The Nourishing Life Tradition
Longevity is one of those health buzzwords you often here thrown around. But, how does one actually support a long and healthy life? Longevity is nothing without the practices to get there. In Chinese Medicine, there’s a concept of radical self-care called 養生 Yǎng Shēng. Yǎng translates as “take care of”, nourish and nurture. Shēng means life, vitality and birth; Nourishing or Nurturing Life.
The principles are based on the preservation of health, not just the treatment of disease. The methods promote health and longevity and guides us away from those that might cause harm. It recognizes our intimate connection to natural cycles and rhythms. The teachings & practices weaves in all aspects of ourselves including mind, body & spirit.
In daily practice, here are some ways to practice Nourishing Life:
Embrace the natural aging process. Express the full embodied beauty of each rite of passage. Revere your elders; wisdom keepers.
Tune into the seasons and your natural environment. What is the world around you doing? Observe the plants and animals. Pay attention to day/night cycles. What herbs and foods are growing right now? Adjust your diet and exercise according to the seasons.
Cultivate and Move Your Qi. Work with your energy instead of against it. With the energy you have, see if you can work in practices to cultivate and nurture the building and storage of qi. Some examples would be breathwork, qigong, yoga, mindful walking, body rejuvenation practices and sexual cultivation.
Live a Jing centered life. Jing is your essence and it’s stored in your Kidneys (your root). This is like your savings account that you will live off of for the rest of your life. How are your reserves? How is your energy bank? For menstruators, we have certain times of great Jing loss. How are you protecting and replenishing your Jing? You can read more in our blog “Three Golden Opportunities.”
Mind your mental & emotional wellbeing. Considered even more essential than nutrition, our mental and emotional wellbeing is emphasized in Chinese Medicine. Emotions are normal responses to our everyday lives. For health, it becomes important not to repress, deny or resist our emotions, but to move through them, express and metabolize our experiences. Both the repression and extreme long term expression of emotions are damaging to our health.
Are you integrating music, dance and ritual into your life? Chinese Medicine recognizes the powerful effect that music (vibrational sounds) has on our health. There are certain sounds that match the frequencies of organ’s meridians. Healthy organs vibrate with a unique frequency that we can tone, activate and optimize it’s functions and energetics. Do you sing, chant, dance or play an instrument?
