TCM Basics 101: TCM Body Clock-There is a time for everything
I think I may have quite a few of my followers baffled in my previous post when I talked about TCM Body Clock. So I’m gonna try explain it in the simplest possible way for you here before we move forward with other Basics of TCM.
Basically, you are born into this world with a body that is highly intelligent, more intelligent than our human realm self declared intelligence. By itself it is a highly self reliant functioning entity. The only things that it needs to carry on its existence are water, air, food. With these external resources in supply, it can run smoothly.
In this entity, it has a timetable that it follows obediently to so that none of the engines inside get overworked and the external resources can flow and be utilized as fully as possible by the internal engines, aka the internal organs. We call this the TCM Body Clock. As this Body Clock was in existence since the ancient times, a lot of concepts are based on the lifestyles and way of life of our ancestors that can stretch up to maybe 2000 years ago.
In this Body Clock, each organ has 2 dedicated hours in a day to function and does its job to the best and max. In ancient times, people counted the times in periods of modern day’s two hours, in Chinese we call 时辰. Hence in modern language each organ has 2 hours dedicated to them and not 1 hour. What this means is energy is concentrated to the organs at those hours belonging to the organs. Let me show you the diagram that I have used repeatedly since 2014 in my talks.
A few highlights here to make my point: you can see that the evening period from 5pm onwards till 7am, the key organs that have their workings in high functions are kidney, liver, lung, large intestine. These are surprisingly the organs that are responsible for detox in our body. And detox happens when the body is at rest. Which is the reason why humans have to sleep at night. (note that our ancestors rest when the sun goes down, so strictly speaking, our human bed time should be from 5pm onwards =))
Then the daytime period from 7am till 5pm, the key organs that have their high functionings are the spleen, stomach, small intestine. Which are surprisingly again the organs that receive food and transform them to energy usable by us. Which is the reason why humans are meant to be active in the day time as we are suppose to hunt (work) and feed (have meals) during light hours.
There is a time for everything. Because the body has been engineered in this way so that we can function properly and be in line with nature. Also read more on Acupuncture for Time Abundance here.
To disrupt this natural pattern means the energy flow is disrupted and illnesses will then start to develop.
A quick example: many people has insomnia these days. Insomnia is basically a direct opposite switch of the natural body clock that I have explained above. You are awake during times for sleep, and then you are sleepy during times for activity. A direct opposite switch from the normal pattern of healthy human body functioning. And people with insomnia or we call in Chinese 日夜颠倒, are definite to carry with them a whole pile of other health problems as a full body self destruction package.
So I hope I have cleared some air about TCM Body Clock and the importance of doing certain things at their right time. You can go against that natural pattern that your body has been engineered, but just be prepared to pay the price for that.