As practitioners of life cultivation, we know that mind cultivation takes precedence over life cultivation. In other words, take care of our heart and mind, our life will turn out to be better. Agree?

Today we bring to you four ways to cultivate our mind. Hopefully, we will end up with a healthier mind and a happier life. Enjoy.

01 Heart Maintenance

To do life maintenance, first do heart maintenance. The fundamental principle of heart maintenance is to maintain the yang-energy associated with the heart which is its driving force. Experts believe that yang-energy nourishes the lungs and the heart.

Our life lies in exercise, and exercise bears the brunt of heart maintenance. The purpose of aerobic exercise is to enhance cardiopulmonary function and increase cardiopulmonary endurance. During aerobic exercise, our blood supplies sufficient oxygen to the myocardium. The oxygen fully ferments the sugar in our body, enhances and improves cardiopulmonary function, prevents osteoporosis, and regulates our psychological and mental state.

What are the recommended aerobic exercises?

01 Brisk walk

Walk briskly for three kilometers every day for more than thirty minutes. Exercise at least five times a week. Insisting on exercise in this way can improve myocardial contractility, reduce coronary atherosclerosis, and at the same time control blood pressure, regulate blood lipids, and regulate blood sugar.

02 Practice Taichi

Practice of taichi will bring about breath adjustment and body relaxation. Doing a round of taichi every morning is of great benefit to the cardiovascular system. Taichi enables the high-functioning exercise of the calf muscles, adding many small water pumps to the human body to help the heart work, that is, to reduce the burden on the heart.

Because taichi attaches great importance to the training of the body’s lower limbs, it is conducive to the downward flow of energy and blood. It helps to bring energy and blood to the lower part of the body to compensate for the immobility of the lower limbs. Thus it helps to prevent high blood pressure and give us anti-aging benefits.

02 Blood flow Maintenance

The culprit of coronary heart disease is arteriosclerosis. When plaques in blood vessels form, high blood pressure and high blood lipids can cause thrombus to fall off, which can induce acute myocardial infarction.

What do we do to assure smooth flow?

01 Massage certain acupoint

First of all, locate the correct position of the taichong acupoint. Refer to the red dot on the diagram. Draw a visionary line from the area between the first and second toes. It is about three finger length from the base of the toes.

Secondly, press or pinch this point with your thumb until you feel pain. Do it three to five minutes each time, two to three times a day.

Herbal medicine believes that for a sudden and sharp increase in blood pressure, pressing on both sides of the taichong acupoint can often receive a better antihypertensive effect in a short period of time.

02 Eat certain food

Celery is cool in nature, low in salt, high in potassium, and it enters the liver meridian.

Compendium of Materia Medica records:

Celery can treat Ganyang dizziness, red face and so on.

Therefore, celery has certain benefits for hypertensive patients with hyperactive yang-energy associated with the liver.

In addition, such foods as black sesame, black beans and mulberry can nourish our liver and kidneys, and benefit the essence and blood. They are especially beneficial for hypertensive patients with kidney-deficient types.

03 Take hot-cold bath

If your blood pressure or your blood vessels are not normal, do not try this trick. Warning: do not try it if you are weak.

It is rumored that Deng Tietao, a master of herbal medicine, has the habit of bathing alternately with hot and cold water. This method can strengthen vasomotor movement, accelerate blood circulation, increase blood vessel elasticity, and improve cardiovascular and cerebrovascular functions. For the prevention of arteriosclerosis, it is beneficial to keep blood vessels open.

Specific method: wash with warm water first, then rinse with slightly cooler water. When bathing, the choice of water temperature should be appropriate. Warm water should not be too hot, depending on how warm and comfortable the human body feels, generally 38°C-43°C. When washing with cold water, the water temperature should not be too low, depending on how cool the human body feels, generally around 25°C is appropriate.

Many gyms set up this hot-cold bath as part of the standard arrangement like a sauna. However, use it with caution.

03 Do good deeds

Health preservation begins with morality. There are those who handle interpersonal relationships well. They are willing to do good deeds anytime and anywhere. They are willing to sacrifice their own interests in order to help others. On the other hand, there are those who nitpick endlessly for petty gains. They are stubborn, withdrawn, and interfere with everything. The mortality rate of the first group of people is 2.5 times lower.

People who are in a good mood can promote the secretion of more beneficial hormones, enzymes and acetylcholine in the body. These substances can regulate the flow of blood and maintain the excitement of nerve cells at the best state, so that the heart and blood vessels can maintain good function.

01 Peace of mind

Treat others with peace of mind and be happy to help others.

Life is short. Let us be silly.

02 A potpourri

A very nice potpourri to live by.

One piece of compassion. Two inches of good guts. Three points of righteousness. Four points of tolerance. Constant filial piety thought. Honesty in moderation. Unrestricted dedication. No expectation of return.

04 Cultivate a hobby

As practitioners of life cultivation, we sometimes have friends who say: I had a quarrel with my family the other day, and I almost had a stroke as a result.

If our mind is chaotic, the blood vessels will be chaotic. If our mind is peaceful, the blood vessels will be at peace. Therefore, controlling emotions and maintaining a peaceful mind are very important for our health.

What can we do?

01 Meditation

Sit upright. Keep your chest up and your abdomen in. Retract your jaw. Put your right hand on your left chest. Close your eyes and let your mind enter a state of tranquility.
Adjust your breathing slowly so that it is slow and deep. Massage your heart gently clockwise with your right hand. Massage one circle within one breath. Massage thirty six circles.

This technique will help to stabilize your emotions, regulate the flow of blood and energy, and thus regulate your mind.

02 Cultivate good hobbies

A good mood will cultivate a good heart. Usually we are in a good mood when we are involved with hobbies.

Words are the voice of the heart, and calligraphies are paintings of the heart. Calligraphy embodies the unity of form and spirit advocated by herbal medicine. In addition, poetry, music, dance, drama, musical instruments, chess and horticulture are all very healthy hobbies that can calm an impetuous mood and are very helpful for nourishing the heart.

03 Consistent words and deeds

Consistent words and deeds keep our body in a state of harmony. Being a person whose heart is consistent with words and deeds can reduce the occurrence of ambivalence, reduce contradictory self-blame and self-inquiry, help reduce the occurrence of bad emotions, and reduce the impact of excessive and over-thinking emotions on the heart and mind.

Call to Action

Folks, that is all for now. If you think this article may be beneficial to your friends and loved-ones, feel free to forward this article to them. Life cultivation is mostly for older people with declining body health. If you are young and energetic, this may not be your cup of tea. However, if you have family members or friends who are middle-aged or older, they may want to practice life cultivation to maintain a life without pain or medication.

This is an extract of the full treatise published in the Mustang BodyWorks Series, a paid-subscription. You may buy this full treatise for the price of US$10.00, using your PayPal account.

Stay tuned for the next episode: Mind Cultivation.

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