Since the beginning of civilization, there has been a relentless quest for the fountain of youth or an insatiable search for finding methods to prolong our lives. During biblical times, it has been reported that some have lived to be anywhere from several hundred to 969 years old to 1000 years old.
Susan Shumsky, author of Ascension, wrote about a Chinese man- Master Li Qing Yun-who lived to be at least 250 years of age in her book. Master Yun learned about the ancient art of longevity one day after he met a 500 year old Taoist. When asked what was his secret, the master replied that he did an ancient exercise called Ba-Kua ( eight trigrams). I am familiar with this method since my former Gung Fu master, Sifu Y. C. Wong, practiced this everyday in his studio. After so many years, he still looks the same and still full of vitality as I see him walk the streets of Chinatown. Perhaps there is some truth to it.
Master Yun also met a herbalist on a mountain who walked quite fast and had much energy. He found out that the herbalist was consuming goji berries in his diet. He listened and followed what others did and and eventually became a traditional Chinese doctor ,herbal expert / herbalist and Qigong Master according to Ganga Nath, author of Herbs for Spiritual Development, spiritual teacher, Tea Master and founder of the Universal Fellowship of Light. New York Times reported Master Yun’s death on May 6, 1933 as “The Amazing 250-Year-Old Man.” According to Ganga, he was a vegetarian and drank goji berry tea and was a meditator.
Japanese people have been known to have good health and longevity. Some say it is because of their seafood rich diet full of health omega-3 fatty acids. Others point out the high consumption of seaweeds that help by supplying a good source of protein, iodine, and potassium. Some research seems to indicate that it helps to regulate estrogen and helps with PMS. Then there are those who say that all the karaoke that they do helps with cardiovascular health and dealing with stress.
Each country has its own version of what their people do to attain longevity. Back in the old days, people were more active and ate better quality food-food that was fresh and organic.
Achieving longevity in this day and age can be quite a challenge due to the number of contaminants in our water, air, sea and food supply. However, I believe it is still possible to some degree to achieve longevity; it just takes some education, awareness, work and effort.
I have worked with the geriatric population for many years, have interviewed centenarians and studied holistic health for quite a few years and have come up with my recipe for longevity.
Longevity
- Nutrition is very important. Eat an organic and mostly vegetarian diet. Eat food that is appropriate for your Apo -e gene ( The Perfect Gene Diet). Vegan and a raw food diet ( vegetables) can be helpful for many. Be aware that cooking food at high temperatures can destroy the pranic energy in food. Best to eat food with pranic energy preserved. Drink plenty of water according to the needs of the body to be hydrated. Take only the supplements your body needs.
- Exercise: dancing, Bak-Kua, tai chi, yoga, qi gong, swimming, brisk walk.
- See your doctor at least once a year for a full physical and have good communication with your doctor on what you are doing and taking.
- Have a positive outlook on things. Always count your blessings and practice non-judgement.
- Live life passionately.
- Learn to forgive.
- Do the things you enjoy.
- Don’t take things too seriously. Learn to laugh.
- Meditate
- Incorporate the Serenity Prayer into your life.
- Eat plenty of fiber, keep the colon flowing and maintain a good flora in your colon.
- Detoxify your body on a regular basis.
- Drinking herbal tonic elixirs regularly can facilitate optimum health.
- Fasting regularly helps to cleanse and purify your body.
There are some who swear by noni juice, goji berries, wheatgrass, spirulina and other super nutrients. Meanwhile, there are others who take supplements to help remove some of the radiation we consume in our food or breathe from the air. Dr. Fred Bell believes that Shou Wu Chih helps cleanse our blood, removes the radiation from our body, replenishes our Qi and cleans the liver. However, it behooves one to research anything one consumes to make sure that what you consume does not have an adverse effect on your body. For instance, eating excessive goji berry may cause some stomach problems. With regards to spirulina, there are reports that it can cause some liver issues. The moral of the story is to do your homework and consult with your physician and health care provider for anything you take. However, Anthony Williams does recommend it but only from Hawaii to help remove heavy metals from our bodies.
Ganga Nath’s book is about tonic herbs and how it can help one achieve radiant health and longevity. He wrote about the importance of the Three Treasures Philosophy from China. They are about the three components of our health that need to be addressed to achieve good mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being. They are Jing ( primordial energy), Qi and Shen ( Spirit). Ganga considers the above philosophy as China’s greatest gift to humanity. Tonic Herbs can help with the three components. Ganga wrote about one particular tea which is touted to be the best tea in the world. It is called Spring Dragon Longevity Tea which can be purchased at www.dragonherbs.com. I drink this tea daily as part of my health routine and find it quite relaxing and refreshing. It contains Gynostemma or what is known in China as Magical Grass. In 1972, Japanese researchers discovered that many Chinese octogenarians drank this herb. I do drink tonic herbs and find it very holistic and supportive to optimal health. I purchase them at http://www.dragonherbs.com. Ron Teeguarden , a Daoist Herbal Master, owns the store and purchases only the highest grade of herbs for his customers. I purchase my goji berries only from him since they are probably one of the highest quality. When purchasing herbs, it is important to get quality herbs because many are grown in soil that are depleted of minerals or grown in poor conditions. What I like about the store is that when you call them, you can get a free consultation from a knowledgeable herbalist when you purchase their products.
Brian Peskin, BSEE-MIT ( he is the world’s foremost expert specializing in physiologic EFAs- known as PEO) and Dr. Robert Rowen ( he is considered today’s foremost pioneer of bold, healing methods that are putting an end to our most common diseases; he is the father of medical freedom) extols the wonders and benefits of PEO ( Parent Essential Oil) from a scientific standpoint on its positive effect on cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Brian’s scientific studies have stood the test of time. He writes about the fallacy about the benefits of fish oil in his book PEO Solutions. He goes into great length explaining the benefits of PEO at the cellular level. This book is quite comprehensive and written for physicians but is easy for anyone to follow.
Dr. Rowen is a staunch supporter of a raw food vegetarian diet for health. He feels there are three major causes of chronic or degenerative illness/disease: improper nutrition, toxins and stress. “It’s a simple matter of natural law.”
I was fortunate to have recently met with one of Hollywood’s Gem or what I call Hollywood’s real Wonder Women- Joycelyne Lew. She is an actress ( film, TV, and voice over actress), magician at the Magic Castle, comedian, model, celebrity guest, cosmologists, entrepreneur, savvy business woman, martial artist ( Wing Chun), dancer, producer and chef. She has her own TV cooking show.
She is also a scholar and is an alumni of UCLA with a double bachelor’s degree including one in urban education and theater arts. She later got her master’s degree at Pepperdine University in education.
She is truly an amazing women who has been around Hollywood for a long time and is well connected with the Hollywood scene.
She has acted with Jackie Chan in the Big Brawl. Been in many films including Big Trouble in Little China. She is still in acting, modeling and has her own cooking show.
The amazing thing about Joycelyne is that she is quite stunning, active and attractive despite her biological age. She appears many decades younger than her biological age. She has perfect skin, hair, teeth, and nails. She has a body type of a young woman in her twenties or thirties. She has been a body double in Hollywood including being one for Kim Bassinger on a billboard many years ago and is still a hand, body and feet model.
The amazing thing about her too is that she has an incredible amount of energy and only sleeps about four hours a day.
I interviewed her to learn her secrets of her radiant and youthful appearance and health.
She told me that she has been taking primarily two herbs for the past eleven years which she feels has made a tremendous difference in her health, appearance and energy.
The two herbs she takes are a special blend of Reishi and Cordyceps. According to Dr. Axe, Reishi has been associated with health benefits to defend against tumor growth and cancer. It also helps the liver, heart, blood pressure, hormones, diabetes, allergies, asthma, infections and viruses. It is also known as an energy booster, a good source of antioxidant and a has anti-aging qualities.
Joycelyne has given her special blend of Reishi to a friend and to her surprise his hair began to change from white to black at least 75% of it. I actually saw the picture of her friend and was quite flabbergasted to see that an inch or two of white hair were left at the tip while the rest was black.
With regards to Cordyceps, Dr. Axe stated that there are six benefits which include immune function, anti-aging effects, improve stamina and athletic performance, acting as a natural Aphrodisiac, fight diabetes, improve liver function amd detoxification and fight respiratory infections.
Joycelyne’s father has been taking these herbs and has been traveling around the world way into his 90s. He passed away at the ripe age of 97 years old but Joyceleyne had an epiphany and later realized that they had stopped taking the herbs for a few months prior his death. She believed that they were sustaining his life. At the rate Joycelyne is going, looking and feeling with what she is doing, I have no doubt she will outlive her father’s age.
Besides her herbs, she is quite active with all her businesses and dances regularly which keeps her body and mind active and healthy.
With regards to her perfect skin, she attributes it to a facial and body creme from Juventud called Eternal. She showed me before and after pictures of her using the product and showed how her previous facial wrinkles appear to have all disappeared. I was quite impressed by it.
She also does certain exerices to improve and tone the facial muscles to decrease wrinkles. She doesn’t believe in plastic surgery or not of Botox but rather utilize holistic methods instead.
Joycelyne is quite conscientious about the water she drinks. She is fully aware of the toxins in our water and that is why she has a state of the art water filtration system which removes all toxins and even hormones. It is a medical grade water system made by Lifetime Solutions.
You can reach her at her printing company, Final Print. She would be happy to help if you call her at 323 466-0566.
Whether you are a mystic, taoist monk, yogi, martial art master, model, actress, grandparent, parent or a college student, longevity should not be a goal in life but, rather, an outcome of living in harmony with your body, mind and spirit. As you have learned earlier, there is much you can do to impact those areas but addressing the Jing, Qi and Shen energies ( the three treasures of China) through herbal tonic elixirs seem like a no brainer as far as methods to bring about greater depth of health and harmony in the body, mind and spirit.
The most important ingredient for longevity is living life passionately- doing what you enjoy and having fun doing it. Also, living out of love, compassion and service brings meaning and purpose to our lives. Finally, when the me or ego begins to dissolve into the Tao of Divine Love, we can begin to transcend the laws of karma and begin to soar as another beautiful and great immortal.
Namaste!
Blake Sinclair