There is a special chapter in Huangdi Neijing to discuss the health care of the four seasons, while Su Wen's Theory of Four Temperaments Regulating the Spirit describes the health care of the spring in this way: in spring and March, this means that everything in the world is born, and everything is proud of it, lying at night and getting up early, striding into the court, mentally retarded, so as to live, live without killing, give without taking, and reward without punishment. This is the reaction of spring. Otherwise, it will hurt the liver, it will be cold in summer and there will be few elders. "According to the thought of Huangdi Neijing, we put spring health preservation in the following five elements:
Essentials of spring health preservation
First, sleep should be reduced.
Neijing tells us that we should "lie down at night and get up early" in spring, that is, stay up late and get up early. After winter, the days get longer and the nights get shorter. According to the theory of Neijing, we should also adapt to the law of day and night change, moderately reduce sleep and increase activity time.
Because the state of hair growth and hair storage of human yang is closely related to sleep. When we are awake, Yang appears on the surface and outside; When we were asleep, Yang went in and got dirty. Therefore, in order to make the human body's yang grow like natural yang, it is necessary to reduce sleep time. Too much sleep is easy to make the human body's yang stagnate in the body, which is not conducive to. However, ancient doctors also stressed that although we should "go to bed late and get up early" in spring, we should not get up earlier than the time when chickens crow, that is, we should not get up before 5 o'clock; Don't go to bed later than midnight, that is, don't go to bed after 1 1, otherwise it will be harmful to human health.
Second, increase
Although Huangdi Neijing paid less attention to western culture, it put forward the idea of "striding into the hospital" in spring, that is, striding into the hospital. Because first, it nourishes the human body's yang, because the yang is active, exercise can produce yang-heat qi, and moderate exercise has a long-term nourishing effect on the human body's yang, and exercise itself is also in line with the original intention of "spring is stupid, but it also moves"; Secondly, by watching the new green in the natural environment, the purpose of soothing the liver and regulating qi is achieved, which is an important content of nourishing qi in spring. Because Neijing thinks that all kinds of sounds and smells in nature can enter the five internal organs of the human body and have different relationships with different internal organs, and turquoise can enter and nourish the liver. Seeing more green and exercising more can soothe and nourish the liver.
Of course, the appearance of this passage has its corresponding historical background. In ancient times, large families often had large courtyards or gardens. When the traffic is inconvenient and people generally wear robes that take off their coats, it may be difficult to have an outing and run in the suburbs in the morning, so walking in the yard is the most feasible way to exercise. There is "the joy of walking" in the "Ten Joy of Health Preservation" written by the painter Gao in Qing Dynasty, saying that "it is refreshing to get up and take a quiet walk in the atrium or roam in the flower beds in Lu 'an." "That is to say, spring health. Its spiritual essence is to emphasize moderate outdoor sports in spring. We modern people naturally don't have to stick to the way of walking in quadrangles. Running in the morning, hiking in the suburbs, flying kites and climbing mountains on weekends. Both are excellent exercise methods, which are conducive to the growth of yang and the relaxation of liver qi, and can effectively prevent the occurrence of multiple depression in spring.
Third, dress slowly.
"Let the hair hang down slowly" means letting the hair hang down freely and dressing slowly, which is also a way to promote the growth of human yang. Why do you have to have special requirements for hair and clothes? Because according to the theory of Neijing, the yang of human body always diverges upward and outward, and it is considered that the head is the meeting point of all yang, and the six yang meridians in the twelve meridians of human body are all gathered on the head and face, so the state of hair and clothes has certain influence on the growth of yang. To develop the yang of human body, it is necessary to make the head and peripheral skin in a state of relaxation.
In the Zhou Dynasty, when men and women came of age, a ceremony was held, which was called "rite of passage". After this ceremony, men and women have the rights that adults should enjoy and fulfilled their obligations, including the rights of engagement, marriage, participation in sacrificial activities, military service and rule by men. The main symbolic content of this ceremony is to change the hairstyle. Both boys' and girls' hairstyles droop naturally, which is called "drooping". However, when you reach adulthood, you have to tie your hair. For men, at the age of 20, they should tie their hair and crown it, that is, tie a "crown" to their hair. The "crown" is different from the hats of later generations, and it is a kind of headdress, so the male twenty is called the year of weak crown. When a woman is fifteen, she will put her hair in a bun to show her adulthood. So adult men and women usually have tight hair. Neijing believes that this hairstyle should be slightly changed in spring, especially in the morning of spring, so that it is in a loose state, which is helpful to the rise of yang. "Long hair" is always described by us as an indecent image, in fact, this image just meets the requirements of spring health preservation.
Ancient people's clothing also has its own particularity. According to Mr. Wang Li's Common Sense of China Ancient Culture, the complete form and function of pants in China were not formed until the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Western Han Dynasty and earlier, people either wore clothes similar to the open-backed pants worn by our modern children, or wore clothes called "Tuo". Most of the "ruffles" are long skirts and oblique skirts. In order to cover up the sense of shame and prevent accidental exposure, the oblique skirt should be wrapped in a soft layer on the lower body and waist to keep the body tight. For example, the owner of 1973 Mawangdui Tomb in Changsha 1 Tomb is Xin Zhui, his wife in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. She is of noble birth and is about 40 years old. This kind of costume is also not conducive to the growth of yang, so there is the saying of spring health preservation in Neijing.
Although compared with ancient times, our modern people's hairstyles and clothes have changed a lot, the requirement of "wearing your hair slowly" is not out of date. Modern people have a lot of tight hair. Girls' ponytails and adult women's heads all make their hair tight. It is not uncommon for women to wear clothes that are too tight. Many women like to highlight their graceful posture or limit the increase of fat by wearing tights and tights, but in spring, such clothes will change, mainly to be loose and breathable, which is conducive to the growth of human yang.
Fourth, be happy emotionally.
As a spiritual adjustment in spring, the requirements of Neijing are "taking life as a career, living without killing, giving without taking, rewarding without punishment", that is, treating small animals, killing less and releasing more; Treat relatives and friends around you, pay more, care more, and take less; Treat subordinates with more rewards, more rewards and less punishment. Through these behaviors, it is intended to establish a good individual, that is, "making life."
We always say that "giving is better than asking for happiness", which is what we mean. Facts have also proved that those who have a harmonious relationship with the people around them are often; Those who are nervous with the people around them are psychologically depressed. Compared with other health requirements, such as sleep and exercise, Neijing seems to pay more attention to spirit and emotion, which shows that mental adjustment in spring is the most important part of all health care methods. This is because in spring, liver-qi is dominant, and through good psychological adjustment, it can promote the rise of liver-qi and Shu Da, and the smoothness of liver-qi plays an important role in promoting the smooth flow of qi, thus maintaining the normal operation of qi and blood in the whole body.
All kinds of bad emotions in spring are easy to hurt the liver, but we should pay special attention not to get angry in spring, because emotions are also related to the five internal organs. Anger is the emotion that governs the liver. Rage is the most likely to hurt the liver, forcing qi and blood to go up, which is in line with the rising season of yang, and it is prone to hyperactivity of liver yang, dizziness, impatience and even syncope, which is equivalent to hypertension or stroke. According to the results of epidemiological investigation, spring is indeed the high incidence season of stroke. Emotional stagnation is also a taboo in spring, because emotional stagnation will lead to stagnation of liver qi and aggravate the symptoms of systemic stagnation, which not only makes it difficult for Yang Qi to grow, but also easily leads to the onset of depression.
5. The food should be green and sweet.
The green food mentioned here is not the healthy or hygienic natural food we are talking about now, but turquoise, because cyan and green are introduced into the liver. In order to nourish the liver-qi, besides seeing the green scenery with your eyes, you can also eat more green fruits in your diet to help the liver-qi rise. At the same time, the sun be the spirit rises in spring, and many people will have some signs of heat disturbance. Green fruits and vegetables can also remove virtual fire.
In terms of five flavors, the dietary regulations in Neijing for ordinary people are different from those for patients with abnormal liver qi. Generally healthy people should give priority to spicy taste and eat less acid. Because pungent taste is mainly divergent and sour taste is mainly convergent, pungent taste conforms to the characteristics of spring qi and hair growth, while sour taste is not conducive to the release of liver. According to Su Wen's dirty gas theory, millet, peach, chicken and onion are spicy foods in cereal fruits and vegetables respectively. In addition, ginger, mint, garlic, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, leeks, spinach and shepherd's purse are also spicy foods, which are suitable for spring consumption.
Sun Simiao, the drug king of the Tang Dynasty, said, "It is advisable to keep sour and sweet in spring to nourish temper", which means that when spring comes, people should eat less sour and more sweet. On the one hand, the reason is that the sweetness is soft, which can make the liver qi grow softly; At the same time, sweetness can supplement the qi of human spleen and stomach. Spleen and stomach are the foundation of the day after tomorrow and the source of qi and blood metaplasia. Spleen and stomach are full of qi, and people can prolong life. Spring is a season of vigorous liver qi, and the function of the liver is on the high side. According to the theory of five elements in traditional Chinese medicine, the liver belongs to wood, the spleen belongs to soil, and wood and soil coexist, that is, liver hyperactivity can hurt temper and affect spleen and stomach function. Therefore, in order to prevent spleen and stomach weakness, we should eat more sweets, such as glutinous rice, black rice, millet, oats and jujube in grains, and winter sunflower, pumpkin, carrot, cauliflower, lettuce and Chinese cabbage in vegetables are all sweet. Therefore, all people are suitable for eating sweets in spring.
Of course, for some people who are prone to get sick in spring, such as high blood pressure and skin allergies, it is often caused by excessive yang, so we should pay attention to moderately increasing sour and cool foods in our diet, such as mume, sour apples, grapes and navel oranges. In order to avoid these situations.