The modern view of achieving health and longevity is diet, regular exercise, and resorting to drugs or supplements. Despite all the advances in contemporary science and technology to advance health and longevity, we are far from finding this elixir.
Huangdi Neijing (a classical Chinese medical book written thousands of years ago) reminds us that nourishing the body is not as good as nourishing the heart. A person, who wants to prolong life needs to know the secret of staying young; the focus should be on maintaining a peaceful mind and heart.
The ancient physicians believed that our emotions affect the health of our bodies overall. They found five emotions corresponding to the following organs — heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.
These 5 emotions have a bearing on your body and health
1. Anxiety over fame and gain
Your heart is closely connected to the feelings and emotional reactions you experience daily. For instance, your heart beats faster as you prepare to give a speech. The pain you feel when loved ones are agonizing in a hospital. Equally, when you are over-excited, your heart beats faster.
There is a saying in Chinese: “Being over-excited brings about a sad consequence, while fear slowly eats or erodes the balance of an organ, especially the heart.”
A person’s constant anxiety over worries and troubles directly affects their mental state, which harms the proper functioning of the stomach, lungs, and heart, leading to future illnesses.
People overly concerned with their material losses and gains tend to experience insomnia, various pains, and headaches, leading to toxins and waste accumulating in the body, which is visible in the person’s poor complexion.
Inevitably, people encounter various tribulations throughout their lifetimes, which are essential in learning how to maintain a peaceful mind and heart. It’s true to say that having a sound mind leads to a sound body.
2. Uncontrolled anger
When emotional pressure overwhelms, it is easy to fall victim to uncontrollable anger. If this becomes habit-forming, it may lead to an unhealthy liver.
People with poor lifestyles, such as excessive drinking, staying up late at night, and facing misfortune, will likely lose control of their temper and become abusive. This eventually leads them to become victims of their anger, causing their livers and bodies to suffer.
Once your liver is damaged, your emotions become equally unstable, leading to an unhealthy cycle of vented anger and declining health.
An idiom in Chinese is “when one is so angry that his hair rises to lift up his hat.” This means that when one is bristling with anger, the person will pay the price via a painful liver. It is essential to learn how to control your emotions. Exercising and listening to music are good ways to calm your emotions. When your emotions are calm, your body will revert to its normal cycle.
3. Excessive overthinking
People who think too much usually have a poor spleen and stomach. The spleen and stomach are the foundation of the body. If these organs do not digest and absorb well, the body’s symptoms will show poor appetite and feeling tired and weak.
Such people will also experience poor quality of sleep leading to insomnia. Their outlook on life will become negative, and they will tend to worry about what others think of them and what may happen. Generally, 90 percent of what these people worry about doesn’t happen, so it’s wise for them to relax and face the natural course of events.
4. Being pessimistic and worried
Worrying will turn your hair grey. Sad people tend to have grey hair and wrinkles. As you approach middle age, you may face pressure from family, children, careers, and the onset of health issues. It is crucial to always keep an optimistic attitude and learn not to be too hard on yourself.
5. Being fearful
If a person is too timid and weak, the kidneys cannot store the yang energy. To build a strong body, you must learn to meet challenges, cope under harsh conditions, and learn lessons from your failures. Whenever you fall, keep getting up; upon doing so, you will become more assertive in your mind and body.
To maintain a peaceful mind, learn to control and minimize your anger, avoid overthinking, be optimistic, reduce your worries, and conquer your fears. These are the best ways to maintain your health.
In summary
By adhering to these five points, you will naturally keep your heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys in optimum health and good condition, and over time you will look younger than your peers. The only way to find out is to put this into practice.
Translated by Eva and edited by Maria
