Keep your head cool and the legs warm
Headache seems to be a common complaint that people present with these days.
The head is the most upper part of the body. There is an old saying “천원지방(天圓地方)” which means the head is round as it resembles the sky, and the rest of the body is angled as it is resembles the earth. Also, according to Oriental Medicine channel theory, it is at the head where all the Yang channels meet. In the classic ‘Huang Di Nei Jing’(黃帝內經) the head is described as “정명지부(精明之府)” which is the converging area of Jing and Energy from the main organs.As the head in the human body is located in the most upper part of the body, it pertains more to the Yang energy. And relatively, the rest of its body part pertains more to the Yin energy. For this reason it is easier for the head to become hot, and the legs to become cold. Despite freezing cold weather, people wrap up their body with many layers of clothes, yet the head is usually uncovered. This is one example that shows that the head is more Yang than in comparison to the rest of the body. In the ‘Huang Di Nei Jing’ it is stated: ‘Whereas the Yin channels flow only up to the neck region and return, all the Yang channels converge at the head. This is why the face is able to withstand the cold weather.”
The Yang Qi can also be represented as the concept of power or strength.
The action of bowing down your head before a god or a person superior to oneself reflects the attitude of submission. This is an accepted norm regardless of eastern or western culture, past or present. One of the ingredients in a herbal formula is the young antlers of the deer (鹿茸). This particular substance is known to be rich in Yang energy due to the fact that it is extracted from the most upper part of the antler, where the most Yang energy dwells. Therefore 鹿茸 was intended for people who lacked the Yang energy in their body by means to nourish the Yang.
In general principle, fire tends to rise upwardly. We call this phenomena ‘the rising of heat(염상:炎上). What enable an object to fly in the air is also due to this reason. Compared to this, water tends to flow in a downward direction. There is no exception where the water flows in the opposite direction.
In Chinese, the character of ‘law’ (法) is made up of putting two words together, which are the characters for ‘water’(氵) and ‘flow’ (去). As we know, the law represents principles that do not change regardless of external conditions. In a similar way, the makeup of the Chinese character ‘law’ (法) suggests to us that water always flows in only one particular direction without exception due to the unchanging principle of the nature, Thus, it can be said that the principle of fire rising upwards, and water flowing downward is indeed an unchanging fact and universal law.
However, in the human body, if the fire and water energy only tends to rise and descend respectively, it will mean there is no life in that body. In such a case, one calls this condition the separation of Yang and Yin energy, equivalent to death. The fire or water energy in itself, separated from one another has no life. For the existence of life to be in the body, there needs to be a dynamic interchanging flow of energy of water and fire. The fire energy that tends to rise should be directed to descend; and the water energy that tends to flow down would have to be directed upwards. In the context of human body, the fire energy can be understood as the Yang energy, and the water energy as the Yin energy. If the Yang energy is predominantly rising, then heat will accumulate in the head and cause it to become hot. There is a term called 熱極生風, meaning, if fire is manifesting in a very severe form, it can create wind. Therefore, in a severe condition of heat rising, there is a risk of a wind stroke attack. In turn, if the Yin energy predominantly flows downward, the cold energy of the water will become stagnant in the lower part of the body, able to cause cold extremities or edema of the legs.
In the light of this knowledge, in order to maintain a healthy life, the colder Yin energy should be directed upward to cool down the heat in the head; and the warmer Yang energy should be directed downward to warm the area and allow proper circulation of energy. In Oriental medicine we call this principle 水昇火降, meaning ‘ascending the water and descending the fire.’
If there is an accumulation of Yang energy, in other words heat in the head, a headache is easy to occur. Not only headache, but also symptoms such as dizziness, red eyes, facial acne, tinnitus, hair loss, high blood pressure, nose bleeding, dandruff or paralysis can be manifested due to heat rising. For this reason, special care needs to be taken to prevent the head becoming too hot. This becomes more important as one person enters into a more advanced age. As a person ages, the lower source of energy (하원:下元) Becomes weaker and consequently is not able to hold the rising heat from the lower part of the body, causing the heat to rise up.
When the Yin energy, in other words the cold energy accumulates along the lower part of the body, it may give rise to symptoms such as cold extremities, edema, heavy legs, polyuria, frequent urination, lower back pain, beriberi or arthritis. Such manifestations are also commonly seen amongst older people due to the fact that during that stage of life, more often heat rises and the cold accumulates in the lower parts of the body. It can be said, that these are common phenomena when the original energy weakens and body gets weaker in old age. For this reason, a healthy person is able to sustain a cool head and warm legs. In other words, a person who has a cool head and warm legs is a healthy person.
Coming to think of it, the ways the traditional Korean houses are built are quiet beneficial to our health. The floor had underground heating allowing the feet and buttocks to keep warm when they sit, whereas the upper part of the room stayed cool (due to the poor ventilation of heat). Ultimately, the floor was hot and the air cool so that the lower part of the body could be kept warm and the head cool which naturally created a healthy condition for them.
It’s debatable whether they build the house having these health benefits in mind, but the wisdom of the ancient is surely evident in this. In Sydney, it is hard to find a house with underground heating system, therefore causing many to have cold feet easily. It is suggested to take a bath than a shower. When taking a bath, the lower part of the body is heated up first whereas when taking a shower, the hot water reaches the head before the rest of the body parts. Especially, taking a half-body bath where the water reaches around to the belly may also be recommended.
In Australia, it is common to see people wearing a hat during the hot summer season. However, there are also some who wear hats as a means of fashion even it is not a hot day.
When the hat is worn for a long period time, the head tend to heat up easily. Therefore it is advisable to wear a hat only during strong sunshine while the rest of the time, take them off to cool the head down.
There has been an ancient proverb in Oriental medicine “두무냉통(頭無冷痛) 복무열통(腹無熱痛)” meaning “there is no occurrence of pain due to a cool head, and no pain due to a warm stomach” This phrase can be understood as, if the head is maintained cool and the stomach maintained warm, there will be no occurrence of pain or sickness.
Quite recently, I got to treat a patient having rhinitis with associating signs and symptoms of a red facial appearance and profuse sweating of the feet. Due to the sweating, he was barefooted at home. I recommended him to keep his feet warm. As the heat is accumulated in the facial area and the feet cold, the rhinitis could become more severe. Or even other signs and symptoms may occur. By remembering the simple rule ‘keeping your head cool and the legs and stomach warm’, may be one way to keep your body healthy.
Translated by Eun Bee Oh
“There are no diseases which cannot be cured, but there are habits which cannot be changed.”
- Byung W. Yoo -
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