🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Autumn begins with Start of Autumn and spans six solar terms: Limit of Heat, White Dew, Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, and Frost's Descent. The Autumn Equinox marks a pivotal shift in seasonal climate. According to *The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon: Great Treatise on the Four Seasons’ Regulation of Vital Energy*, “In autumn, three months are known as ‘Harmonious Peace,’ when the sky grows sharp and the earth becomes clear.” Autumn represents a transitional phase of “declining yang and rising yin.” From Start of Autumn to Limit of Heat, summer heat remains intense, temperatures are high, and occasional rains bring dampness, making the weather characterized by both heat and humidity—hence the term “Autumn Tiger.” After White Dew, rainfall decreases, the air becomes dry, days are hot while nights grow cool, and temperature fluctuations are frequent. One must be cautious, as catching a cold is easy, and many old ailments tend to recur—earning autumn the name “Busy Season.” Since human physiology adapts to natural changes, internal yin and yang also shift accordingly. Thus, autumn health preservation requires emphasis on “harmony” in mental well-being, diet, daily routines, and physical exercises.
Harmonize Emotions, Avoid Melancholy
With the arrival of autumn, from the perspective of “unity between heaven and humanity,” the lung belongs to metal and corresponds to autumnal energy. The lung governs qi and respiration, and in emotion, it relates to sorrow. People with weak lung qi are particularly sensitive to autumnal changes. Especially middle-aged and elderly individuals, witnessing autumn winds, cold rain, falling leaves, and barren landscapes, often feel melancholy, desolation, and aging, easily developing depressive moods. Therefore, regulating emotions is essential for autumn health preservation. As stated in *The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon: Great Treatise on the Four Seasons’ Regulation of Vital Energy*: “Keep the mind tranquil, to ease the severity of autumn. Gather and restrain spiritual energy, allowing autumn’s essence to remain balanced. Do not let the will wander outward, ensuring the lung’s qi stays pure. This is the proper response to autumn’s energy and the way to nourish and store.” For middle-aged and elderly individuals, cultivating a mindset of indifference to external gains or losses, maintaining optimism, openness, tolerance, and inner peace, gathering spirit and conserving energy, can mitigate the influence of autumn’s harshness, enabling adaptation to autumn’s harmonious nature.
Practice “Autumn Cold Exposure” with Moderation, Strengthen Body
China has long held the saying: “Wear more in spring, expose to cold in autumn—no illness will arise.” This aligns with the principle of “light clothing to withstand cold” in autumn. However, “autumn cold exposure” must be correctly understood and scientifically interpreted. After the Start of Autumn, temperatures gradually drop, and the daily temperature difference increases. After Cold Dew, northern cold air invades frequently, bringing “one autumn rain, one chill.” From a preventive health standpoint, gradually practicing “autumn cold exposure” strengthens resistance to cold, enhances heart-lung function, improves the body’s ability to adapt to changing climates, and helps prevent respiratory infections. However, if during late autumn, sudden weather changes occur with a sharp temperature drop and persistent drizzle, still wearing thin clothes and light pants risks severe cold stimulation, weakening immunity and triggering colds—especially dangerous for middle-aged and elderly individuals with chronic bronchitis, asthma, COPD, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, or diabetes. Without attention to weather changes and proper warmth, catching a cold may easily trigger recurrence of old illnesses. Therefore, one should follow autumn’s climatic changes, adjusting clothing appropriately—practicing “cold exposure” with moderation and harmony with climate shifts is wise.
Dietary Balance, Moisturize Lungs, Prevent Dryness
After the Autumn Equinox, rainfall diminishes and atmospheric humidity drops, making autumn dryness the dominant climate from mid-autumn to late autumn. Autumn is also the season dominated by lung metal. Carelessness may allow autumn dryness to deplete body fluids, leading to symptoms such as dry mouth, sore throat, and lung-heat cough. Thus, autumn diets should focus on foods that clear heat, generate fluids, nourish yin, and moisten lungs—such as loach, tench, white duck meat, sesame, walnuts, lily bulbs, glutinous rice, honey, milk, peanuts, fresh mountain yam, white fungus, tangerines, ginkgo nuts, pears, red dates, lotus seeds, sugarcane, etc.—all gentle tonics that nourish yin and moisten lungs. For middle-aged and elderly individuals with weak stomachs, breakfast should include congee, which aids digestion and generates fluids. Examples include: Lily-red date glutinous rice congee for nourishing yin and strengthening the stomach; Lily-lotus seed congee for moistening lungs and nourishing kidneys; Lily-almond congee for expelling phlegm and stopping cough; Fresh rehmannia juice congee for cooling blood and moisturizing dryness; Red bean congee for strengthening spleen and harmonizing stomach; Ginger congee for warming the body and stopping nausea; Walnut congee for moisturizing skin and preventing dryness; Pine nut congee for moistening lungs and aiding bowel movements; Chrysanthemum congee for brightening eyes and calming the spirit; Tea congee for dissolving phlegm and aiding digestion; Bird’s nest congee for nourishing lungs and stopping cough; Yam congee for strengthening spleen and solidifying intestines; Chrysanthemum-Goji congee for nourishing liver and kidneys... Each person can select suitable congees based on individual conditions to achieve harmony among zang-fu organs, yin-yang, qi-blood, and thus nourish the body effectively.
Physical Exercise, Harmonize Movement and Stillness
Golden autumn offers clear skies and pleasant weather—ideal for various fitness activities. Choose exercises according to individual needs: seniors may walk slowly, jog lightly, practice Five Animals Frolics, Tai Chi, fitness exercises, or Eight Brocade exercises, and self-massage; middle-aged and young adults may run, play ball games, climb mountains, take cold showers, or swim. While doing dynamic exercises, combine them with static practices such as the Six Sounds Silent Breathing Method, Nei Qi Gong, or Mind-Focus Meditation—balancing movement and stillness, where movement strengthens the body and stillness nurtures the spirit, achieving optimal physical and mental well-being.
Prevention First, Harmony Ensures Health
Autumn is prone to intestinal infectious diseases, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and often triggers relapses of old conditions such as gastritis, chronic bronchitis, and asthma. Middle-aged and elderly individuals with hypertension, coronary heart disease, or diabetes risk worsening conditions in late autumn if prevention is neglected—potentially leading to hypertensive crisis, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or even death. Therefore, everyone must adopt a preventive mindset. Early intervention for hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes—keeping blood pressure, lipid, and blood glucose levels within ideal ranges—maintains balance and effectively prevents complications, improving quality of life and ensuring a peaceful autumn.