Description
Product Description
With a detailed introduction to the ancient philosophical, ethical, and religious Chinese practice of Taoism,
The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity is a unique, comprehensive, and practical self-help guide to live a balanced and positive Taoist lifestyle.
Written by a Westerner for the Western mind,
The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity is perfect for the modern reader interested in exploring the balanced and holistic health care system used by Chinese physicians, martial artists, and meditators for over 5,000 years.
Drawing on his extensive personal experience and research from original sources, author Daniel Reid covers all aspects of the healthy Taoist lifestyle, delivering concise information and instruction on diet and nutrition, fasting, breathing and exercise, sexual health, medicine, and meditation.
Featuring helpful charts and illustrations,
The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity makes the ancient practice easier to understand and more applicable to a modern Western audience than ever before.
About the Author
Daniel Reid was born and educated in America and lived in Taiwan, where he studied under numerous Tao masters. He is a Taoist practitioner and the author of several books, including the bestselling
The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity;
Guarding the Three Treasures;
Chi-Gung; and
Chinese Healing Herbs. He lives in Thailand.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
Diet and Nutrition
Food and drink are relied upon to nurture life. But if one does not know that the natures of substances may be opposed to each other, and one consumes them altogether indiscriminately, the vital organs will be thrown out of harmony and disastrous consequences will soon arise. Therefore, those who wish to nurture their lives must carefully avoid doing such damage to themselves. [Chia Ming, Essential Knowledge for Eating and Drinking, 1368]
One of the great advantages of learning Tao is that the same basic principles apply to everything from the macrocosmic to the microscopic. In the case of diet, the overriding Taoist principle of balance between Yin and Yang is established by harmonizing the Four Energies and Five Flavors in foods.
The Four Energies in food are hot, warm, cool and cold. These categories define the nature and the intensity of energy released in the human system when food is digested. Hot and warm foods belong to Yang; cool and cold foods belong to Yin. The former are stimulating and generate heat, while the latter are calming and cool the organs.
The Five Flavors are more subtle distinctions based on the Five Elemental Activities: sweet (earth), bitter (fire), sour (wood), pungent (metal) and salty (water). Each of the Five Flavors has a 'natural affinity' (gui-jing) for one of the five 'solid' Yin organs and its Yang counterpart: sweet influences pancreas/stomach; bitter moves to the heart/small intestine; sour has affinity for the liver/gallbladder; pungent affects the lungs/large intestine; and salty associates with the kidneys/bladder.
The therapeutic effects of the Four Energies and Five Flavors are as follows:
* Cool and cold Yin foods calm the vital organs and are recommended for summer menus, as well as for combating 'hot' Yang diseases such as fever and hypertension. Yin foods include soy beans, bamboo shoots, watermelon, white turnips, cabbage, pears, squash and lemons.
* Warm and hot Yang foods stimulate the vital organs, generate body heat and are recommended for winter consumption, as well as palliatives for 'cold' Yin diseases such as anemia, chills and fatigue. Yang foods include beef, mutton, chicken, alcohol, mango and chilies.
* Sweet 'earth' foods disperse stagnant energy, promote circulation, nourish vital energy and harmonize the stomach. Corn, peas, dates, ginseng and licorice are examples of sweet foods.
* Bitter 'fire' foods such as rhubarb and bitter melon tend to dry the system, balance excess dampness, and purge the