🌿 Folk Prescriptions

In modern urban life, work stress and tight schedules have led to increasing prevalence of insomnia, low back pain, cervical spondylosis, and other ailments threatening health. How to relieve them? Start by learning your own acupoints—
Tuina, also known as massage, belongs to external Chinese medicine therapy. It has a long history and proven efficacy, offering benefits such as enhancing brain function and vision, broadening the chest and regulating qi, calming the liver and nourishing the heart, strengthening the spleen and harmonizing qi, tonifying the kidneys and reinforcing the waist, promoting bowel movements, regulating menstruation and warming the uterus, promoting qi and blood circulation, relaxing tendons and muscles, lubricating joints, and dispersing stasis and reducing swelling.
However, tuina has contraindications and must be applied selectively.
Self-tuina refers to using one’s own hands to perform simple techniques such as pushing, grasping, rubbing, pressing, kneading, and tapping on one’s own body surface, acupoints, and specific areas to achieve health preservation, wellness, and disease treatment. Self-tuina can alleviate certain symptoms, but those with serious conditions still require medical diagnosis and treatment.
For effective self-tuina, choose appropriate acupoints and areas based on individual conditions, operate carefully, proceed step by step, and persist consistently to achieve ideal results.
During self-tuina, focus your mind, stay calm, let intention guide your actions, achieving integration of “intention,” “qi,” and “movement.” Below are simple self-tuina methods for common conditions.
Eye Strain
Eye strain often results from improper visual use—such as prolonged close-up viewing or reading in dim light—leading to excessive eye fatigue, ciliary muscle spasm, and congestion. Massaging relevant areas can relieve ocular muscle fatigue.
Specific Methods: (1) Eye-warming: Rub both palms together until warm, then place them over the eyes, repeating 10 to 20 times. (2) Press and rub Zanzhu, Jingming, and Sibai points for 1 minute each. (3) Scrape the orbital rim: Place the thumb on the temples, curl the remaining four fingers into a bow shape, and use the inner side of the second joint of the index finger to scrape from inside out, top to bottom around the eye socket—aim for a sense of soreness and distension.
Headache
Headaches can occur during various acute or chronic illnesses and have complex causes. Tuina shows good results for migraines, neuralgia, and hypertension-related headaches.
Specific Methods: (1) Divide and push the forehead: Use the pads of the index, middle, and ring fingers to sweep from the glabella outward toward the temples, about 30 times. (2) Press and rub Yintang, Taiyang, Baihui, Fengchi, and Hegu points for 1 minute each. (3) Slightly bend the ten fingers, use the fingertips to comb from the hairline to the back of the head, 30 times. (4) Spread the ten fingers wide and lightly tap the head 20 times with moderate force.
Insomnia
For insomnia caused by organic diseases, treat the underlying condition actively. For non-organic insomnia, early self-tuina can regulate the body, providing calming and tranquilizing effects that aid recovery.
Specific Methods: (1) Lie supine, divide and push the forehead. (2) Press and rub Taiyang, Baihui, Fengchi, and Anmian points. (3) Abdominal massage: Use the thenar eminence or palm heel to massage the epigastrium, to comfort level, about 5 minutes. (4) Press and rub Zusanli and Sanyinjiao points. (5) Use the hypothenar eminence of the left (right) hand to rub the sole of the right (left) foot’s Yongquan point until warmth is felt. (6) Perform deep breathing 20 to 30 times, fully relaxing the body.