects the characteristics of opposition and unity, and the balance of Yin and Yang. It is evident that coordination and balance are the core of the overall movement of life. Based on this theoretical principle, many scholars have conducted research on balance health preservation and proposed new health preservation methods, such as:
1. Element Balance Health Preservation Method
The ancient Five Elements theory in China believes that all things in the world are generated by the movement and changes among the five basic substances: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, and that there exists a relationship of “generation and overcoming” among the Five Elements, thus maintaining the ecological balance of nature and the physiological coordination of the human body.
Modern research suggests that the formation of elements, the formation of the Earth, and human evolution are all results of material evolution reaching a dynamic balance at a certain stage. According to the laws of material evolution, for humans to be healthy and live long, they must follow the balanced coordination of material exchange. Modern medical research has proven that during the life activities of humans, due to the lack of coordination in metabolism, certain elements may accumulate excessively or be insufficient, leading to an imbalance in elemental balance, resulting in diseases and premature aging. Many non-infectious diseases today are mostly related to elemental imbalance. For example, the most harmful diseases to human health, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer, are closely related to the imbalance of material exchange in the body. Some endemic diseases, such as goiter due to iodine deficiency and Keshan disease due to selenium deficiency, are also examples.
Medical practice has proven that scientifically conducting dietary health preservation can effectively prevent and treat many non-infectious diseases. Strengthening certain trace elements can also prevent or improve many endemic diseases. Balance health preservation theory research suggests that at different stages of life, based on different physiological characteristics, timely research on the balance of elements in the body, and developing and producing corresponding health-preserving diets to correct the imbalance of elements in the body, will be beneficial to human health.
2. Alternating Movement Balance Method
Systems theory and control theory research suggest that life is often in a state of symmetry, coordination, dynamics, stability, and balance. The asymmetry, imbalance, and instability of the human body are important causes of physiological dysfunction, premature aging, and diseases.
Therefore, the key to gaining health and vitality lies in regulating and mobilizing the positive factors produced by oneself, overcoming asymmetry, and achieving coordinated balance, which can enhance health and longevity. Based on relative medical research, some scholars have proposed the alternating movement exercise health preservation method. This method is a way of exercising the physiological functions within or between various systems of the body alternately to overcome biased use and achieve self-coordinated balance.
For example, “body-brain alternation” can enhance physical strength while keeping mental acuity; “movement-stillness alternation” can effectively regulate the activities of all organs in the body to restore normal balance; “up-down alternation” can enhance the body’s agility, flexibility, and responsiveness, reducing the occurrence of cerebrovascular diseases; “left-right alternation” can regulate the physiological functions of an imbalanced body; and “front-back alternation” can prevent and treat certain lumbar and leg diseases, avoiding instability in lower limb activities in the elderly.
The above are just examples; there are many alternating movement contents in daily life. Everyone can implement alternating movements based on “integrating alternating movements into daily life” and their actual situation, anytime and anywhere. This will greatly benefit the enhancement of the body’s coordination and balance ability and the potential of human physiology.
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