According to ancient Chinese beauty secrets, beauty is not just about appearance. Having a healthy body from the inside out is one of the major Chinese beauty secrets. To have optimum health and beauty, a youthful appearance and a beautiful physique, a person must understand what is happening inside his body. And, this includes the balancing of chi.
HEALTH = BEAUTY
Yin and yang
Yin energy moves inward and downward, affecting internal organs and body fluids. Yang energy moves upward and outward towards the surface of the body. When these energies are in harmony, we are balanced. When there is balance, there is optimum health; where there is optimum health, there is beauty. All this occurs when yin and yang are in harmony.
Yin is cool and calm whereas, yang is hot and active. The upper part of the human body is yang and, the lower part is yin.
The attraction or repulsion of these opposing forces makes movement and change possible. This movement provides the underlying life energy, which is also known as chi. Chi moves in the body through a network of channels, or meridians, that govern how the body functions. Even one block in the flow of chi can cause the whole organism to malfunction. One of the best ways to balance our chi is by practising Qigong.
Five elements
Five Elements are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. In accordance with the seasonal cycles-
Wood= spring
Fire= summer
Earth= late summer
Metal= autumn
Water= winter
This concept comes directly from ancient Chinese medicine masters who determined that chi moves throughout nature, including our bodies in a rhythmic, orderly, continuous circuit. These great masters also identified the relationship between the five elements and the organs of our bodies. Our organs have their own charts related to the Five Elements. We are at our healthiest when these relationships are in balance and least healthy when they are out of balance. Ancient scholars noticed many connections between the Five Elements and the five organ systems in the body.
Eyes, tendons and nails reflect the condition of the wood organs- the liver and gallbladder.
The heart and the small intestine are linked to the tongue and reflect the condition of the fire organs.
The mouth is related to the earth organs like the stomach.
The nose is the sense organ related to the metal organs, particularly the lungs and the large intestine.
The ears are related to the water organs- the kidneys and bladder.
Emotions
Chinese tradition states that five emotional states are the roots of many physical conditions. These emotions are- anger, joy, sadness, grief, anxiety, and fear. When these emotions are in balance, our body is in harmony.
Emotions cannot cause diseases but, they can aggravate them, even injuring the health of the organs. When they are in harmony or balance, our body is free of any illness.
Anger-
Anger is related to the liver. Too much anger can alter the flow of the liver chi resulting in liver damage. It can cause high blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, liver damage and gallbladder distress. The hot yang energy produced by anger and imbalance often shows up as acne in women before or during their menstrual cycles.
Repressed anger often results in the stagnant or restricted flow of chi. Excessive anger can lead to liver and gallbladder damage.
Joy-
Too much joy can lead to agitation and insomnia as, it is related to the heart. It can also upset the intestine leading to diseases such as diarrhoea. Too little joy manifests itself in depression and oversleeping.
Anxiety-
It can range from moodiness and depression to obsessive and compulsive behaviours. These emotions affect the spleen, pancreas, and stomach, altering the flow of the chi through these organs. According to Chinese medicine, too much anxiety can result in intense muscle fatigue, nausea, impaired digestion, and sometimes even premature greying of the hair.
Sadness-
According to Chinese medicine, grief is related to the lungs and large intestine. Tears affect the nose by producing excess mucus (runny nose). They can also affect the skin by causing redness, blotchiness, and break-outs. The hair, which is also a related tissue, may fall out in times of intense sadness.
Fear-
Too much fear can damage the kidneys or bladder and cause several problems starting from frequent urination to kidney stones and bladder infections. In men, it can result in premature ejaculation.
Seasons
Ancient Chinese masters believed that seasonal changes affect us deeply because adverse conditions can disrupt our natural balance, both internally and externally, by penetrating the protective energy shield that envelops our bodies.
wind
The wind is an external force. When wind attacks, it tends to break the energy shield of the skin and invade the upper torso. Symptoms of excess wind include head colds and flu-like symptoms. So, during high winds, we need to stay indoors or dress in appropriate clothing- scarves, hats, sunglasses to protect our bodies from penetrating winds. We should also apply
creams to prevent the wind-caused dryness that chaps our skin and lips.
Summer
Although heat is the opposite of cold, it too can cause chapped lips and skin. Oil production may be stimulated by summer heat, creating a variety of skin problems beyond sunburn. Our sweat and sebaceous oils combine with airborne pollution to clog up and enlarge pores. Clean your skin at least twice daily and replenish lost fluids with creams that will keep your skin hydrated. Drink plenty of water. We tend to move slowly during hot weather. Thus, it is necessary to restore body fluids lost during perspiration by drinking plenty of cooling liquids, especially water, and eating foods that cool the body—melons, mint, tofu, green tea, cucumber, squashes, grapefruit, spinach, and tomatoes.
Dampness
Excessive dampness can be sticky. Symptoms include rheumatism and arthritis, achiness, heaviness in the head and body, sluggishness, bloating, cold sweats, fatigue, diarrhoea, and frequent urination. The key to correcting these conditions is to clean waste and toxins from the system with various foods, teas, and topical treatments.
Internal dampness is usually caused by consuming cold food in large quantities. It can also be caused by having too much alcohol, coffee, sugary drinks and foods and can imbalance the spleen and pancreas.
Dryness
Chinese beauty secrets say that dry weather combined with cold or heat is particularly damaging to the lungs. Internal and external dryness can cause dry, itchy skin, chapped lips, and constipation.
External parchedness weakens the body’s resistance to illness. It inhibits its protective energy shield making our body susceptible to illness and immune deficiency disorders.
Internal dryness can cause a decrease in body fluids.
Excessive parchedness results in a dry mouth, nose, and throat. It can result in coughing, constant thirst, cessation of sweat, and infrequent urination.
Restoring moisture to both the environment and especially the body is the best way to deal with dryness. If necessary, invest in a humidifier to restore moisture to the air. Ensure that your body is hydrated inside and out. Hydrating creams will ease dryness, itching, and flaking. To guarantee internal moisture, drink ten to twelve glasses of water every day and eat plenty of moisture-rich foods like melons, cucumbers, honey, avocado, sesame seeds, squashes, grapefruits, tomatoes, yoghurt, etc.
Also, stop smoking.
Cold
Symptoms of an excessive internal cold can include loss of appetite, impeded digestion, joint pain, cold, pale hands and feet, forgetfulness, and fatigue. All these conditions indicate overall weakness and slow metabolism. Excessive internal cold can be caused due to dietary imbalances or as an after-effect of a long-term illness, surgery, or even pregnancy and childbirth. Warming tonics made from yang-energy herbs that generate internal heat like cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, anise and star anise, basil, rosemary, and sage will provide relief.
Fire
Smoking and exposure to smoky conditions cause lung problems and, overeating or overindulgence in rich food and drink, with such symptoms as indigestion, heartburn, gas, and even ulcers, creates stomach problems. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism create both stomach fire and liver fire. Temper tantrums or frequent outbursts of anger cause liver fire. Prolonged internal fire causes
permanent damage to the affected yang organ-energy system and, ultimately, to the secondary yin organs.
Too much internal fire can cause fevers, flushing, bloodshot eyes, painful, swollen gums, and an irritated, bright red tongue, not to mention acne flare-ups. In women, the ultimate example of excessive internal fire is menstrual problems.
The only effective way to protect the body from the ravages of fire is to practice moderation in both diet and lifestyle.
Food as medicine
Understanding the energy present in the food. What we consume and how it can affect our well-being holds an important place in the list of Chinese beauty secrets. We should focus on increasing our vitality which then enhances our beauty.
Food items have yin and yang or hot and cold energy. Our organs function best at the right balance of the two, internally and externally. If we have a condition that indicates an excess of hot energy such as a sore throat or blemished skin, we need to increase the intake of cool-energy foods to calm and cool the excess hot energy in our body. If we have cold-energy symptoms such as cold hands and feet, a runny nose, or pale, lifeless skin, we want to turn up the heat. We can resolve this by warming our bodies from the inside-heating up our organs with warm and hot-energy foods and herbs.
Hot and cold energies are balanced by mixing and intensified by adding spices, wine, or vinegar. How we prepare our food affects its energy- stir-frying and deep-frying bring hot energy to a dish, whereas steaming has cooling properties.
If you have more yin energy, you should consume a diet that has higher yang energy to heat your inner chi. Drink ginger tea, fry your food with garlic and onions. Those of you who have high yang energy should consume more cool-energy foods to turn down that heat.
2 D R
Detoxification:
Chinese concubines took special care to drink certain soups and teas. They ate certain foods only at specific times, usually according to the growing seasons of the plants. By drinking and eating in this fashion, they could increase cell renewal while ridding their bodies more quickly of toxins and waste materials. Chinese beauty secrets include using Chinese herbs like dang quai, rehmanniae radix, ligusticum, and Paeonia for detoxification. Other than these herbs, Licorice Root Tea and Basic Ginseng Tea is also used to remove toxins.
We should include DETOXIFYING FOODS like apricots, cashews, coconuts, figs, grapefruits, ripe bananas, oranges, persimmons, watermelons, adzuki beans, broccoli, celery, Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, eggplants, green beans, shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, spinach, squashes, tempeh, tofu, black sesame seeds, brown rice, castor beans, oats, sunflower seeds, wild rice, honey, milk, sesame oil, soy sauce and sweet basil in our diet.
Digestion:
We should have eating habits that provide our entire body with nutrients chosen to bring our body into balance. According to Chinese tradition, tonics and foods that nourish the spleen balance any digestion disorder as the spleen influences digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Foods that promote digestion are-
Chinese dates, honeydew melons, kumquats, lemons, limes, loquats, olives, oranges, papayas, pears, pineapples, plums, star fruit, black beans, carrots, Chinese parsley, dandelion flowers, fennel, lettuce, mung beans, tomatoes. Water chestnuts, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, clover, dried mandarin orange peel, garlic, ginger, ginseng, hops, milk, nutmeg, peppermint, sweet basil, vinegar, black pepper.
Regeneration:
In the list of Chinese beauty secrets having a well-rested body is very important. Rest, relaxation and sleep help our body with natural regeneration. It is a recycling program which is really beneficial for our bodies.
Some food items that generate regeneration are-
mulberries, pears, Chinese dates, black beans, collards, fennel, leafy green vegetables, white potatoes, yams, chicken, fish, tofu, Brown rice, pasta, oats, rice noodles, sweet rice, basil, chamomile, dill, garlic, ginseng, honey and peppermint.
To sum up, ancient Chinese beauty secrets are not only about taking care of our skin or hair from the outside but, they were also a holistic approach to bringing balance and harmony from the inside. Beauty was the result of the harmonised health and energies.