How to maintain health during the heavy snow solar term: protect Yang Qi, consolidate body fluids, and store essence

Heavy snow is the 21st of the twenty-four solar terms, and it is also the most "cold" and "collective" season in winter. At this time, Yin Qi is at its strongest and Yang Qi is at its weakest. Heaven and earth are sealed, and the metabolism of the human body and the movement of Qi and blood also slow down. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the core of health preservation during Daxue solar term can be summarized as:Protect Yang Qi, consolidate body fluids, and store essence Qi. These three points are not only the focus of winter maintenance, but also the key to laying a good physical foundation for the coming spring. Let’s take a look at how to adapt to the solar terms and take care of your body and mind during the heavy snow season.

1. Protect Yang Qi: the fundamental purpose of winter supplementation

Traditional Chinese medicine says: "If you don't store essence in winter, you will be sick and warm in spring." After a heavy snowfall, the human body's yang energy is restrained, which is the stage that needs the most care and is the most difficult to maintain.

1. Why is it most important to protect the sun during heavy snow?

• When the weather is cold, Yang Qi is more likely to escape.
• Kidney yang is most susceptible to cold.
• Weak spleen and stomach yang will lead to poor appetite and fatigue.
• Symptoms of those with yang deficiency will be more obvious during this solar term: intolerance to cold, cold hands and feet, weak waist and knees, and listlessness.

2. What is the key point to protect Yang?

• Keeping warm is the first principle(The neck, waist, abdomen, and feet are the most important): Cold evil in winter is most likely to invade through the back and soles of the feet. It is recommended to soak your feet before going to bed; keep your waist, abdomen and navel warm; and use a scarf to protect your neck when going out.
• Commonly used acupoints for moxibustion: Guanyuan, Mingmen, Zusanli, etc., can help warm the kidneys, nourish yang, and regulate righteousness; the specific suitability, frequency and duration will depend onLicensed AcupuncturistEvaluate.
• "Three Whites" should not be overdosed: White radish, white tofu, white pear, etc. tend to be cold in nature and can easily damage yang energy in winter. They can be eaten in moderation but not in large quantities every day.

2. Gujinye: Dry in winter, it is easy to damage the lungs and kidneys

Although the heavy snow is cold, the air is dry, and "dry evil" can easily hurt people. Insufficient body fluids can lead to dry and itchy skin, dry throat and dry cough, thirst, constipation, yellow urine, and decreased sleep quality.

1. How to protect body fluid?

• Moderate hydration, focusing on moisturizing rather than cooling: Avoid pouring a lot of cold water in winter to avoid damaging the spleen and stomach yang. You can choose snow pear and white fungus soup, lily and lotus seed soup; those with yin deficiency and excessive fire can choose wolfberry, chrysanthemum water, etc. after consulting a doctor.
• Eat more sweet and nutritious foods: Such as yam (nourishes the lungs, spleen and kidneys, moisturizes but not greasy), black sesame seeds (benefits the liver and kidneys, moisturizes the intestines), white fungus (nourishes yin and moisturizes dryness), winter jujube (replenishes body fluids and replenishes qi), etc. It still needs to be combined with physical constitution and digestion conditions.
• Reduce saltiness and spicy irritation: Salty food is easy to damage the kidneys, spicy food is easy to consume gas, especially in winter, it is easy to aggravate the depletion of body fluids.

3. Hiding Essence: "The most important thing to maintain health" after heavy snowfall

Heavy snow is the signal to enter the deep winter, and "storage" is the core of health care, which is to store the body's energy.

1. Why should we "hide essence"?

• The kidney is the foundation of innateness, and if it is damaged in winter, all kinds of diseases will occur easily.
• If the essence is sufficient, the righteousness will be stronger and recovery from fatigue will be relatively smooth.
• If you can hide your essence, your liver qi will grow more smoothly in the coming spring.

2. How to "hide"?

• Go to bed early and get up late, follow the weather: As the old saying goes, "In March in winter, if you go to bed early and get up late, you must wait for the sun." - Sleep is one of the most low-cost ways to maintain your health in winter.
• Use less kidney energy to avoid excessive consumption: Staying up late for a long time, overwork, strenuous exercise beyond endurance, etc. may increase the consumption of kidney qi.
• Warm and tonic but don’t blindly overdo it: It is very important to nourish the kidney and spleen during Daxue solar term, but it must be supplemented according to the person. Common ingredients such as mutton (warm and tonic, more commonly used in winter); velvet antler, eucommia, etc. are more tonic,Requires medical guidance; Polygonatum, wolfberry, etc. are more suitable for some people with yin deficiency constitution to use after syndrome differentiation.

4. 3 daily health regimens that are particularly suitable for the heavy snow solar term

1. Rubbing ears and nourishing kidneys in winter: Rub your hands together and then massage the auricles for daily relaxation (moderate intensity, not suitable for those with ear inflammation or trauma).
2. Tapping the pulse and massaging Shenshu: Helps soothe the waist and spine, and reminds people who have been sedentary to exercise moderately; those with acute low back pain or unexplained pain should seek medical attention first.
3. Soak your feet in warm water at night: You can add ginger slices or mugwort leaves (use with caution for those with allergies, diabetic foot, or damaged skin) to help relax and warm up; the water temperature should not be too high and the time should not be too long.

5. Who needs special conditioning during the heavy snow season?

If you have the following symptoms, which are mostly related to Yang deficiency, insufficient body fluids or weak kidney qi, you can adjust according to your physical constitution under the guidance of a doctor:

• Cold hands and feet, obvious chills
• Low menstrual flow and cold dysmenorrhea
• Cold stomach, prone to diarrhea
• Weak and prone to fatigue
• Recurrent cough, dry cough with little phlegm
• Frequent backache and poor sleep

6. Conclusion: The key to health preservation in heavy snow is adaptation and collection.

The heavy snow solar term is the stage when the body needs to "hide" most. To protect Yang - reduce the invasion of cold evil; to strengthen body fluid - to prevent dryness, dryness, and wear and tear; to store essence - to allow the body to have relatively sufficient energy to survive the winter and welcome the spring, and the overall state will tend to be more stable and warmer. If you want to know whether you are more suitable for warming, moisturizing or regulating Qi and blood in winter, you are also welcome toFlushing, New York GuoyitangConduct physical identification and personalized conditioning plans to provide peace of mind throughout the winter.