Chinese medicine does not just have a 2500 year history of written and practical application of treating illness and disease. It also has an equally long tradition of cultivating health and well-being.
Here in the West we say “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” so like the Chinese, we have this notion that a little attention to our well-being on a regular basis can help us to sidestep major health issues.
The Chinese have long observed nature and used that to inform how to live in this world as a part of nature. It’s more about cultivating, than efforting. More about attentiveness, than checking a daily to-do list. It’s as much about quieting the mind as moving the body. And in many ways, more about how we are than what we do.
Our guest in this episode has a long history of exploring, practicing and teaching the “nourishing of life.” Listen in and discover how vitality, livelihood, physical and emotional well-being, a quiet spirit and supple body are all aspects of a life well lived.
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Show Highlights:
9:30 Diagnosis does not necessary lead to a cure.
11:45 Yang sheng is not a part of Chinese medicine, it’s the foundation.
13:50 Most chronic disease is not curable.
18:17 Some things can not be improved without looking at how they arise.
21:04 The importance of movement.
27:15 Factors that go hand and hand with good blood circulation.
30:09 The importance of connecting mind and breath to movement.
35:00 Flexibility is important, but not too much.
38:58 More is not better, stop before completion.
47:56 How you do you know when you are in the presence of wisdom?
Peter Deadman has practiced and taught Chinese medicine and its health cultivation tradition for over 45 years. He is co-author of A Manual of Acupuncture and author of Live Well Live Long: Teachings from the Chinese Nourishment of Life Tradition.
Nowadays he regularly lectures on the subject, teaches qigong, cooks, grows herbs and shiitake mushrooms, and tries to remember to get out in nature as often as possible and dance around his kitchen at least once a week.
Resources and Links:
Find Peter at his personal website.
The Journal of Chinese Medicine is the oldest continually published English language publication on Chinese medicine.
Listen to discussions on yang sheng and watch some of the practices on Peter’s YouTube channel.
There are plenty of great practices and resources over on the Live Well, Live Long Facebook page.
You can also connect with Peter on his Facebook page.
Recommended reading: Move Your DNA, by Katy Bowman.
