To enjoy good health, we need to adhere to the changes of yin and yang throughout the four seasons, as well as adjust our daily schedule and diet to achieve a dynamic balance of the yin and yang energies in our body.
Human life has its four seasons too. Childhood is the springtime of a person’s life. Children’s yang energy is much stronger than the yang energy of an elderly person. Children are full of life, they move and sweat a lot. Traditional Chinese Medicine suggests that the way to keep toddlers healthy is to keep them slightly hungry and cool, which means we shouldn’t overfeed or overclothe them.
When I was young, in Tibet, I witnessed the local herdsmen’s toddlers playing in the snow without any pants. The natural environment stimulates the human body and the body has great potential for adaptation. Children whose bodies have been trained to adapt can quickly adjust to the changes of the seasons and won’t catch a cold so easily. On the contrary, children whose bodies are overprotected by thick layers of clothing might easily catch a cold when the weather changes.
An appropriate degree of cold can help promote blood circulation and enhance the body’s self-defense mechanism. However, too much cold is detrimental.
I’ve observed in Canada that many teenagers’ knees and legs are uncovered during the winter months. This is inappropriate as the cold and dampness of winter can penetrate the knees and cause arthritis at an older age.
Extracted from Energy Bagua – The Secret Code of Life, Chapter 2, by Grandmaster JinBodhi, 2020.
Energy Bagua – The Secret Code of Life (English): https://www.puticollege.com/teaching-material/28