TAM Ka Shing, Johnny (Lee Shau Kee Hall)

ivsky.com

Have you noticed that you don’t need a thick jacket anymore lately? Have you noticed it’s getting so humid that the paper and the books are wrinkled? Yes, it is spring! But other than getting your thick jacket stored in the wardrobe and turning your dehumidifier on, it is also the right time for us to nourish our body, according to the wisdom of Chinese medicine.

Spring – the beginning of the year and the four seasons. It is also the beginning of lives and the birth of lives. Every creature resumes activity after the long cold winter and living mechanisms are also activated. It is the same with our body.

According to one of the oldest Chinese classic texts, ‘I Ching’ (易經), nature is interrelated with the relationship between birth and growth. So if we want to stay healthy, we have to start nourishing our body in spring and we have to do it by echoing nature in order to yield twice the result with half the effort.

So how can we do it?

In the theories of Chinese medicine, the liver regulates the system ‘Qi’ (氣) in our body and Qi operates to supply our body with positive energy. Thus, this allows our body to maintain good health. If the liver is not functioning well, Qi cannot provide sufficient positive energy and our body will be weakened. Finally, sickness will come to us.

As you can see, the liver is like the centre of our whole body and determines our health. So if we want to stay healthy, our liver must be healthy in the first place. So how do we take care of our liver? Indeed, it is simple and we can start it in our daily life.

We should sleep before 11pm because according to Chinese medicine theories, this can help our blood to recycle back to the liver for detoxification as well as purification but won’t overload the liver. We should also drink more water, especially in the morning during spring, as water can moisten the liver.

If you want to further boost your health in spring, you can try consuming some Chinese soup and herbal tea which have the specific functions of repairing the liver, promoting health and nourishing our body in spring. There are two shops at Kowloon Tong MTR station, e.g. Hung Fook Tong and Healthworks, which sell related Chinese soup and herbal tea products at reasonable prices. Just go there and explore!