🌿 Folk Prescriptions

In daily life, many equate the way of health preservation with its methods, but this is incorrect. TCM calls the theoretical foundation of health preservation the "Way of Health Preservation," while the practical techniques are termed the "Methods of Health Preservation."
The Way of Health Preservation broadly summarizes health preservation theories from thousands of years of medicine, diet, religion, folk customs, and martial arts. Its content mainly includes:
Following Nature:
Reflects the idea of "harmony between heaven and humanity." It emphasizes not defying natural laws while also valuing the coordination between individuals and society. As the *Nei Jing* advises: "To know celestial phenomena above, earthly geography below, and human affairs in between is to live long."
Body and Spirit Cultivation Together:
During health preservation, both physical body care and mental-emotional regulation are essential—what is known as "cultivating both body and spirit," "preserving spirit to preserve form," and "protecting form to preserve spirit."
Combining Movement and Stillness:
Modern medicine promotes "life lies in motion," and TCM also supports "movement generates yang," but also advocates "stillness within movement" and "avoiding excessive exertion."
Individualized Nourishment Based on Causes:
Health preservation is not limited to one method or style. It should employ diverse approaches—body, spirit, movement, stillness, diet, medicine—and adapt to individual, regional, and seasonal differences. This is known as "individualized nourishment" and "syndrome-based nourishment."
Meanwhile, "Methods of Health Preservation" must be implemented under the guidance of the "Way of Health Preservation." Its content covers seven aspects:
Psychological Cultivation:
Includes mental-emotional adjustment, cultivation of interests and hobbies, and moral character development—mainly involving TCM culture, religious culture, and folk traditions.
Behavioral Cultivation:
Encompasses lifestyle adjustments in clothing, diet, housing, movement, and sexual activity.
Qi Cultivation:
Mainly refers to "inner nourishing exercises" in medical qigong. Involves TCM, religious, and martial arts cultures.
Physical Cultivation:
Primarily includes physical exercise and sports fitness activities—integrating medical and martial arts cultures.
Dietary Cultivation: Herbal Dietary Therapy Special Topic
One of the core components of TCM health preservation methods, widely applicable across populations. Mainly involves selecting, preparing, and applying health-promoting foods, along with dietary methods and moderation. Includes medical, herbal, food, tea, alcohol, and folk cultural elements.
Medicinal Cultivation:
Primarily involves selecting and preparing health-preserving herbal formulations. Most preparations are purely natural plant-based medicines; processing is usually crude; dosage forms often blend with food. Hence, TCM commonly speaks of "herbal cuisine."
Technique-Based Cultivation:
An alternative non-food, non-medicinal method outside the above categories—using massage, tuina, acupuncture, bathing, fomentation, magnetic therapy, and instrument stimulation for health preservation. Primarily involves medical culture.
In summary, the essence of health preservation lies in "individualized nourishment" based on both the Way and Methods. Uniformity is not enforced within groups. For example, person A may need emphasis on physical care; person B on dietary adjustment; person C on mental regulation. If we indiscriminately demand that A, B, and C all strengthen physical exercise, alter diets, or practice qigong meditation equally, it may not meet each person’s unique health needs.