Balance is the True State of Health

As practitioners of life cultivation, we are all pursuing health, so, in which state is the human body considered truly healthy? In our opinion, balance is the true state of health.

01 On balanced

01 What is balance?

For a healthy person, balance is manifested in the following four ways.

First, his temper is mild.

Second, his views are not extreme.

Third, his handling of affairs is fair and harmonious.

Fourth, the various systems in his body are harmonious and functioning properly.

02 Balance of the human body

For the human body, balance refers to

the balance of yin and yang,

the harmony among organs,

the smooth flowing of meridians,

the smooth flowing of qi and blood, and

the peace of mind.

Such a state is naturally healthy.

03 Balance in System Theory

System Theory believes that all systems have common basic characteristics such as integrity, relevance, hierarchical structure, and dynamic balance. That is, they are in a state of balance.

02 Balance and health

01 The health concept of modern medicine

Modern medicine believes that there are various balances in the human body, such as humoral balance, immune balance, metabolic balance, and bacterial flora balance. Each system is adjusted through balance, and finally reaches the internal stability of the human body. This steady state is the ideal state where the human body is in dynamic balance and healthy and comfortable.

02 The health concept of traditional herbal medicine

Traditional herbal medicine believes that if the internal organs and meridian functions are coordinated, mental and psychological activities are normal, and the body’s adaptability is good, it belongs to a balanced health state.

Huangdi Neijing, a classical medical book, takes internal organs, qi and blood as the entry point and describes in detail the satisfying status of qi, blood and body fluid in healthy people.

The five organs are strong, the blood vessels are harmonious, the muscles are relieved, the skin is dense, and the various qi are not out of the ordinary. Slightly slow, qi moves widely, the six internal organs transform into valleys, body fluid spreads, and everything works as usual, so it lasts for a long time.

Huangdi Neijing

This description is very specific and vivid, and it is worthy of our careful understanding.

In addition, Huangdi Neijing also interprets the characteristics of healthy people from the perspective of the balance of yin and yang in the human body.

Both the yin and yang meridians have yu and hui acupoints to communicate with each other. For example, the qi and blood of the yang meridian are poured into the yin meridian, and the qi and blood of the yin meridian are filled to the outside. It can run continuously in this way, maintain the balance of yin and yang, and the body is fully nourished by qi and blood. The pulse condition of the nine periods is thus consistent for healthy people.

Huangdi Neijing

It can be said that the balance state is the ultimate goal of preventive treatment of disease of herbal medicine. It is also the ultimate goal pursued by traditional herbal practitioners.

03 The balance state of the unity of man and nature

The core thinking of traditional herbal medicine is the harmony between man and nature.

Man is born on the earth, and his life depends on heaven. Heaven and earth are in harmony, thus there is life called man.

Huangdi Neijing

That is to say, people live in this world, and their health is affected by the natural environment and climate changes in four seasons and corresponding changes occur. If we leave out heaven and earth, we cannot talk about people.

Traditional herbal medicine preventive treatment emphasizes “being in harmony with heaven and earth, and following the principles of the eight winds.”

It points out that people should follow the law of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the sunlight, temperature, and air of the living environment. Only when they are in harmony with each other can they achieve the state of “living up to the end of life, and going to live a hundred years.”

04 The balance state of the five organs

There are five elements in heaven and earth, namely wood, fire, earth, gold, and water, which correspond to the five internal organs of the human body. The liver corresponds to wood, the heart corresponds to fire, the spleen corresponds to earth, the lungs correspond to gold, and the kidneys correspond to water. The five physiological systems of the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys based on the five elements have their own characteristics, and they are mutually restrained and in a dynamic balance. If one organ is out of order, the whole will be out of harmony.

When you see a liver disease, you know that the liver will pass it on to the spleen, so first we should strengthen the spleen, so that spleen will not get the evil of the liver. This is what we mean by preventive treatment of a disease.

Nan Jing

Thus the key to preventive treatment of a disease is to identify the functional state of the five internal organs, and then use the five internal organs to restrain and adjust the relationship between the five internal organs to achieve a balanced state.

Many diseases in the whole body are caused by the imbalance of the five internal organs. Traditional herbal medicine treatment is to make the five internal organs return to balance, that is, to return to a balanced state. The purpose of all the syndrome differentiation and treatment in traditional herbal medicine is right here.

05 The balance state varies from person to person

People are different. Whether it is prevention of disease or treatment of disease, it is necessary to combine individual conditions to make the individual in balance. This is personalized treatment, the real aristocratic medical treatment, and the most brilliant medical treatment.

Huangdi Neijing says that when treating a disease, “you must first measure its fatness and thinness, adjust its qi deficiency and excess, relieve it when it is excess, and replenish it when it is deficient.”

This is a personalized treatment.

Zhang Zhongjing, a medical sage of the Ming Dynasty, used a unique approach. He emphasized that by identifying the patient’s disease, pulse and syndrome, the human body can achieve body harmony, pulse harmony, qi harmony, body fluid harmony and stomach qi harmony, and finally reach a disease-free state of “the five internal organs are in harmony, and people are at peace.”

These were recorded in his treatise named “Distinguishing Taiyang’s Pulse and Syndrome and Treating it” and “Distinguishing and Treating Cholera’s Pulse and Syndrome” and so on.

In modern clinics, some herbal practitioners like to treat non-standard diseases with syndrome differentiation of the six meridians. By identifying the conflicting state of good and evil in the six meridians, the syndrome differentiation of the six meridians can help patients return to the dynamic balance state of yin and yang balance. This may be referred to as “adjust measures to individual conditions.”

06 The balanced state of the nine types of body constitution

About forty years ago, Professor Wang Qi put forward the theory of nine body constitutions, classifying all people into nine body constitutions, studying the characteristics of each of the nine constitutions and the correlation with diseases, so as to guide disease prevention, treatment, health preservation and rehabilitation. Among them, the first one of the body constitution is classified as the balanced type.

The characteristics of a balanced body constitution type are: well-proportioned and strong body shape, moderate body posture; energetic, bright eyes, rosy complexion; normal diet, normal bowel movements; harmony of yin and yang, qi and blood, pale red tongue, thin white tongue coating, gentle and strong pulse; cheerful personality, less illness, strong adaptability to the external environment. It can be said that the balanced constitution belongs to a healthy constitution.

Traditional herbal medicine is based on balance, and everyone should cultivate balance. Keeping in good health means keeping a balanced body. Therefore, everyone should keep in good health, not only the sick need it, but also the healthy.

To keep in good health, the most important thing is to eat and drink moderately, live a regulated life, not to work too hard, and face life with an optimistic and positive attitude. As sick people need it, so should healthy people.

In addition, for health preservation, we can choose acupuncture and moxibustion. The sick need it, and the healthy need it too.

Take moxibustion as an example. Sun Simiao, a famous herbal practitioner from the Tang Dynasty, emphasized: “Ordinary people who travel in Sichuan often need moxibustion in three or two places on their bodies. Don’t let the sores heal only temporarily. Use moxibustion so the poisonous gas of miasma and plague will not be able to penetrate the body.”

This means that even healthy people should use moxibustion to prevent miasma and plague poisonous gas.

The sages believed that moxibustion can: “Strengthen the roots, protect the body, fumigate the original, but eliminate all diseases, the pain of the internal organs, and keep the whole body healthy.”

For healthy people, how should moxibustion be used to keep in good health? Our suggestion is to apply moxibustion at the zusanli acupoint regularly. This acupoint is the most effective for helping the transportation function of the spleen and stomach, nourishing qi and blood, balancing the internal organs, making the righteous qi strong and vigorous, and preventing evil qi from attacking from the outside.

07 A brief summary

To sum up, whether it is the action of preventing disease from occurring, or whether it is health preservation before disease, nipping the bud before a disease, or preventing disease from worsening, the main act is to return people to a balanced state.

Whether it is western medicine or traditional herbal medicine, its purpose is to make people return to a balanced healthy state.

Regardless of whether we are sick or healthy, we must pay attention to health preservation, so that the body’s internal organs, qi and blood are in a balanced state, which is the fundamental guarantee of health.

In addition, balance is not only in the body, but also includes the coordination, harmony and unity of man and society, man and nature. It can be said that balance is not only a state of health, but also a state of harmony between body and mind, and a state of true unity of man and nature.

In future articles, we will focus on the classification of body constitution into nine types and the methods of adjusting each type into the balanced type.

End of part one, and to be continued.

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