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TREAT YOURSELF THIS CHRISTMAS AND REST!!
Published: 01/12/2011 by CLANCY NANKERVIS
» HEALTH
GIVE YOURSELF THE BEST PRESENT THIS CHRISTMAS, REST!
In clinic, as a Doctor of Chinese medicine, I see it all too often, that as part of our fast paced lifestyle and society, clients come in with presenting ailments as a result of overwork, stress, inadequate sleep and rest.
As described by Maciocia:
“Over-exertion is a common cause of disease on Western societies. A proper balance between work/exercise and rest is obviously essential to health, and yet the overwhelming majority of people exceed on one direction or the other, taking too much or too little exercise, working too much and failing to take adequate rest” (pg. 136).
REST AND RELAXATION
There aren’t many of us who aren’t in need of some RnR. The best advice I can give for the coming holiday season is to take the time to become completely rested and rejuvenated. The enjoyable benefits of relaxation are obvious, but what about the deeper health advantages? Let me explain.
HEALTH BENEFITS
As many of you may know, Chinese medicine advocates conducting oneself in accordance with laws and rhythms of nature, one of these being in ‘balance’. It is a cruel clichéd word but it does answer many questions and dilemmas that may arise in our search when understanding our body.
BALANCE: refers to the ability in a situation were different aspects exist in the correct relationship to each other.
Therefore, we can all apply the basic rule of adequate rest to the ratio of work conducted.
The Yellow Emperor or Huang Di, the father of Chinese Medicine, stated in the medical classics (Maoshing,pg. 2)
“Previously, people led a calm and honest existence. Detached from undue desire and ambition; they lived with an untainted conscience and without fear. They were active without depleting themselves. Because they lived simply, these individuals knew contentment, as reflected in their diet of basic but nourishing foods and attire that was appropriate to the season but not luxurious.”
MAINTAINING HEALTH
When we abide by these laws and live in harmony with our ‘environment’, health is more easily maintained. When we live outside these laws and place undue stress on our bodies and minds, our health is compromised, and diseased states develop.
Huang Di, also stated:
“Of all things under heaven, nothing is more precious than human beings. People are dependant on the nourishment and fortification of heaven and earth, water and food, and the essence of the universe to grow and prosper, according to the laws and changes of the seasons” (Maoshing, pg. 100).
STRESS
What does the effect of this fast paced lifestyle, overwork, stress, inadequate sleep and rest have on our health and wellbeing? It is estimates that 43% of all adults experience adverse health because of stress and 90% of doctor visits are stress related ailments. (www.stress.org).
HORMONAL REACTIONS
The body responds to these unbalanced life factors be releasing the stress hormones, epinephrine and cortisol. The action of these hormones is to increase the ability to react in situations with more speed and strength, fight or flight. But if we are exposed to these circumstances over an extended period of time, then the increased levels of these hormones increase blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar levels.
LONG TERM EFFECT
Therefore the long term effect can be:
- Cardiovascular,
- Immune
- Psychological disorders.
Some studies have shown a direct link between the levels of stress and the development of virus related tumours (Reiche, EM, Nunes SO, Morimoto HK).
There are not many parts of the body that aren’t affected from the physiological change that occurs from overwork, stress and inadequate sleep and rest, from a Chinese medicine perspective.
“The question of balance between activity and rest affects Qi (energy) directly. Whenever we work or exercise we are using up Qi; whenever we rest, Qi is restored” (Maciocia, pg. 136).
QI
There are two different types of Qi used in our bodies;
ESSENCE QI: The genetic and inherited energy which is the basis for our growth, development, reproduction and maturation.
EVERDAY QI: Derived by the Spleen and Stomach organ system from the food and drink we consume.
“In our daily activities of work and exercise, we normally use Qi, whilst essence provides the physiological basis for long term changes. Under normal circumstances, the Qi used up in normal work and exercise is quickly restored by proper diet and rest” (Maciocia, pg. 136).
When one works longer and harder, without adequate rest or recuperation, then the energy derived for daily living becomes inadequate, meaning the body has to source its energy from our ‘essence’ reserve. The effect of this can be seen on our; digestive system, immune system, reproductive system, muscular-skeletal system, neurologic and brain health, and our emotional health.
REST AND RECUPERATE
So! Take the time this holiday season to completely rest and recuperate. And after the Christmas break, on your way back into your work routine, consider a renewed work/rest balance. Implement meditation, yoga or tai chi into your schedule, as these practices replicate the positive effects of relaxation.
Chinese medicine has long said,
What can we do about it?
Seasonality, meditation, time out, adequate movement/exercise, good food, adequate down time rest and sleep.
Merry Christmas
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“Happiness does not come automatically. It is not a gift that good fortune bestows upon us and a reversal of fortune takes back. It depends on us alone. One does not become happy overnight, and that requires effort and time. In order to become happy, we have to learn how to change ourselves”(Luca and Francesco Cavalli-Sforza)
“By happiness I mean here a deep sense of flourishing that arises from an exceptionally healthy mind. This is not a mere pleasurable feeling, a fleeting emotion, or a mood, but an optimal state of being. Happiness is also a way of interpreting the world, it is always possible to change the way we look at it” (pg19, Ricard)
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Maciocia, G., The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Churchill Livingstone, New York, 1989.
Maoshing, NI., The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, Shambhala, Boston, 1995.
Reiche, EM, Nunes SO, Morimoto HK, Stress, depression, the immune system, and cancer. The Lancet Oncology 2004.
www.stress.org
Pg. 15 “The Chinese assume that the universe is continuously changing. Its movement is the result not of a first cause or creator, but of an inner dynamic of cyclical patterns. Just as the sun maps out four distinct seasons in its yearly round, all biological organisms also go through four seasons in a lifetime: birth, maturation, decline and death. The constancy of the cosmos is in these patterns of change, which are regular. The cosmos itself is an integral whole, a web of interrelated things and events. Within this web of relationships and change, any entity can be defined only by its function, and has significance only as part of the whole pattern.”
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