Energetic healthy living – flow with sun clock, Zi Wu Liu Zhu

Ever wonder why you are always tired and lack energy?  It has been an alarming fact that any of us are suffering from constant fatigue syndrome.

Your constant tiredness or exhaustion could be due to a medical condition, but in majority of the cases, is due to lack of energy and lack of quality sleep.

You could have the same six hour sleep, but when you get into bed makes day and night difference in energy level for you next day.

What is a good time going into bed? Or what is the best way to be energetic in your daily life, barring medical conditions?

Rise with sunrise and rest with sunset – sun clock

Humans and majority of life forms on earth depend on sunlight in one way or another.  Sunlight is the life clock that controls the day and night cycle in humans, animals and plants. It tells us when to wake up and when to sleep.

Modern days’ fatigue and tiredness can be attributed to out of sync with sun clock.

Nowadays, rising with sunrise and resting with sunset living principal has been all but forgotten. Getting into bed at 1 or 2 in the morning is norm for many. Our daily night and day clock is totally out of sync with sun clock. No wonder our energy is lacking.

Zi Wu Liu Zhu (子午流注)

Sun clock can be described by a so-called circadian rhythm, a biological clock that regulates our body temperature, brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration, and other biological activities.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), sun clock and human health can be best described by the theory of Zi Wu Liu Zhu, or literally Midnight-Noon Ebb-Flow.

Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes human, as part of nature, should be in harmony with nature. TCM’ philosophy is that we humans should comply with the laws of nature. It is not about “conquering nature” but more about conforming and harmonizing with nature.

Zi Wu Liu Zhu divides our 24 hour clock into 12 earthly branches or rhythms, corresponding 12 meridians of human body.  The sun injects energy into our body at different rhythm with our body responding with different blood circulation through the meridians.

Meridians are divided into Yin and Yang groups. The Yin meridians include Lung, Heart, Pericardium, Spleen, Kidney, and Liver.  The Yang meridians include Large Intestine, Small Intestine, Triple Heater, Stomach, Bladder, and Gall Bladder.

The 12-rhythm clock works as following:

5:00-7:00AM – Blood circulates to Large Intestine. It is time for getting up and for excretion or discharging. If you don’t have the habit of discharging, you should try to make it a habit. Drinking a cup of water after getting up will help stimulate large intestine for discharging.

7:00-9:00AM  – Blood circulates to Stomach and good for digestion. It is time for breakfast.  Breakfast should account 30-50% of your daily nutrition. Breakfast is extremely important and it is unwise to skip breakfast. Let the stomach running on empty is like car running on empty gas, you can image your energy level will be like for the day.

9:00-11:00AM – Blood circulate to Spleen. Spleen works best and is conducive to digesting and absorbing nutrients, and to blood regeneration. With well functioning spleen, foods and nutrients can be easily digested and absorbed by body. This is why eating breakfast will not make us fat. It should be noted that deep thinking hurts spleen.  To keep your spleen function well, it is not good for deep thinking.

11:00AM-13:00PM – Blood circulates to Heart and with heart running at best, it is good for blood circulation through the body and conducive to digestion. It is recommended that it is best to close eyes and sit quietly for a while before lunch. At this time slot, it is the our “body stove” hottest time and even excess lunch can be easily digested and absorbed. It is also suggested to a little rest or a nap following lunch to help best absorbed nutrients.

13:00-15:00PM – Blood runs to Small Intestine. It is a good time for absorbing nutrients. It is not a good time for vigorous and strenuous activities; otherwise, your heart may be deprive oxygen. It is time for some quiet work.

15:00-17:00PM – It is Bladder working time. It is the best time “deep thinking”, learning, and creativity. Blood can easily circulate to brain, learning efficiency is high. Meeting can be arranged this time to get the best results from participants. We should drink more water and eat more fruits at this time slot.

17:00-19:00PM – Kidney functions best at this time and it is best time to absorb and store essence and cream of daily nutrients.

19:00-21:00PM – Pericardium functions best at this time. Body re-enters final “heating” period to digest and absorb remaining foods and nutrients.  It is a good time for evening entertainment activities. No foods should be consumed after 21:00PM, because body no longer has sufficient “energy” or “heat” to digest those foods.

21:00-23:00PM – Bloods runs to Triple Heater. It is time for rest and recuperation. It is the time to go to bed to let blood to flow back to liver, spleen and kidney.  Being active and sitting up could prevent the full flow of blood back to liver, spleen and kidney. The difference in blood flow with sitting up and lying down are as much as four times the flow. It is very important to get into bed early.

23:00PM-1:00AM – Blood circulates to Gall Bladder. It is time for bile regenerating and getting back to gall balder.  After a busy day, this is the time to relax and fall into asleep. Do not overburden or overload the body.

1:00-3:00AM – Blood runs to liver. It is time for blood regenerate. It is the time that liver works at the hardest time to remove and filter out toxins from blood stream and generate fresh and clean blood back to the whole body.  Body should be allowed to rest, so liver can fully complete its extremely important tasks without extra burdens.

3:00-5:00AM – Lung functions the best at this time. It is lung’s job to flow freshly regenerated blood back to all organs and preps the body for a brand new day. At this time, the blood demand by body organs are the strongest, heart burden as a result is substantially increased.  Heart problems can and usually occur in this time slot.  Also because the strong blood demand, less blood blows to brain, it is not the efficient and good to burn your night-oil to get things done.

If your daily living habit conforms to the 12-ryhythm clock pattern, you will surely, or eventually, be full of energy. If you are skeptical, give a try it for a couple weeks. Your body or boss will thank you for that! Even some of your minor illness or discomforts may go by the sideways.

Happy living and live energetically!

photo credit: Leslin_Liu via pixabay