🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Zhang Congwen, a retired teacher from Gu'an County, Hebei Province, aged 75, has long suffered from frequent colds, sometimes several times a year. In 1996, after learning about health exercises, he tried massaging the Yingxiang point during early-stage cold symptoms and felt remarkable relief, sparking his interest. He later collected massage knowledge and traditional Chinese medicine acupoint information from various newspapers and compiled his own "Seven-Minute Morning Routine" for cold prevention. After consistently practicing this routine for years, he no longer suffers from colds and saves considerable medication costs. During two recent severe flu outbreaks in the region, most people closely exposed became seriously ill, but Zhang remained unharmed—clearly due to enhanced immunity through massage. He shared this method with others, who all experienced varying degrees of benefit.
Specific practice: Perform seven minutes of massage before getting out of bed.
1. Ten-finger scalp brushing: Except for the thumb, align the other four fingers into a straight line (with little fingers in the center) at the hairline on the forehead, place thumbs at the temples. Use fingertips and nails to brush backward. The little fingers pass through Shenting, Shangxing, Baihui, Houxiang, Cunhu, Fengfu, to Yamen, while both thumbs move from temples through Yifeng behind the ears to the neck, repeated for one minute.
2. Pinch Jingming: Use the pads of the left thumb and index finger to pinch the inner corner bulge of both eyes, holding and rubbing for one minute.
3. Wash nose: Rub hands together until warm, then press the middle finger pads firmly against both sides of the nasal wings, moving upward along the bridge to the inner corners, then return to original position, repeating for one minute.
4. Rub Yingxiang: Press and rub the Yingxiang points on both sides of the nostrils with both index fingers for one minute.
5. Rub Taiyang: Press and rub the Taiyang points on both sides with the pads of both thumbs for one minute.
6. Rub Fengchi: Press and rub the Fengchi points at the back of the head with both thumbs for one minute.
7. Dry facial massage: Press both palms firmly against the lower cheeks, fingers pointing upward, while the middle fingers press the sides of the nose, using forceful upward strokes. When reaching the eye area and forehead, separate the palms, let the palm roots pass through the Taiyang points and in front of the ears back to original position. Repeat for one minute.