Chinese medicine identifies many causes of disharmony in the body that lead to illness. They can get rather theoretical/conceptual, in the cases of fire, heat, dampness, cold, and wind. And they can be emotion-based. It could also be one of the following seven factors, which disrupt your flow of “Qi” and hurl you out of balance.
So, here are seven health secrets from the Orient:
1. Work: Whether you sit at a keyboard or work laboriously on a farm, it affects your flow of Qi. Using your mind is mostly regarded as being a good thing. In Chinese medicine, though, if you constantly strain the brain, you can damage the spleen and make “yin” deficient. Physical work, on the other hand, impairs Qi over time. Tons of heavy lifting makes your lungs deficient. Working outside, of course, exposes you to all the elements known to impact the body.
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2. Lifestyle: Stresses that strike us in everyday life will impact our health and quality of life. We know this, and Chinese medicine recognizes this. Reducing stressors on your body is important.
3. Genes: When we inherit deficiencies from our parents, we must eat, exercise, and live in a way that helps the situation. This goes for inheriting a tendency toward high blood pressure, or Alzheimer’s that runs in the family. The Chinese call these genetic factors “constitutional.” We need to minimize possible causes of disharmony triggered by these inherited issues.
4. Diet: The world over, everyone knows the diet is critical to health. In Chinese medicine, it’s particularly important. It would take eons to describe the relationship of diet with your lungs, stomach, spleen, and other organs. Your nutrition or lack thereof has a direct impact on the flow of Qi, causing conditions of dampness and cold.
5. Exercise: Whether you exercise a lot or a little, it influences the flow of Qi in your body. Training excessively makes one susceptible to injuries and infections — because the body is in disharmony. The kidneys, for instance, can be overstressed. Just like all aspects of the body need balance, so too does your training schedule. Find a nice, happy exercise medium.
6. Sex: This isn’t male/female, but rather actual sex. Too much can damage kidney balance. A woman who is pregnant many times can deplete the blood and energy in her body, permanently. The Chinese system regards a decline in sexual activity as one ages as natural.
7. Unpredictable events: This is, obviously, not something you can actively prevent. Injuries and accidents can impact the flow of Qi. This group would include put air pollution, food contamination, and other aspects of industrial life.