If the body is full, life will be long.

"Huangdi Neijing·Suwen·Shengqi Tongtian Lun" Yang Qi, if refined, nourishes the spirit, and if soft, nourishes the tendons.

Dou Cai, a famous medical scientist in the Song Dynasty, compared himself to the reincarnation of Bian Que and wrote a medical book called "Bian Que's Heart Book", in which the focus was on promoting yang. He believed that there were three methods to support yang since ancient times.

Burning moxa comes first, elixir comes second, and aconite comes third.

“If the Yang essence is strong, you will live a thousand years; if the Yin energy is too strong, you will be injured.” This means that if you want to protect your life and live longer, supporting Yang is the only way.

There is another story about the burning moxa method:

During the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a soldier named Wang Chao. After retiring, he became a bandit and committed all kinds of evil. When he was young, he met an enlightened person who taught him the "Yellow and White Living World Method". Wang Chao practiced according to this method, and was still energetic and had plump skin when he was over 90 years old... Later he committed a crime, was arrested and sentenced to death. Before the execution, the prison officer asked him:

You are so old, but still in such good health. Do you have any secret techniques for maintaining good health?

Wang Chao replied:

I don't have any secret techniques, but when I was young, my master taught me to use moxa sticks to apply moxibustion to the Guanyuan point in the lower abdomen for a thousand times at the turn of summer and autumn every year. Over time, I am no longer afraid of the cold in winter or the heat in summer. I don’t feel hungry even if I don’t eat for a few days. The area below my navel always feels warm as if there is a fire. Haven't you heard of it? Soil becomes bricks, wood becomes charcoal, and they last for thousands of years without decay. It’s all due to the power of fire.

After Wang Chao was executed, the executioner had his abdomen cut open and saw a piece of substance that was neither flesh nor bone, but as hard as stone. This was the result of long-term moxibustion with moxa.

It can be seen how powerful burning moxa is in strengthening the body's yang energy! Shennong's Herbal Classic records:

Mugwort has the effects of warming the yang, warming the uterus, removing dampness, and promoting tendons and blood circulation.

Moxibustion Guanyuan

Guanyuan point is the gathering point of the small intestine, where men store sperm and women store blood. It is the meeting point of the Taiyin spleen meridian of the foot, the Jueyin liver meridian of the foot, the Shaoyin kidney meridian of the foot and the Ren meridian, and therefore it governs diseases of the three yin meridians of the foot, small intestine and Ren meridian. It has the functions of nourishing the kidney and strengthening yang, warming and unblocking the meridians, regulating qi and blood, replenishing deficiency and replenishing loss, and strengthening the body's vitality. It has been used as an important acupoint for health care since ancient times.

The best time to apply moxibustion to Guanyuan is at the turn of summer and autumn, which is equivalent to late July to mid-September in Beijing. Moxibustion should be performed every other day, for 10 consecutive times per month. Except for special reasons, try not to moxibustion Guanyuan acupoint in winter and spring, because winter is the season for storage and spring is the season for growth. Too much moxibustion will instead lead to the loss of essence and energy.

When I first started studying medicine, my teacher had a patient who suffered from sexual dysfunction. The teacher did not prescribe him any medicine, but asked him to use moxa sticks to moxibustion the Guanyuan acupoint once a day, each time for 15 to 30 minutes. After a month, the patient recovered. Now he is nearly 70 years old, but he is still in good health and has no symptoms such as frequent urination and enlarged prostate.

Laogong Point + Guanyuan Point - Water and Fire in Harmony

Taoism also has a little secret method, which is to rub your hands to warm them before going to bed every night, point the Laogong point of your palms to the Guanyuan point, focus your mind here, and slowly fall asleep. Laogong is a major acupoint of the pericardium meridian, which belongs to the fire element. Guanyuan is a gathering point of the small intestine meridian, which also belongs to the fire element. The fire element of the heart meridian and the small intestine meridian is used to warm and nourish the yin element of the Ren meridian, achieving the effect of bringing water and fire into harmony.

Moxa stick Zusanli, Sanyinjiao

In addition to moxibustion on Guanyuan, you can also use moxa sticks to moxibustion on Zusanli and Sanyinjiao. Zusanli is the He point of the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming. It increases qi and blood, increases gastrointestinal motility, and strengthens the spleen and stomach. Fumigation once a week, 20 minutes each time.

Sanyinjiao is a gathering point where the three yin meridians of the liver, spleen and kidney meet. Moxibustion on this point has the meaning of drawing yang from yin and replenishing yin essence. Long-term moxibustion on this point has the effect of replenishing and consolidating the liver, spleen and kidney, can remove dampness, lower blood lipids, and can also be used to treat fatty liver; women's weak waist and knees, increased leucorrhea, and irregular menstruation can all be treated through this acupoint. If it is convenient, you can also ask someone to help you with moxibustion on the kidney point. This point can relieve fatigue, warm and nourish the kidney yang, and has the effect of strengthening the kidneys and yang.

【Medicine-Sulfur】

The main ingredients of elixirs are minerals, mainly lead, mercury and other metal and stone products. The elixir mentioned in "Bian Que's Heart Book" is called Tai Shang Jin Ye Dan, which is mainly composed of sulfur and can strengthen yang and eliminate dampness. Zhang Xichun, a great medical figure in the Republic of China era, was influenced by the Taoist doctors. In his book "Medical Records of Combining Chinese and Western Medicine", he advocated taking raw sulfur to restore yang. He believed that raw sulfur was better than ginseng in restoring yang and could revive the dying yang. However, sulfur now contains a lot of impurities and needs to be refined before it can be used. The refining of elixirs must be guided by a master. The process is complicated and difficult to operate. It is only used by a very small number of doctors who are proficient in elixir medicine.

【aconite】

Aconite is a yang-restoring medicine that is widely used in modern Chinese medicine. From ancient times to the present, there are many famous doctors who have used aconite. For example, Zhang Zhongjing of the Eastern Han Dynasty created many decoctions with aconite as the main ingredient in his "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases". Prescriptions such as Fuzi Lizhong Decoction, Guifu Dihuang Pills, and Sini Decoction are all composed mainly of aconite. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, medical practitioners led by the famous Sichuan doctor Zheng Qinan founded a school of medicine with the guiding ideology of restoring yang and supporting yang. This is the famous Fire God School.

When I was visiting Sichuan, there was a teacher who was a disciple of Bu Xiaolan, a famous doctor in Chongqing. According to him, Mr. Bu Xiaolan was a master of Dandao medicine who was good at using aconite to treat diseases. When Mr. Bu was practicing medicine in Chongqing, he would cook two large pots of decoction with aconite as the main ingredient every day to treat diseases. All patients with yang deficiency would be diagnosed through simple observation, auscultation, questioning and palpation. No matter what disease they had, as long as they took the decoction, the clinical effect would be very good.

There is now a famous dish in Yunnan and Sichuan called dog meat stewed with aconite, which is used as a delicacy to entertain distinguished guests in winter. But not everyone can enjoy this delicacy. Before eating, you should check yourself first. People with dry mouth, red tongue, or heat in the body should not eat, otherwise they will easily get a sore throat. Because aconite and dog meat are both very hot in nature. People with symptoms of yang deficiency will feel very comfortable and warm all over after eating a meal of dog meat stewed with aconite, just like being drunk with good wine. It can both cure diseases and maintain health. The most commonly used Chinese patent medicine for aconite in daily life is Fuzi Lizhong Pills. It is suitable for people with insufficient spleen yang such as cold hands and feet, cold limbs, diarrhea and chills.

[Use it in a proper way - Doctor Wu said so]

Moxibustion is a magical therapy with a wide range of applications. It was the main means of treating diseases in ancient China. It has the effects of warming yang and replenishing qi, warming the meridians and dredge collaterals, eliminating blood stasis and dispersing nodules, and replenishing the middle and benefiting qi. It is especially effective for mastitis, prostatitis, periarthritis of the shoulder, pelvic inflammatory disease, cervical spondylosis, diabetes, etc.

Using moxibustion to prevent diseases and prolong life has a history of thousands of years in my country. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine says, "If there is a strong wind and the patient sweats, moxibustion should be applied to the Xi acupoints." This is referring to a type of moxibustion method for health care. "Zhuangzi" records that the sage Confucius "moxibustioned himself even when he was not ill", which also refers to the use of moxibustion for health care. The anti-cancer research on moxibustion conducted by Japanese researcher Sudo Saku and others also showed that moxibustion can activate the potential anti-cancer effects in skin tissue and play a role in treating and fighting cancer.