The four seasons are closely related to human health, and the theory of traditional Chinese medicine particularly emphasizes the importance of meteorological factors in prevention and health care. For example, in Huangdi Neijing, it is recorded that "you must be old first, and there is no justice in it", that is, when treating a disease, you must first understand the weather changes in a year, and fully consider the changes of meteorological factors, seasons and solar terms in preventive health care, conform to the laws of nature, and achieve the purpose of strengthening the body, eliminating diseases and prolonging life.
(B) the connotation of four seasons health
TCM health preservation is the crystallization of thousands of years' experience of doctors. Judging from the contents and methods involved, it can be said that it is rich in information, well documented, effective and simple. With the upsurge of "returning to nature", the "integrity and naturalness" characteristics of TCM health preservation will show great vitality. The theories and methods of TCM health preservation are extremely rich, and one of the important core contents is timely health preservation. As Huangdi Neijing said: "Therefore, the health of the wise must be suitable for cold and summer." It is an extremely important principle in TCM health preservation, and it can also be said to be a magic weapon to prolong life.
Four-season health care refers to nursed back to health according to the laws and characteristics of yin and yang changes in climate throughout the year, so as to achieve the purpose of health care and longevity. The changes of cold, hot and cool in spring, summer, autumn and winter are formed by the ups and downs of yin and yang in a year. The solstice in winter brings the sun. From spring to summer, the sun grows and the yin disappears, so there is the temperature in spring and the heat in summer. It is cloudy from summer to day. From autumn to winter, the shade grows and the yang disappears, so it is cool in autumn and cold in winter. As a part of nature, human beings can't live without objective natural conditions, but should adapt to the changes of the four seasons to adjust the human body, so as to achieve the health care purposes of balance of yin and yang, coordination of viscera, qi and blood filling, access to meridians, and good mood.
1, corresponding to the health-keeping concept of heaven and man.
China's philosophical thoughts of "the correspondence between man and nature" and "the unity of man and nature" have had a far-reaching impact on the theoretical formation of traditional Chinese medicine, which also suggests that people should adapt to natural changes everywhere in their production and life in order to coexist peacefully. What is most relevant to human survival is the natural sun, moon and stars and the changes of the four seasons.
Sun-moon variation
The ancients discovered long ago that the sun was full when it rose and weak when it set. Therefore, the ancients did it at sunrise, and the day did not rest. When the moon is full, people's blood is smooth, their skin is dense, and foreign evils are not easy to invade; When the month is short, the qi and blood in the body run slowly, the skin is slack, and external evils are easy to take advantage of it. People are more likely to get sick if they encounter a sudden storm when the moon is getting shorter.
Changing Seasons
The changes of climate, yin and yang cold and heat all year round will directly affect people's life activities. To achieve happiness, we must make corresponding adjustments to the periodic changes of the four seasons in nature. As Su Wen's "Four Qi Tunes" said, "If you go against it, you will suffer, and if you go against it, you will not be able to do it." . According to the climate characteristics of the four seasons, people have summarized the five-organ nursing methods of nourishing liver in spring, heart in summer, spleen in summer, lung in autumn and kidney in winter, and the experience of "nourishing yang in spring and summer and nourishing yin in autumn and winter", which is of great significance to health care in the four seasons.
2. The concept of keeping in good health with unity of form and spirit
The unity of form and spirit is the key to enjoying the years. God lives in form, and form is unified with God. Spiritual injury leads to physical injury, and spiritual death leads to physical death. This is the so-called "if God is absent, he will die, and if God is present, he will live". Mental decline is bound to be manifested in the form, such as dull eyes, dull complexion, weakness of limbs, poor food intake, thin body and so on. Because human spirit is dominated by the heart, ambition, will, soul and spirit are all dominated by the heart, so there is a saying that "the heart is the master of form". Therefore, conditioning the heart has become the key to regulating the body. Therefore, the theory of TCM health preservation emphasizes quietness and spiritual cultivation, because "quietness can strengthen the body, and you can live to 100 years old without illness" ("Eight Notes on Respect for Life").
Essence, qi and spirit are called the "three treasures" of the human body, and they are inseparable. Their ups and downs directly reflect the growth, development and even aging of human beings. Essence is the source of life, the basic substance that constitutes the human body and the material basis of various functional activities of the human body. Qi is the motive force of life activities, which is transformed from essence, and essence is the basis of qi. God refers to the manifestation of God's will and life activities in spiritual consciousness. Where there is essence, there is God. God is the concrete expression of the five internal organs, the essence of heaven and the highest dominant activity of the human body. It is a high generalization of spiritual consciousness, thinking activities and external manifestations of viscera essence, qi, blood and body fluid activities. Qin Shou's new book on providing for the aged once summed up the relationship between essence, qi and spirit: "The subject is God, qi is essence, essence is qi, and qi is food." Therefore, the abundance of God needs a material basis such as essence, and the fullness or deficiency of essence can directly affect the role of God. In view of this, a good health-preserving person must maintain the essence and achieve the harmony between essence and spirit.
3. The concept of healthy dynamic balance.
All kinds of physiological activities of human body are carried out dynamically, and through adjustment, "equal cycle" is achieved. Chinese medicine attaches great importance to the dynamic balance of yin and yang and qi and blood.
the banlance of yin and yang
The balance of yin and yang in human body is the premise of healthy longevity and disease care. Yin and Yang have the relationship of mutual growth and decline, mutual transformation, mutual opposition and mutual restriction. Only when the yin and yang of the body reach a dynamic balance can the human body maintain a healthy and stable state. For example, in summer, the yang is abundant and there are many inflammations, so it is easy to sweat due to heat and damage the qi and yin. At this time, you can take nourishing yin and cooling medicated diet, such as mung bean soup, lotus leaf porridge, watermelon soup, etc., to maintain the balance of yin and yang in the body. Chinese medicine's treatment of human body is also based on the principle of yin-yang balance. It uses cold medicine to treat fever and heat method to treat cold diseases, so as to achieve the balance of yin-yang and prevent diseases.
Qi-blood balance
Qi and blood are the material basis of human life activities. Qi can produce blood, and blood can transport qi, and the two go hand in hand. When the balance of qi and blood is out of balance, there will be pathological changes such as stagnation and failure of qi and blood, which will lead to dysfunction of viscera and meridians. Therefore, maintaining the normal metabolism and circulation of qi and blood is a necessary condition to maintain health, and regulating qi and blood has become an important method to prevent and treat diseases.
(3) the principle of keeping in good health in four seasons
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has rich theoretical basis and practical experience in keeping in good health for the four seasons, and there are many methods. The basic principles can be summarized as follows:
1, conform to nature
Under the guidance of the corresponding holistic view of harmony between man and nature, health preservation holds that all life activities of the human body must conform to the objective laws of the ups and downs of yin and yang in the four seasons.
Throughout the year, it is sunny in spring and summer and cloudy in autumn and winter. Natural solar terms are also spring, summer, autumn harvest and winter storage that change with the climate change. Therefore, in Xia Zhishi in spring, people should naturally maintain yang, and in autumn and winter, they should also maintain yin. Therefore, there is a saying that "Yang is raised in spring and summer, and Yin is raised in autumn and winter". This requires people to make appropriate adjustments to their spiritual activities, daily routine and diet according to the changes of the four seasons. In terms of work and rest time, we should also conform to the changes of the four seasons, so as to achieve "regular daily life", "lying late and getting up early" in spring and summer, "lying early and getting up early" in autumn and "lying early and getting up late" in winter. Among the five flavors of diet, intake should be more regular. Hunger, satiety or partial eclipse will harm the viscera and affect health, and the consumption of vegetables and fruits also has certain seasonality.
2, body and mind * * *
Form is God's house, and God is the use of form. Therefore, nourishing the mind can not only protect the body, but also capture the spirit. The two support each other and are inseparable. Therefore, health care and disease prevention must be based on physical and mental health and maintain the unity of physical and mental health.
The so-called "cultivation of form" mainly refers to the cultivation of viscera, qi and blood, body fluid, limbs, facial features and nine orifices, and "the form is a sacred house", so only when the body is complete can normal spirit be produced. The specific content of fitness is very extensive. All the ways of keeping in good health, such as adjusting diet, saving work and rest, living carefully, avoiding cold and heat, physical exercise, qigong and other fitness exercises, are mostly important contents of keeping fit.
The so-called "nourishing the heart" is mainly to stabilize the mood and adjust the spirit. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the change of human spirit and emotion is an important part of human physiological activities. In general, "spirit" is the "reactive response" of the body to various external stimuli. It not only reflects the normal psychological activities in the process of life, but also can enhance physical fitness, resist diseases and prolong life. However, if the mood swings are too violent or last too long, it will hurt the five internal organs, affect the qi, blood, yin and yang of the human body, and lead to many diseases.
Therefore, the theory of TCM health preservation attaches great importance to spiritual cultivation, and requires people to be calm and calm in thinking, not to fly into a rage, not to indulge in greed and delusion, not to waste energy on egoism, and to minimize bad mental stimulation and excessive emotional fluctuations in order to maintain a good mood and a happy spirit. In this way, the human body's qi is harmonious, the blood vessels are unobstructed, the vitality is abundant, the body is healthy, and the disease resistance is strong, which can reduce the occurrence of diseases.
3, dynamic and static combination
The theory of TCM health preservation holds that "qi and blood are extremely dynamic and the spirit is extremely quiet", which not only advocates "keeping fit is not good at moving", but also holds that "keeping quiet is the first priority in health preservation and life preservation is the first priority" (unchanged from ancient times to modern times). Therefore, only the combination of dynamic and static can achieve the purpose of health preservation and disease prevention.
Move, including labor and sports. Traditional Chinese medicine has always attached importance to the significance of "movement" in health preservation, and holds that "if people work hard in shape, all diseases will not be reached" (package) and "movement will strengthen" (four changes). And created many effective national fitness methods. Such as Wu Qin Xi, Ba Duan Jin, Taiji Zhuan and Yijinjing. Persisting in doing these fitness exercises can help to keep the qi flowing, promote qi circulation and benefit joints, thus enhancing the body's disease resistance. Modern medicine has also proved that regular participation in sports can promote the metabolism of the body, make the body full of vitality, and thus delay the aging of various organs.
Static, also known as "static", includes mental quiet and relatively quiet state of physical activity, which is relative to "dynamic" and also plays an important role in TCM health preservation. Generally speaking, Qigong has no limbs movement. It exercises and adjusts itself internally in a "static" state through certain posture, specific breathing methods and specific mental activities, so as to achieve the purpose of "adjusting", "repairing" and "building" the body. It is of great significance in qigong exercise.
It is pointed out in "100 medical records of classics and history" that "the opportunity to observe movement comes from being absent." In other words, "moving" and "static" should be moderate, too much or too little will affect human health and lead to diseases. For example, Huangdi Neijing said: "Long-term vision hurts blood, long-term lying hurts gas, long-term sitting hurts meat, long-term standing hurts bones, and long-term injury hurts tendons." Therefore, diligent exercise should pay attention to moderation; Think hard, but don't be lazy in thinking. Move without fatigue, be quiet without being too loose. In a word, motion and static are two opposite and complementary aspects. In order to maintain health, prevent diseases and prolong life, we must use both body and mind, work and rest, and use both motion and static, and we must not neglect one thing.
In short, people must "keep pace with the times" to adapt to nature; At the same time, we should make use of nature to serve us. Only in this way can we "live in peace for the rest of our lives and live a long life."