In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) we have the concept of ‘Yang Sheng’ (养生), a term loosely translated as ‘nourishing life’. This term is typically used to describe alterations to one’s lifestyle, diet, mentality etc to facilitate good health practices as one advances in age. It is interesting that Yang Sheng is taught as a dedicated subject in Chinese Medicine courses. This may be due to the wealth of information from scholars, Daoists and practitioners in the past who recorded their thoughts and ideas which have been passed down. In Yang Sheng there are a wide variety of topics ranging from healthy sexual practices, to creating elixirs designed to prolong life and to discovering the best way to eat and drink. These practices may not all be relevant, but they offer wisdom in how we should conduct ourselves in everyday life to prevent illness and keep ourselves in good health.
Here are some of the basic health practices which we tend to neglect during our busy modern life:
- Quality Sleep
We need quality sleep to feel our best and this is no exception in TCM. According to the TCM meridian clock where some organs are most active during a certain part of the day, the Liver is most active during the period from 1am to 3am. As a result being asleep during this time is important for the body to detoxify and rejuvenate itself.
Sleep cycles should also follow seasonal variation where people go to bed earlier in winter and wake up later in the day compared to summer where people go to bed later and get up earlier in the morning. This understanding may be based on the movement of the sun, as the sun rises later in winter and sets earlier compared to the summertime.
2. Moderating Food and Drink
Balance is at the core of TCM and eating or drinking too much is of course deterimental to your health. As a general rule, people are advised to eat until they are 70% full to avoid overloading their digestive system. Making sure to eat breakfast is also important as the Stomach (according to the TCM meridian clock) is most active during 7am-9am. This means that the function of the digestive system may be impaired if breakfast is constantly skipped.
The timing of meals should also be be regulated to ensure the smooth functioning of the digestive system. This means that the timing of meals should be consistent everyday and taken at regular intervals with more food consumed during the daytime compared to night. Weight gain may be an issue if large meals are consumed at night just before bed.
3. Light Exercise after Meals
Light exercise after eating is advised to help promote the digestive ability of the body. This exercise can include massaging the abdomen in a clockwise direction 100x or until the abdomen becomes red and also taking short walks. Abdominal massage can be seen as promoting blood flow to the stomach area to improve digestion and walking is used to promote movement of the body to help digestion (peristalsis). Heavy exercise or showering after large meals is not recommended as blood flow is redirected to other parts of the body and compromises the body’s digestive ability, potentially leading to diarrhoea.
These basic health practices are just a snippit of the extensive knowledge in the world of TCM. Hopefully they help to refresh your understanding of good health practices or provide new knowledge to improve your lifestyle and help prevent illness.
Citations
Chinese Nutrition Therapy: Dietetics in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) 2nd Edition — Joerg Kastner
Live Well Live Long: Teachings from the Chinese Nourishment of Life Tradition — Peter Deadman
