How to Live Well
According to both Native American lore and ancient Chinese traditions, the life span of the human body is 120 years. Living with the rhythms of nature is the optimal way for your body to thrive. When your body is healthy and well, your soul is able to live out its highest potential.
In Chinese Medicine, certain hours of the day correspond to certain organs in your body. Following the natural rhythm of your own body enhances health. Going against the natural rhythm of your own body decreases health. Here is a guide as to when certain daily activities are most optimal.
3am-5am: Lung: Inspiration and grief. Many spiritual practices like meditation and yoga are said to be more effective in the early morning hours. This has to do with inspiration, or inhaling spirit, into your life. Many people who are grieving the loss of something in their lives experience loss of sleep during this time. One helpful method of dealing with this grief is to allow yourself to feel the emotion fully. Emotions have a natural course of working their way out of your system. Suppressing them only holds them in your body longer. I recommend sitting with the emotion without the need to change it or fix it. Like all things, this emotion is temporary no matter how overwhelming it seems and will pass like all things do with time. For more information on this concept, I recommend Pema Chodron’s book When Things Fall Apart. A good book if you are dealing with death and grief is The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
by Sogyal Rinpoche.
5am-7am: Large Intestine: This is the optimal time for your body to move its bowels. This is also the optimal time to drink warm water. Drinking 8 oz of warm water before taking anything else into your body gets the lymph system moving. Your lymph system is in charge of eliminating toxins from your body. You can add a little bit of lemon juice to the water if that tastes better. It is recommended to brush your teeth before doing this.
7am-9am: Spleen: In Chinese Medicine, the main organ of digestion is the spleen, but many think that this is a mistranslation and could more accurately be called the Spleen and Pancreas. It is during this time and the 9am-11am time of the Stomach that your digestive fire is at its highest. This is the optimal time for the largest meal of the day. Our ancestors who worked physically farming and laboring needed a hearty breakfast to get them through the day. Even though most of us do not labor physically, we do work hard and face many stresses during our day. Eating a big breakfast keeps your blood sugar even, your mood even, and gives you the stamina to not just get through the day, but to enjoy your day. There is an old Chinese saying: ”Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dinner like a pauper.”
9am-11am: Stomach: This is also an acceptable time to eat your largest meal of the day. The Stomach and the Spleen are paired together in Chinese Medicine and are intimately connected.
11am-1pm: Heart: The organs of the Heart and Small Intestine are also paired organs and are attributed to the element of fire. This is the time of day for action and to get things done. This is also an acceptable time of day for your biggest meal.
1pm-3pm: Small Intestine: Again, this is associated with the element of fire. This is the time of day for action. Still time to get your biggest meal in! If you wait until after 2pm or 3pm there will be hell to pay. Read on to find out why.
3pm-5pm: Urinary Bladder and 5pm-7pm Kidney: I have combined these 2 sections because they are so inter-related. The time from 3pm-5pm really has nothing to do with the organ of your bladder. It really has to do with its paired, or mother, organ the Kidneys. This time should really be called the Brain time. The Kidneys in Chinese Medicine rule the brain. Starting at around 2pm your brain demands about 80% of the the glucose (or sugar) in your bloodstream. This is the optimal time of day for mental clarity and function. So why do so many of us crash at this time and crave sugar or coffee? Because we haven’t eaten wisely enough before this time to create stable blood sugar levels. See my ‘Eat Well’ section for more information on how to eat wisely. Here are some tips to deal with this crash:
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 Don’t go for the sugar, caffeine, or stimulants. This creates a temporary high by spiking your blood sugar. What goes up must come down and you will crash again usually causing you to eat too much for dinner which stimulates you and makes it hard to go to bed before 10pm.
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Eat protein like chicken or turkey slices, almonds and cashews, cheese, hard boiled egg, turkey bacon, etc. This creates even and stable blood sugar.
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Take a time out: many people get wiped out during this time of day. This is okay. Give yourself twenty minutes to be quiet and still. Or if your schedule allows it, take a nap. In some cultures, this is siesta time.
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Get upside down: I know this sounds funny, but it is a great thing to do. In yoga, inversions are an essential part of any practice and are said to regulate many of your body’s vital functions. It also gets blood to the brain quickly which is what your brain is wanting. There are many ways to do this. A slant board or hanging in ropes are both great. But you can also just put your legs up a wall for 10 minutes or so. Try to have your buttocks touching the wall for proper alignment. Don’t get up too quickly. Give yourself a few minutes to get up.
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7pm-9pm Pericardium: The Pericarium is also called the Heart Protector. Anatomically it is the tissue that surrounds and protects the Heart. This time is attributed to the element of fire which is very social in nature. This is the optimal time to commune with family, friends, and loved ones.
9pm-11pm San Jiao: In Chinese, san means three and jiao means level or area. The “three levels” in Chinese medicine refer to three sections of your torso. The upper jiao contains the Heart and Lungs, the middle jiao contains the liver, spleen, and stomach. And the lower jiao contains the kidneys, bladder, and large intestine. This is the time to begin to slow down and prepare for bed. It is optimal to be asleep by 10pm. It is during this time that your Liver stores the blood, cooling it down and cleaning it from the day. You need to be asleep in order for this function to happen. See my ‘Sleep Well’ page for more information.
11pm-1am Gall Bladder: Again, this is during the time when the Liver is cleaning and cooling your blood down from the day. The Liver and Gall Bladder are paired organs in Chinese Medicine
1am-3am: Liver: This is a common time to wake up. At 2am, our blood sugar drops to its lowest point. If you consistently wake during this time, ask yourself if you are depleted. Examine your energy level during the day. If you are depleted acupuncture, herbs, and supplements as well as eating healthily is important for you. Stress effects the liver as well. Doing things like yoga, meditation, and exercise can help the Liver to function better and may help with sleep problems during this time. Anger is the emotion attributed to the Liver. It may be useful to look at how well you deal with the emotion of anger in your life. I recommend Pema Chodron’s CD set Don't Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions
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Exercise: Exercise is an important part of feeling healthy. Moving your energy is so vital to so many processes in your body. If time is an issue for you, try just taking 5 minutes at some point during your day to take a few deep full breaths and stretch...maybe take your chin to your chest or stretch your arms above your head or stand up and lean to the side stretching the side of your body. Just this little bit will make a difference and will help you feel better. Here are some recommendations for an exercise routine:
A 20 minute walk every day is a good amount of exercise for most people. This is a very manageable way to get the exercise you need in a minimum amount of time. Try setting your alarm 20 minutes earlier and begin your day with a brisk walk. This gets your blood flowing and increases endorphins to keep your mood even and stable throughout the day.
I highly recommend Yoga, Tai Ji, Qi Gong, and Nia. From a Chinese medical perspective, the cause of pain and disease is improper, or blocked, flow of energy, or Qi, through your body. These forms of exercise move, stretch, strengthen, and lengthen your body allowing energy and qi to flow optimally to all parts of your body. This not only addresses the musculo-skeletal body, but it effects the internal organs and glands creating health. What I have noticed is that these forms of exercise effect the emotional and spiritual sides of ourselves. I find that these forms of exercise strengthen the part of ourselves that is connected to a higher power or divine source. They also make smaller the parts of ourselves that create drama in our lives.
Get into nature. If possible take a hike, walk, snowshoe, etc. somewhere that feels remote and quiet. Being in nature balances the natural rhythms of your body and is healing in and of itself.
Disclaimer: The above information is just that: information. Please consult a heath care practitioner before taking action with your own health care needs.
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by Nicholas Perricone and 
by John Douillard.