A Complete List Of Health Tips And Taboos In The Four Seasons To Maintain Good Health At The Right Time
Spring birth: lying down at night and getting up early, walking in the courtyard
After the beginning of spring, Yang Qi begins to occur and everything in the world wakes up. The Yang Qi in the human body also evacuates upward and outward in accordance with the laws of nature. The key point of health care at this time lies in the word "生", and the focus is on protecting the liver. The liver belongs to the attribute of wood and is connected with the breath of spring. It is most afraid of being stagnated and is also taboo about being consumed.
In terms of work and rest, we should follow the trend of the gradual lengthening of the day. Go to sleep peacefully at night, get up early at dawn, loosen our hair, loosen our clothes, walk slowly in the courtyard, and let our minds start to sprout with the spring. Be sure to avoid strenuous exercise when exercising. In winter, the body's functions are still in a state similar to "hibernation". Sudden strenuous exercise can easily cause damage to the muscles and veins and consume liver blood. For example, walking, jogging, and practicing the posture "Single Lift to Regulate the Spleen and Stomach" in Baduanjin can steadily stretch the muscles and bones, dredge the meridians, and help the Yang Qi to continuously rise.
In terms of diet, it is appropriate to reduce the sourness and increase the sweetness to nourish the spleen. In spring, liver qi is in a strong state. If you eat too much sour food, it will easily lead to excessive liver qi and inhibit the spleen and stomach. At this time, it is suitable to choose pungent, sweet, and warm foods, such as mushrooms, carrots, and yams. Light and delicious foods should be selected as appropriate. It is advisable to maintain a standard and avoid those greasy raw and cold foods. A bowl of porridge made from millet, red dates, or a plate of stir-fried bean sprouts are all natural substances that help Yang Qi rise. Maintain a peaceful state of mind. Take advantage of the beautiful spring and go to the countryside for more outings, so that the Qi in the body can stretch and flow like spring branches.
Xia Chang: I am not tired of the sun, so my ambition is not angry.
The weather is hot in summer, the breaths between heaven and earth interact, and everything in the world shows a prosperous and fulfilling state. This is the season when Yang Qi is the strongest in nature. The Yang Qi of the human body will float outward, while the inside will be relatively weak and cold. The focus of health care in summer is to protect the heart. The heart belongs to fire and corresponds to the breath of summer.
It is not appropriate to exercise at this time and cause a large amount of sweat to flow out. Sweat is the fluid of the heart. Excessive sweating will consume and damage the yin of the heart. Choosing exercises that combine hardness and softness such as Tai Chi and yoga, paired with deep and slow abdominal breathing, and focusing the mind on the Dantian can lower the heart fire, nourish the kidney water upwards, and maintain inner peace. Taking a short break at noon is also a good way to take care of your heart. The weather is very hot, and people tend to be irritable and restless. At this time, it is even more important to "keep your emotions free of anger" and vent your emotions through talking, listening to soothing music, etc., and maintain a peaceful mind.
In the diet, fruits and vegetables that are in season are the best choices. Tomatoes and cucumbers are rich in water and vitamins. They can produce fluids and quench thirst without burdening the spleen and stomach. However, it should be noted that although watermelon can relieve summer heat, it is cold in nature and is not suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach. A cup of light green tea or a bowl of mung bean and lily soup are both excellent natural drinks in summer.
Autumn Harvest: Go to bed early and get up early to thrive with the chickens
The desolate autumn wind blows, and everything in the world converges. In nature, the yang energy gradually converges inward, while the yin energy gradually grows. When implementing health-preserving methods in autumn, the focus is on nourishing the lungs. The lungs belong to metal, and their characteristics like moisture and hate dryness. In autumn, dryness is dominant and it is most likely to damage the lungs and body fluids.
In autumn, the most important thing is to replenish your body with enough water. In the human body, the liver is the largest organ responsible for detoxification, and when it carries out the metabolism process, it requires a lot of water. When there is dryness in autumn, human body water evaporates very quickly. Drinking enough water can enhance blood circulation, thereby reducing the burden on the liver. Among the foods suitable for autumn, white foods such as lilies, pears, yams, white radish, and water chestnuts are regarded by Chinese medicine as natural ingredients that have the effect of moisturizing the lungs. Stewing pears with white fungus and rock sugar can effectively moisturize the lungs that have become dry due to the dry air of autumn.
The lungs are extremely vulnerable organs and are directly connected to the outside world through the mouth and nose. Cold evil energy can easily invade the lungs through the mouth and nose, causing colds and coughs. Therefore, paying attention to keeping your neck and back warm and adding clothing in a timely manner is the key to physical maintenance in autumn. At the same time, windows should be opened from time to time for ventilation, allowing indoor air to circulate, exhausting stale air, and bringing in clean air, so that the lungs can smoothly perform their functions of air circulation and purification.
Winter Tiding: Go to bed early and get up late, you must wait for the daylight
In the third month of winter, the water freezes and the ground cracks. This state is called hiding. The yang energy in the human body should be deeply hidden inside at this time to accumulate energy and prepare for the vigorous vitality of the next year. Health care in winter focuses on nourishing the kidneys. The kidneys are water-type and are mainly responsible for the sealing function. They are the foundation of innateness.
In terms of diet, saltiness should be reduced and bitterness increased. Saltyness enters the kidneys. However, excessive intake will increase the burden on the kidneys and prevent water excretion. Therefore, the diet should be light, eat less food with too much salt, drink less drinks containing additives, and drink more warm water, so that the waste produced by body metabolism can be smoothly excreted through urine. Black food, such as black sesame, black beans, and black rice, are good choices for kidney nourishment in winter.
In terms of work and rest, you should go to bed early and get up late. You should wait until the sun appears before you can get up and start moving, so as to avoid disturbing the Yang Qi. Winter is a time of high incidence of respiratory infectious diseases. The elderly and those with weak health should avoid going to crowded places to prevent the invasion of external evils. There is another simple way to nourish the kidneys on a daily basis, which is "don't tolerate urination". When urine is stored in the bladder, it will turn into turbid gas and in turn cause damage to the kidneys. Expelling urine in a timely manner is one of the most direct ways to reduce the burden on the kidneys.
Following the natural laws of spring growth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage, and adjusting the spirit, diet, and daily life to maintain the same frequency resonance with heaven and earth, this is the most simple and extremely advanced way to maintain health. This wisdom derived from nature will accompany us through every season in a gentle way.
