Taoism is often misunderstood or really hard to understand. There are many things that have to be mentioned about the Taoism lifestyle but most things start with some habits that are employed in order to live a longer life. This is exactly what we will highlight below, showcasing the lifestyle habits that are promoted in Taoism with the purpose of living a longer life.
Not Predefining Limits Or Age
The Taoist lives every single day in an active and fulfilling way. Everything is focused on experience and it offers an edge that keeps people strong, flexible and healthy. When working towards extending life in an unnatural way, the action limits life since you do not live according to your nature. Basically, life experience is reduced because of chasing immortality, inactively reducing life.
Eating Well
There is a saying in Taoism:
“Garbage in equals garbage out.”
This practically means that you turn into junk when you consume junk food. There is a clear link between life quality and our diet, one that is really direct and simple. Our body cannot live long when the diet is not healthy, varied and balanced. There is no shortage of Taoist literature and books that talk about how, what and when you should eat, with a clear focus on balance.
Taoism can also explain why diets tend to fail as they do not respond to the body’s changing needs. The Taoist diets are much more complicated than what people are used to and will focus on the changes that happen in the body over the years.
There are foods that are identified as being better, like bok choy, green tea, yogurt, brown rice, cabbage and plums. There is also a mention that there is no food that has a perfect nutrients balance that guarantees a long life. Basically, you are taught how to listen to your own body and then offer it the mixture needed for that desired long life.
Listening To One’s Nature
In life we have to deal with many ideals, desires, goals, expectations, distractions, visions and so much more that it is hard to find the balance needed for a long life. Most of what we listen is just noise. Taoism states that longevity cannot be achieved when not taking into account individual personal cues.
Exercising
Taoist priests and practitioners are often seen as just really calm and not doing anything during the day but the truth is that Taoism places a huge focus on exercising. The belief is that the body needs to keep moving. Various practices like Qigong were optimized in order to help people maintain movement and strength for the entire life.
The Taoist master will only perform exercises at moderate effort levels. This is why they do not look like the modern athletes we are used to. Under the clothes though, bodies are flexible and toned, with high strength and endurance.
Attitude
Taoist masters do not fight their body or life. This is because the body is not seen as something that has to be dominated. If you try to resist the world around you, resistance comes back and hits you. Excessive resistance is going to wear you down.
While it is normal to fight from time to time, to always stand up for what you believe in, anything that is excessively done will lead towards inner erosion. Attitude and reducing stress are important in Taoism when one wants a longer life. Lifestyle always concentrates on low stress and good humor.
Spiritual Practice
Taoism preaches the fact that a human being is much more than just a body and a mind. Without taking the spirit into account, not much can be done in terms of longevity. Spirit is defined based on the actions we take and spiritual practice helps keep the body and the mind in a proper balance. Spiritual practice allows us to find peace so Taoists always follow a vibrant practice of spirituality.
When looking at spirituality, different Taoism forms have different beliefs, with various spiritual practices. We do not talk about philosophical or religious Taoism forms. There is practically a predefined blend of philosophy, religion, magic and science in various school of thoughts. However, there is always an agreement when it comes to Tao nature. There is always respect for spiritual practice differences. Taoism schools are united because of Tao acceptance and practice.
Avoid Addictions
Addiction is seen as self-destruction. Taoists say that a person’s empty space is replaced with something that is external to personal nature. The focus is always put on living as the individual. There are addictive substances that are presented as solving some problems but Taoism states that all the addictions delete the unique nature of a person.
Life is not easy. It is a struggle and a challenge. However, all these things define us and various addictions only make everything a lot more difficult. Addiction destroys the pure path of life that is always desired by the Taoist.
The Last Taoism Lifestyle Habit For A Longer Life Is A Secret
Everything that was mentioned above is preached and heavily promoted in Taoism but there is one more thing that is never said, or other things that are not said. The idea is to actually practice in order to find this secret for a longer life. So much more than how to achieve longevity is discovered through Taoism practice.
In order to find extra Taoism secrets that make life longer, the interested person has to:
- Find a Taoist temple or master and then study for at least 10 years.
- Drop knowledge and personal ties to connect to nature. 7 to 14 years of commute are normally needed to find a place where the individual lives in complete harmony with nature.
Other paths can be mentioned but there is no single one that will lead to the discovery of all the Taoist secrets. However, every single path will open your life and allow you to be happier.
Taoism is a really interesting way of life that focuses on a healthy mind and body, all connected by spirituality, as already mentioned.