Hua Tuo asked people to let their thoughts comply with the laws of heaven and earth. (From a painting)
When we exercise, the circulation is enhanced, and the qi of food is consumed. That is, after exercise, food is easily digested. Under these conditions, people will tend to stay healthy.
Nowadays, we can see professional athletes who exercise a lot. But extreme exertion may have negative consequences. Famous retired boxer Muhammad Ali could strike with several hundred pounds of force; his power was very strong. However, later in life, Ali was stricken with Parkinson's disease.
In Taiwan there was a famous decathlon athlete, Yang Chuan-kuang. Later in life, he became ill with serious diseases and died relatively young.
Hua Tuo told his students that cultivation was the best way for people to live longer. Cultivation was not just performing certain movements, but required one to cultivate the mind, to let the thoughts comply with the laws of heaven and earth. That is, be a good person, sleep when sleepy, drink when thirsty, exercise when the time comes, wear more clothes when it becomes cold, and be in harmony with yin and yang.
Acting according to those principles would ensure that one's health would be quite good.
