Rewind 200 years. When it got dark you were getting ready for bed. Sure, you might be able to afford the luxury of a candle and a book by the fire, but not for hours and hours, and not every night. Go back 500 years, and you’d be up and down with the sun. Winter would have been a period of deep rest, after the hard work of the cycle of farming, spring through to autumn. As the land lay fallow; restoring in winter, so you would have. Today, we work later, eat later, play later, rest later, and sleep later. Sleep is an afterthought. If we feel tired we have a coffee, a juice, or pop some vitamins. We eat foods shipped in from up north, and our idea of rest is a holiday in the tropics. Winter is mostly spent in denial. It means that our kidneys do not have


the time and space to replenish their energy stores or repair to their peak condition. It means that our adrenal glands — which are closely related to the kidneys — are overworked. In the words of the unassuming Professor of TCM I used to visit for my herbs, at such times it meant I should abstain from ‘sexy- sexy’... But it’s not only virility and sexual appetite that are affected, TCM sees kidney deficiency and adrenal fatigue as underpinning many prominent diseases prevalent in modern society. Many of our common ailments would simply not get a hold of us if we were well-rested, enjoyed good nutrition and didn’t expose ourselves to stress or the toxins of daily modern life.


Proper kidney function is essential to the body’s youthful vitality.


The development, regeneration and regulation of our brain, the spinal cord, bones, teeth, blood, skin and hair are all deeply influenced by the kidneys, which produce marrow and directly and/or indirectly regulate all vital fluids. For the average person, kidney function decreases significantly from as early as 30 years of age, and by 40, most humans have already lost 40% of their kidney function. The good news is that all of this can be


improved, slowed or even reversed. Sleep has an important relationship with our kidneys. The kidneys need it


to restore, but paradoxically, when our kidneys need it most, we find it harder to maintain good habits, and are less likely to sleep well. Time and time again I am surprised


to find clients telling me that they have trouble falling asleep or that their sleep is not deep enough, that they lie restless at night, and/or that they wake up too early. More often than not, there is an anxiety-stress-restlessness pattern there, keeping them distracted and feeling burdened or stuck. Sometimes I have to remind myself that


I’ve been there too. I experienced sleep deprivation in my early entrepreneurial years and, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I can now see that the combination of stress, a busy mind and never-ending tiredness were closely


trees, and made poor choices when I was tired. When this finally clicked, I went from owning a business in debt and on the brink, a liability, which wasn’t paying me a wage, to a venture which was an asset: successfully managed by others, paid me well, won awards, and generated turnover that I dared not dream of just a few years earlier. Funny. Suddenly sleep is looking a


whole lot sexier — right? And that’s not just a slip of the tongue, for our sex lives are greatly improved by sleep. And — yes, I’ll go there — I can tell you from personal experience, that men last a hell of a lot longer in bed when they’re not energetically blocked, stressed out, and worrying about their struggles. But there’s more — it doesn’t just impact how often you like it or how long you


related with my struggling poverty mentality back then. In my experience, a stressed out and tired person tends to engage in lower states of mind and being, coupled with limited awareness, small-minded thinking and an inability to see the big picture. I found, when I was perpetually tired, that I could not employ a larger set of mind. This meant I was stuck in a lower mind-set, energetically blocked, unable to see my situation as a whole. I spent years like that — stuck, lost


and disempowered, desperate to get over and beyond my struggles. I thought I had to work hard because of my situation. Then I discovered that the situation was the result of my mindset, and my inability to see that it originated in me. I couldn’t see the forest for the


last. Higher order states of thinking, feeling and being, result in your life force and sexual energy flowing freely from below to above, and from above to below, making you a heart-centred, more adventurous lover, who is less genitally, and visually, focused. The result is not just longer sex, but better sex. And when I say better, I mean BETTER. To briefly recap: when we look after


our kidneys, and get enough rest and sleep, we are more successful, feel better, are fitter, more flexible, stronger, and healthier. Plus we tend to eat better, breathe better, be more mindful, clear and present, feel less stressed, and have better sex when we are properly rested. Makes you want to do nice things for your kidneys, huh?


AUGUST 2015 17


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