Elder Wisdom Wednesday – Li Ching-Yuen

“Keep a quiet heart.” This may be the secret to health and longevity.

Li Ching-Yuen, a Chinese herbalist, martial artist and tactical advisor became well known for his extreme longevity. He joined the army at a young age of 71 to train and teach martial arts, and it is said that he lived to be 256 years old.

An herbalist from the age of 10, Li had traveled extensively in his youth gathering herbs including lingzhi, goji berries, wild ginseng, he shoo wu, gotu kola and rice wine.

It has been said by one of his students that Li had trained with an even older 500 year old man who taught him Qi-gong exercises and recommended dietary guidelines for longevity.

Li was asked what his secret was to longevity. This was his reply: “Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.”

Maintaining that inward calm and peace of mind combined with breathing techniques were the secrets to Li Ching-Yuen’s incredible longevity. Keeping a quiet heart creates a stress free environment to age slowly and gracefully.