Listen to Your Body

Some years back I read a book on nutrition by Jeffrey Bland in which he distinguished between 'vertical' and 'horizontal' disease. Vertical disease is when you feel generally under the weather and visit your GP who, as the cartoon put it, tells you to come back when you are more ill and have a recognisable (horizontal-making) disease! Chinese medicine (TCM) does not work like this, as the authors of this excellent book demonstrate: both are doctors, one specialised in the techniques of TCM and the other in psychological medicine. Together they have produced a remarkable distillation of Chinese wisdom.

The TCM practitioner will assess the level of your Qi, which for the patient means listening to the signals sent by the body and not ploughing on regardless. Deficiencies relate to the two primordial principles of Taoist philosophy, the Yin and the Yang, whose implications are clearly spelt out in the book – for instance in terms of the division of the day when they respectively predominate. The book makes clear that many of our habits – and mine include running in the evening, the wrong time of day – are misguided and will deplete our Qi. This is illustrated by case histories of people inappropriately exhausting themselves on holiday, or, if their Qi is especially low, having an accident that puts them out of action for the duration! The authors explain that clumsiness is associated with low levels of Qi.

The first part of the book explains the Chinese view of the cosmos and the human body. This leads on to a discussion of the information system of the body and ways in which you can recognise the signals it sends (I am just pausing for some green tea in response to a signal). The third part teaches the reader how to trust the wisdom of the body while the fourth is an in-depth guide to daily care of the body. All of this is explained with great clarity.

The advice in the book expresses an ancient tradition that is itself associated with longevity through a management of the Qi. Harmony between mind and body, between Yin and Yang is critical. A peaceful mind enables Qi to flow freely, which in turn means slowing down in order to relax. This is the first stage of qigong, and some of the basic exercises such as breathing are outlined here. One specific piece of advice is to take a moment to relax before you carry out a task.

The section on daily care of the body is detailed and full of practical guidance. One of the central guidelines is resting in the middle of the day when the yin energy is beginning to rise. Another is to pay more attention to keeping one's lower body warm while still another is to bathe one's feet in hot water before going to bed – advice that is also given by Peter Deunov. Abdominal breathing is also critical, and there are chapters on eating and Qi and sex. This is an altogether superb guide to preventive medicine through understanding the nature of Qi and its flow through the body.