Sleeping without a corpse, lying without covering the head, sleeping without a northward direction: how did the ancients sleep and maintain their health?
The matter of sleeping has always been valued by Chinese health practitioners. Chinese have paid great attention to the way of sleep health since ancient times, and the ancients had a saying that "do not seek the fairy recipe to find the sleeping recipe". In fact, the sleep problems faced by modern people are more serious, and we should pay more attention to sleep health, and understand the sleep health experience of the ancients, which will give us some useful references.
Sleep without a corpse, lie down without covering the head, and sleep without a north
What is the meaning of "sleeping without a corpse"? It comes from "The Analects of the Township Party", and the original phrase is "sleeping without a corpse". The "corpse" here. It refers to lying on your back like a corpse. In other words, sleeping on your back, in the eyes of the ancients, was like a horizontal corpse, which was very unlucky and unhealthy.
From the point of view of modern medicine, there is some truth to this. Studies have found that among all sleeping positions, sleeping on your back has the least relaxation of your limbs, and it is easy to put your hands on your chest and abdomen, causing discomfort and even nightmares. On top of that, falling asleep on your back may induce sleep apnea, even saliva into your organs, or even regurgitation of food, leading to suffocation. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration for the ancients to regard sleeping on their backs as a "horizontal corpse".
The saying of "lying down without turning the head" originates from "A Thousand Golden Prescriptions". The original text says: "If you don't cover your head in a winter night, you will live a long life." The head is the meeting of the suns, the place where the yang meridians of the body converge, and the qi and blood run vigorously. Overturning the head, on the one hand, it is easy to affect the flow of qi and blood, and on the other hand, it may cause sweating in the head and relax the intestines, thus allowing the disease to take advantage of the void. More importantly, from the perspective of modern medicine, lying on the head will affect the smooth breathing and reduce the quality of sleep. Therefore, the statement of lying down without turning the head is also very reasonable.
The so-called "sleep is not northward" comes from "Lao Lao Hengyan". The original text says: "Don't lie in the north, it is said to avoid yin." "The Daughter's Recipe" also says: "Don't lie north of your head, and don't make a bed north of the wall." Why did the ancients taboo to lie north? It's very simple, the northern, the yin also. The head, as the meeting of the suns, lies north when sleeping, and is easily disturbed by yin energy. Especially in autumn and winter, the evil of wind and cold is easy to come from the north, and if it goes straight into the brain during sleep, it is easy to form wind cold headaches, and even affect the flow of qi and blood in the body.
Mortals lie down, east in spring and summer, and west in autumn and winter
The head is the place where the meridians converge, and the qi it receives will go down from the head to the whole body like a shower, and the orientation of the head during sleep is indeed a matter of concern.
The proposition of Sun Simiao, a great doctor in ancient China: mortals lie down, spring and summer to the east, and autumn and winter to the west. That is, in spring and summer, the head faces east to welcome the yang energy, and in the autumn and winter seasons, the head faces west to sleep to nourish the yin energy.
If you are troublesome or need to replenish yang qi, you can simply keep your head facing east in a sleeping position, which is a good sleep regimen.
The authoritative "Book of Rites: Yuzao" requires "Hengdong Shou", that is, sleeping with the head facing east all year round. It is said to be the sunrise in the east.
The Technique of Sleep
The method of sleep has been studied and discussed since ancient times. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the great physician Cao Tingdong summarized it particularly systematically, and his "two methods of manipulation and longitudinal" were more respected by people.
"" is to first "think about the top of the head" (the mind leads), then "silently count the snorts" (breathe through the nose and silently remember the number of times), and then "return to the dantian" (and then retract the mind into your own dantian). Repeating this many times, you can make "the heart has a down, and you have to be inseparable", and gradually fall asleep.
"Vertical" is the opposite of "", "let one's mind wander in the misty, imperless area" (i.e., a distant, boundless, boundless place), and even forget oneself, one can gradually fall into a hazy sleep.
The above two sleep methods, no matter which one you take, should not be "" too hastily, "indulgent" inappropriately, the most important thing is to be calm and forget yourself.
Therefore, the ancient "sleep" and "sleep" are different: "God dwells in the eyes of the eyes; God dwells in the heart and sleeps."
Only when the "heart" and the "god" meet can we truly sleep.
Sleeping position
The ancients were also very particular about sleeping positions.
"Xiyi Sleeping Tips" advocates: lie on the right side, then bend the right foot; Bend your right arm and put your hand on your head; Extend your left foot and place your hand between the thighs. Lying on the left side, contrary to the front.
Buddhism stipulates that the right side of the sleep, the name of "auspicious sleep", is also scientific, because the human heart is on the left side, if the left side of the lying may compress the heart.
1. Lie down
Lie down with your hips relaxed, your legs like rings, your feet facing each other, and your heels facing your perineum (best if you can push against your perineum). Place your palms near the base of your thighs and your palms towards your abdomen. Due to the large implantation area and less oppressive force, the body is more likely to relax, and the relaxation of the body coupled with a certain posture can quickly fill up the yang and kidney qi.
Kidney Yang Qi is equivalent to the true fire of the Destiny Gate - the key to the size of a vitality is to see whether the Yang Qi of the Destiny Gate is sufficient. Putting this posture is more conducive to the sufficiency of kidney yang qi, so the effect of tonifying the kidney is very obvious.
Second, mixed bedroom
After practicing for a month, the high-level practice is mixed yuan sleeping. The posture is still supine, with the feet facing each other, and the hands should be crossed with ten fingers and covered at the Baihui acupoint on the top of the head. By practicing the Yang Lie and the Mixed Yuan Sleep, you can quickly fill up the Yang Qi!
Precautions
1. Teenagers and people with yin deficiency should use mixed yuan alone.
2. The elderly, those with severe yang deficiency and cold, uterine cold and dysmenorrhea, and infertility should be used to return yang to lie down to nourish qi and replenish yang;
3. When practicing lying down and lying in mixed yuan, avoid staying up late, avoid spicy and greasy food, and do not use electric blankets;
4. If there is sexual excitement during practice, do not lose your semen. Immediately inhale deeply, put your tongue against the palate, raise your anus and close your abdomen, and close your eyes to refresh your mind. Pay attention to the Baihui acupoints on the top of your head and calm your mind.
Ten taboos for sleeping
1. Do not always sleep in a supine position
The ancients said: "You don't get tired of sleeping, you don't get tired of sleeping." When sleeping, it is advisable to bend the knees sideways, so that the energy will not be dissipated; When you wake up, you should stretch and move, so that qi and blood will circulate. If lying on your back, your body is straight. "Uncomfortable" muscles cannot be relaxed, and the hands are easy to put on the chest, causing nightmares, and affecting breathing and heartbeat.
Therefore, except for those with some special diseases, it is not advisable to sleep on your back for a long time. Lying on your back for short periods of time is not harmful.
2. Don't worry about sleep
When sleeping, you must concentrate on sleeping peacefully, and do not think about things. The ancients said: "Sleep the mind first, then sleep the body", which is an important secret of sleep.
If you are always thinking about the daytime or past and future chores after sleeping, or even worry and anxiety, you will not only lose sleep, but also cause greater damage to your body than during the day.
3. Don't get angry before going to bed
"Su Wen: The Theory of Lifting Pain" says: "If you are angry, if you are happy, you will be slow, if you are sad, if you are afraid, you will be angry, and if you think, you will be angry." "Any change in mood will cause a disorder of qi and blood, which can lead to insomnia and even illness. Therefore, not only should you not be angry before going to bed, but you should also prevent any emotional excess.
4. Do not eat before going to bed
Eating before going to bed can easily increase the burden on the stomach and intestines, which not only affects falling asleep, but also harms the body. If you feel hungry before going to bed, it is advisable to rest for a while after eating and drinking before going to sleep. The ancients said, "Breakfast should be early, lunch should be full, and dinner should be small", which is indeed a noteworthy health experience. If you eat in bed after lying down at night, it is even more disadvantageous.
5. Sleep and lie down without words
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the lungs are the canopy of the five organs, the main voice, mortals lie down, the lungs are convergent, if the speech at this time, it is easy to consume the lung qi, which is like a bell chime, do not hang can not make a sound. In addition, talking before going to bed will excite the mind and activate the mind, which will affect the fall of sleep and lead to insomnia.
6. Do not turn on the light when sleeping
Sleeping on the light, so that the mind can not be settled, it is not easy to fall asleep.
7. Don't open your mouth when sleeping
Sun Simiao said: "Lying down at night and often closing your mouth" is the best way to maintain vitality. Breathing through the mouth has many disadvantages, not only is it unhygienic, but it also makes the lungs susceptible to irritation by cold air and dust, and the stomach is also prone to cold air.
8. Don't hide your face when sleeping
Covering the face makes it difficult for people to breathe, and inhaling a large amount of carbon dioxide exhaled by oneself is extremely bad for physical health. Therefore, it is written in the "Song of the Three Songs": "Lie down at night without turning your head", which shows that the ancients attached great importance to this health preservation method.
9. Do not be the wind in the lying place
The ancients believed that the wind is the long of all diseases, and good deeds change in numbers, and after sleeping, the human body's ability to adapt to environmental changes is reduced, and it is most vulnerable to the invasion of wind evil. "Trivial Records" said, "Do not be the wind when lying down, for fear of suffering from head wind, coughing on the back, and arm pain when shoulders are windy.
10. Do not face the stove with your head when lying down
"Trivial Records" said: "The lying place should not be close to the fire, for fear of hurting the brain." "And because the temperature is too high, it is easy to be pushed away after falling asleep, and it will catch a cold.