 So a few years ago. I was staying in a monastery in the Sichuan province near Chengdu now while I was in this monastery Meditating I had once had a little chance conversation with a Taoist monk and the monk told me to do three things every day from a Taoist and traditional Chinese medicine point of view that I thought I would share here in this video today Hey guys, Dr. Alex Hain a doctor of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine and author of the health book master the day So before we jump into this video, I put together two very important links that can help you The first is for a free guide I've put together which is for daily rituals that can potentially help you ideas to your life with traditional Chinese medicine and the second is if you'd like to become a patient of mine locally in Los Angeles or Virtually via telemedicine. There's a link right below to reach out to my private practice Now the first piece of advice that he gave me was to harmonize or balance your life based on yin and yang Now this goes way back to the yellow emperors inner classic of medicine one of our most important books in traditional Chinese medicine But the example he gave was the stark contrast Between how peaceful life is in the country and of course he's a monk. It is a simple boring life Versus the way people live in cities. This is just him observing from the outside the pace of life You wake up to an alarm which jars your nervous system like that Which is way different from waking up in the country where you wake up to birds or sunlight So think about the effect that has on the nervous system and then you get in this car Right where you're speeding trying to get to work on time and there's noise and honking and just the general city smells and pollution Then you get to this work where you have deadlines and you have missions things you have to get done And then you have a boss breathing down your neck who has you know They say you've got to get this done in this period of time Whereas if you're working in the farm you just work until the work is done some days shorter some days longer It's probably relatively peaceful steady-state kind of work And then when it comes to your lunch break something that should be theoretically enjoyable and peaceful and Really no rush, you know a lot of workers in the US literally sit at their desk and they work in front of their desk There's no hour long two hour long lunch break like in Europe where people taking time to break bread with people And have a nice conversation and relax and talk It's literally something where you are no you're just continuing to be the machine There's no peace and stillness now from a Taoist or Yin Yang point of view This is utilizing all the yang pushing energy, right? It's a lot of forward momentum and stress and Pressure tension on the nervous system that this creates Which is really one of the main issues that people have in the modern world Which is that it's all forward momentum all tension all pressure all doing and not enough yin time and not enough rest The second piece of advice he told me was that Qi and blood flow is the key to longevity So for thousands of years not only in Taoism, but in traditional Chinese medicine It was observed that proper flow was key to proper functioning of the organs in the body Now we say that the solid organs like the kidneys and the liver they store essence, right? But the hollow organs the way you strengthen the function of them is by movement now The hollow organs being organs like the stomach and the intestines a lot of our issues today a lot of our health issues and diseases our diseases of Affluence diseases of accumulation of excess eating gallbladder issues gallbladder removals Acid reflux indigestion people with bowel issues because we're eating too much and too much of the wrong thing So we say that you strengthen you allow proper Qi flow of a hollow organ like the intestines by letting it empty So by eating smaller meals it benefits the stomach the gallbladder the spleen from a TCM point of view as well as the Intestines so he was saying that Qi and blood flow is key to longevity and key to life When you look at why modern people die the main diseases really are cardiovascular, right? Strokes heart attacks even dementia some people call it a kind of type 3 diabetes and all of the long-term Consequences of diabetes there due to lack of flow primarily blood flow So what he was saying a lot of people the issue in modern life is stagnation stagnation not only on a literal physical level sitting instead of physical movement not CrossFit, but lots of low-level consistent physical movement and On top of that is a kind of spiritual and mental emotional stagnation of doing repetitive work and not doing things that light you up and excite you and not taking time off to travel and explore and Have hobbies that really lighten the spirit so to speak So movement both from a literal point of view and a metaphorical mental point of view are key The third thing he said was more about the spirit where he said keeping a quiet heart is the key to peace He said one of the main things he sees besides people in cities being fat and stressed is that The main thing that strikes him about city dwellers is the lack of peace You talk to them and you can feel the subtle buzzing tension of the nervous system of someone who has deadlines and is rushed and Is stressed and doesn't get enough rest and peace and enough quiet So the lack of peace he said is very very interesting because he said a lot of it from city dwellers There's a quote in the Dowda Jing something paraphrased about how the old are rigid and brittle and dried out stiff While the young are supple and there's not that tension in the body, right? And that what leads to the old and the premature aging is people are old and stiff like a tree branch that cracks in the hurricane Versus a supple one that just bends but does not break for lots of us The mind is the thing that is the most rigid because he says the mind is what's driving us to try to be successful with desires Right and desires can be a kind of poison because it can be the exact same drive To be successful that is the same exact drive that pushes the mind and body beyond their limits so the constant pursuing of desires and success and fame and notoriety that drives so many people to cities is One part adaptive trying to improve your life as a poor person But is one part maladaptive trying so hard to push yourself beyond your limits And that is the thing that very often pushes us into a state of disease So the drive for achievement is antithetical to the drive for tranquility and peace And that was where he left me in terms of these three Taoist lessons for modern people in the city So that's what I have for you here today guys before you go check out those links for the free guide and to reach out To my practice if you want to speak more and I will see you soon