To solidify the implementation of the “Health Shanghai Action (2022-2024)” activities related to “Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Guidance for Health,” under the guidance of the Shanghai Health Promotion Committee Office, the Shanghai Institute of Inheritance and Guidance Medicine is conducting public welfare activities combining online video teaching with offline health dissemination aimed at youth students, young and middle-aged professionals, and elderly groups.
The methods taught are derived from the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage “TCM Diagnosis and Treatment Method – Ancient Version of Yi Jin Jing Twelve Movements Guidance Method” and the sixth batch of Shanghai intangible cultural heritage “TCM Guidance Method – Seated Ba Duan Jin Guidance Method” and other classics of TCM guidance.
During the event, knowledge and skills will be disseminated in various streets and towns in Shanghai, allowing professional health knowledge and skills to be accessible in the community. Through online teaching, offline dissemination, health education, and intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, participating residents will achieve a unity of knowledge, belief, and action, helping the streets and towns to realize a sustainable and promotable self-health management model. This initiative aims to encourage more citizens to participate in the project and develop healthy lifestyles.
This issue first introduces health guidance methods for young and middle-aged professionals.Applicable for:
Revitalizing in the MorningStrengthening the Spleen and Stomach Before MealsRefreshing the Mind During BreaksRelaxing the Body and Mind Before Sleep
This method is not limited by the location and time of practice, making full use of fragmented time in work and life to eliminate physical and mental fatigue in a timely manner and enhance immunity.
【Morning Guidance · Revitalizing】Morning guidance method, derived from the national intangible cultural heritage “Ancient Version of Yi Jin Jing Twelve Movements Guidance Method” preparatory movement, is used tounblock the Ren and Du meridians.Why do guidance in the morning?After getting up in the morning, people often feel stiffness in their muscles and joints, and mental fatigue. If not adjusted in time, it will affect the quality of work and life throughout the day.The morning guidance method, also known as the warm-up guidance method, involves three repetitions of guidance to stretch the muscles and joints, promote the circulation of Qi and blood throughout the body, reaching the extremities (fingers and toes), serving to warm up and invigorate the blood, making it most suitable for morning warm-up.It is recommended to practice in a fresh air environment, which helps to exhale turbid air and inhale fresh air, enhancing brain oxygen supply and dispelling fatigue.Daily morning guidance three times, taking no more than 3 minutes, helps to stretch muscles, awaken the brain, expel turbid air, and cultivate righteous Qi.【Pre-meal Guidance · Strengthening the Spleen and Stomach】 Pre-meal guidance method, derived from the national intangible cultural heritage “Ancient Version of Yi Jin Jing Twelve Movements Guidance Method” closing movement, is used to unblock the Spleen Meridian (Foot Taiyin). This guidance can be performed before and after meals. When it’s mealtime and there is no appetite, this guidance can help awaken the spleen and nourish the stomach; if eating too quickly or too much, this guidance can enhance the function of the spleen and stomach. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes: the spleen and stomach are the foundation of postnatal health and need to be well cared for. Note: It is normal to experience belching, bowel sounds, or flatulence during the practice of this movement.【Break Time Guidance · Refreshing the Mind and Eyes】The break time guidance method is based on the “Sixteen Recommendations for Health” recorded by the Ming Dynasty medical scholar Leng Qian, with four additional movements added based on modern work habits, forming the “Twenty Recommendations for Guidance and Health.”Young and middle-aged professionals often face screens for long periods, straining their minds and spirits, with the most affected being the brain and eyes. Common issues include dry eyes and drowsiness during work, and even young individuals may suffer from hair loss.Hair care guidance method involves using fingertips instead of a wooden comb, promoting relaxation of the brain nerves and enhancing blood supply to the brain through upward and downward meridian guidance, which also helps nourish hair roots over time.Eye care guidance method involves closing the eyes to rest and moving the eyes to moisten them, effectively alleviating visual fatigue and preventing dry eyes.These two methods are not limited by location or time; practice them whenever fatigue is felt to eliminate physical and mental exhaustion and effectively avoid the accumulation of fatigue leading to illness.【Pre-sleep Guidance · Relaxing the Body and Mind】
This movement is derived from the Shanghai intangible cultural heritage project “Seated Ba Duan Jin Guidance Method” with crossed hands and low head reaching for the feet.
Many people are troubled by poor sleep; if one desires a good night’s sleep and abundant energy during the day, preparation before sleep is particularly important.
Through this guidance, it helps to relax major joints such as shoulders, elbows, wrists, neck, waist, back, knees, and ankles, adjust breathing, and soothe the body and mind, benefiting sleep.
【Further Reading】
Traditional Chinese Medicine has six major technical systems: acupuncture, moxibustion, scraping, herbal medicine, and massage as external supportive methods, and guidance as an internal self-regulating method. Guidance harmonizes with other methods, mobilizing one’s righteous Qi for maximum effect. It has significant effects in the rehabilitation of chronic diseases, combating the COVID-19 pandemic, and enhancing immunity.The Ancient Version of Yi Jin Jing Twelve Movements Guidance Method is the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects.Through stretching muscles and bones, exhaling the old and inhaling the new, and maintaining balance, it helps to strengthen muscles and bones, consolidate essence and Qi, nourish the organs, and cultivate the heart and nature.Over the past decade, under the leadership of representative inheritors Yan Weibing and Yan Shiqing, activities have been carried out to bring intangible cultural heritage into communities, schools, villages, and buildings, with a total of over 800,000 participants in health dissemination. In 2020, it was awarded the “Demonstration Case of Healthy Shanghai Construction in the New Era.”
Seated Ba Duan Jin is a complete set of TCM guidance methods, regulating the head, abdomen, thighs, feet, ears, eyes, hands, and mouth, benefiting joints, regulating Qi and blood, balancing Yin and Yang, and calming the mind. It is called “Seated Ba Duan Jin” because it is presented in a seated posture.The “Essentials” of the “Seated Ba Duan Jin Guidance Method” were early seen in the Yuan Dynasty’s “Ten Books on Cultivating Reality.” In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Quan compiled the “Heart Method for Living” which included the “Seated Ba Duan Jin Guidance Method Diagram,” combining guidance diagrams and essentials, greatly influencing later generations. Historically, the inheritors were mostly medical practitioners and scholars, hence it is also known as “Literary Ba Duan.”In 2019, the “Seated Ba Duan Jin Guidance Method” was included in the sixth batch of Shanghai intangible cultural heritage representative project list. Its eight movements occupy little space, take little time, and have low intensity, yet they effectively stretch muscles and regulate Qi, timely eliminating physical and mental fatigue, making it very suitable for various groups in today’s fast-paced work and life.For many years, representative inheritors Yan Weibing and Yan Shiqing have widely disseminated the “Seated Ba Duan Jin Guidance Method” through public welfare activities, helping the public enhance immunity and avoid health risks. They have also collaborated with the Oncology Department of Longhua Hospital affiliated with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, combining the “Seated Ba Duan Jin Guidance Method” with “Chinese Medicine for Supporting Treatment of Cancer,” jointly proposing the treatment principle of “Synchronizing Body and Spirit, Advancing with Medicine and Therapy,” allowing lung cancer patients to actively participate in their treatment and rehabilitation, achieving positive results.