Body constitution in traditional herbal medicine refers to the comprehensive and relatively stable inherent characteristics of the human body in terms of morphological structure, physiological function and psychological state formed on the basis of innate endowment and acquired characteristics during the life process of the human body.

It is the human personality characteristics formed during the growth and development process of human beings that are adapted to the natural and social environment.

Thus if we know our body constitution now, we may make proper maintenance to our body to achieve perfect health. We may even repair our body if the damage is still relatively small.

Thus let us find out what our body constitution is, and how we may start a maintenance program to achieve perfect health. Then we will be far away from the doctor, medication, surgery, and hospital. Furthermore, we will be able to live actively and independently without nursing care at old age.

01 Uses of the classification

We will start with the identification of our body constitution. Then we will go into the maintenance guidance plan aimed at the prevention, treatment, and health management of illnesses related to the body constitution thus identified.

The plan embodies the idea of “treating the illness before it is too late” prevalent in traditional herbal medicine thinking. The guidance plan is a proven effective way to “treat the illness before it is too late.”

Methods and important approaches are conducive to the implementation of individualized diagnosis and treatment, conducive to improving the health quality of the person, and play an important role in the prevention and treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases.

02 The classification types

The body constitution identification and maintenance guidance specifically refers to determining the physical attributes of an individual through body constitution identification, and then aiming at a completely balanced constitution as the objective of health preservation.

Thus, as practitioners of life cultivation, if we practice daily on body identification and maintenance according to the guidance, then we will be able to routinely perform maintenance of health on ourselves, adjusting our body constitution to its ideal norm through routine maintenance techniques.

In the year 2009, the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine released the “Classification and Determination of Traditional Chinese Medicine Constitution” and formulated the “Classification and Determination Table of Traditional Chinese Medicine Constitution”, which provides methods, tools and evaluation systems for the quantitative identification of traditional Chinese medicine constitution.

The body constitution is divided into nine basic types.
Type A, balanced constitution
Type B, qi-deficiency constitution
Type C, yang-deficiency constitution
Type D, yin-deficiency constitution
Type E, phlegm-dampness constitution
Type F, damp-heat constitution
Type G, blood-stasis constitution
Type H, qi-stagnation constitution
Type I, special constitution

Each body constitution has its own unique characteristics which we will explore later.

The judgment standard determines the balanced body constitution as the normal constitution and the other eight constitutions as deviations from the norm. The judgment results are then quantitatively graded.

The balanced constitution is divided into three levels: yes, basically yes and no. Thus, we may say that yes, we definitely have a balanced constitution, or, yes, we basically have a balanced constitution, or, no, we do not have a balanced constitution.

If we do not have a balanced constitution, then we have one of the constitutions that are deviations from the balanced constitution.

Likewise, the deviated constitution is divided into three levels: yes, inclinationally yes and no. Thus, we may say that, yes, we have a type B constitution, or, yes, we inclinationally have a type B constitution, or, no, we do not have a type B constitution.

Relevant maintenance guidance programs have been formulated according to various body constitutions. Thus, once we have determined which type of body constitution we have, we will be able to do regular maintenance to our constitution to return it back to the balanced one.

Maintenance guidance for a Type G blood-stasis body constitution

As practitioners of life cultivation, we only focus on our own body constitution, and learn how to adjust our body so that it will become a balanced body constitution resulting in a healthy and happy state.

First of all, we try to determine what type of body constitution we have, then we will follow a maintenance guidance plan to do the necessary adjustment so that we will have a balanced body constitution. The guidance plan is proposed by a Board of Professional Herbal Medicine Practitioners.

If we have a type G blood-stasis body constitution, this is the guidance plan for it.

If we have a type G body constitution, it means that we have irregular blood circulation. What does it mean and what do we do about it?

01 Overview

01 Definition

It refers to a physical state that has the potential tendency of poor blood circulation or the pathological basis of internal obstruction of blood stasis, and shows a series of external signs.

02 Causes

It is due to (1) innate endowment, (2) acquired damage, (3) depression, (4) qi stagnation, or (5) long-term disease entering the collaterals.

03 Visible physical characteristics

Overall characteristics: poor blood flow, with blood stasis manifestations such as dull skin color and purplish tongue texture as the main characteristics.

Physical characteristics: both fat and thin are common.

Common manifestations: dark skin color, hyperpigmentation, prone to ecchymosis, dark lips, dark tongue or petechiae, dark purple or thickened sublingual veins, and astringent pulse.

Psychological characteristics: easily annoyed and forgetful.

Incidence tendency: Susceptible to mass syndrome, pain syndrome, blood syndrome, etc.

Adaptability to the external environment: Intolerance to coldness.

02 Guidance plan

The general guidance plan is offered by a Board of Professional Herbal Medicine Practitioners for the general public. Each individual is advised to seek professional help at the beginning to make sure he is following the right plan the right way.

01 Basic principles

The basic principles are (1) perform strengthening exercise, (2) eat pungent and warm foods, and (3) take medicines to activate blood circulation.

01 Perform strengthening exercise

“Blood is the mother of qi, and qi is the commander of blood.”

When qi moves, blood moves.

“When qi and blood are harmonious, all diseases will not occur.”

Exercise can promote the circulation of qi and blood. Therefore, those with blood stasis should exercise more.

02 Food should be pungent and warm

With a blood-stasis body constitution, we should eat foods that are warm in natural properties and pungent in taste. Pungent foods will dissipate stasis, and warmness will help blood flow. Thus pungent and warm foods have the effects of dispersing stagnation, activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis.

When the blood is warm, it will flow, and when it is cold, it will coagulate.

“Those with blood qi like to be warm but abhor cold. If cold, they will be astringent and unable to flow, and if warm, they will disappear.”—–Huangdi Neijing, Su Wen Tiao Meng Lun

Therefore, blood stasis will disappear with the consumption of pungent and warm foods.

03 Take medicines to activate blood circulation

With a type G blood-stasis body constitution, the professional practitioners use medicine to eliminate the stasis from the bloodstream.

“If it is hard, chip it away. If it is knotted, loosen it. “

If the blood stasis is hard, medicine is used to chip it away. If the blood stasis is knotted, medicine is used to loosen it.

Thus, activating blood circulation means smoothing the blood flow, and removing the blood stasis means removing the stagnation.

02 Living environment

As practitioners of life cultivation, we pay great attention to our living environment, especially the seasonal changes.

Go to bed early and get up early in spring. Go to bed late and get up early and take a nap appropriately in summer. Go to bed early and get up early in autumn, and go to bed early and get up late in winter.

The living room should be warm but not cool, the environment should be spacious and bright, and the decoration should be bright.

Dress loosely. Go outdoors more often, stretch our body and relax our mind.

Sleeping and lying in accordance with the four seasons: health care should be adjusted according to the changes of yin and yang in the four seasons. Follow the laws of nature to obtain nourishment from heaven and earth.

The biological clock in the human body is consistent with the day and night laws of nature. Arranging work and rest in accordance with the laws of nature is beneficial to the health of the body.

The four seasons are characterized by warm spring, hot summer, cool autumn, and cold winter. Organisms also have corresponding changes in spring sprout, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage.

The work and rest time of the four seasons should be different according to the relationship between yin and yang in the seasons.

“Nourish yang in spring and summer” means that we should go to bed early and get up early in spring, and go to bed late and get up early in summer. Because the days are long and the nights are short in summer, we should take an appropriate nap.

“Nourish yin in autumn and winter” means that we should go to bed early and get up early in autumn, and to go to bed early and get up late in winter.

If the blood is warm, it will flow. If it is cold, it will coagulate.

With a blood-stasis body constitution, we should not be too comfortable to avoid stagnation of qi and aggravating the degree of blood stasis. Therefore, the home, environment, and decoration should be warm and bright, and the clothing, body shape, and mood should be loose and relaxed.

03 Mustang shenzhan technique for body movement

With a blood-stasis body constitution, we should participate in strengthening outdoor sports limited by our personal physical strength. However, the intensity should be moderate. If the intensity is too high, it may consume qi and damage the body, which is not good for blood circulation, further aggravating the blood-stasis condition. If the intensity is too low, the qi machinery is not open, which does no good to the blood-stasis condition.

Therefore, we may participate in sports such as walking, mountain climbing, table-tennis, badminton, and ballroom dancing to activate all parts of the body.

We may also choose from the repertoire in the Mustang shenzhan technique such as taiji.

When exercising, it is best to choose a place with a wide field of vision, a large space with fresh air. We try to avoid doing it in a closed environment. A small and closed environment can easily make us feel depressed and depression is not conducive to blood circulation.

When we practice the air blowing technique, we should practice the Sh sound. Practicing the Sh sound will help to calm the liver qi, regulate qi, and smooth blood flow.

Although people with blood stasis should increase outdoor exercise, the intensity must be moderate. Because most people with blood stasis have weak cardiovascular functions, they should not do high-intensity, heavy-load sports. Instead, they should practice with small-load and do it multiple times.

If chest tightness, nausea, dizziness occur during practice, stop right away. If the symptoms persist, seek medical help promptly.

04 Mustang jingzuo technique for mental tranquility

With a blood-stasis body constitution, we should cultivate an optimistic mood. It is best for us to watch comedies, farces, and inspirational movies, but not tragedies.

On rainy days we tend to be sad, so we should try to control our mood. We should chat with friends, develop new hobbies, and vent bad emotions in a timely manner.

We tend to have mental tension and pressure, and often manifest ourselves as upset, irritable, forgetful, depressed, and suspicious. It is very important for us to do our mental adjustment right.

Communicating frequently with friends and cultivating new hobbies, such as collecting stamps, photography, painting, planting flowers, fishing, etc. are all good ways to cultivate our temperament.

If we vent our bad emotions in time, the qi in the body is less likely to become stagnant, leading to smooth circulation of qi and blood.

People with hobbies and wide-ranging interests rarely have a blood-stasis constitution. On the contrary, if we fall into depression for a long time and are unable to extricate ourselves, it may aggravate the tendency of blood stasis.

05 Mustang dietary technique for nutrients

With a blood-stasis body constitution, it is advisable to eat hawthorn, kumquats, safflowers, pangasius seedlings, black beans, etc.

We should avoid eating sour and astringent foods such as black plums, bitter melon, persimmons, plums, and pomegranates.

We should eat less egg yolks, crab roe, pork, cheese, etc.

We may drink wine, rice wine, etc. in moderation.

We should follow a low oil and salt diet.

For medicinal foods, we may consume (1) hawthorn soup, or (2) angelica and tianqi black-bone chicken soup.

Foods such as hawthorn, kumquats, safflowers, tianqi seedlings, black beans, etc. all have the functions of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, dispersing stagnation and promoting qi, soothing the liver and relieving stagnation.

Sour and astringent foods such as black plums, bitter gourds, persimmons, plums, and pomegranates can hinder the blood circulation, so they should not be eaten.

Egg yolks, crab roe, pork, cheese and other foods are greasy and can easily cause qi and blood stasis, so they should be eaten less.

Wine and rice wine have the effect of warming the meridians, activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and can be consumed in moderation.

Recommended medicinal foods

01 Hawthorn soup

Prepare with 20 grams of raw hawthorn (with the core removed and the fruit smashed) for about 20 minutes. Add brown sugar.

02 Angelica and tianqi black-bone chicken soup

Prepare with 250 grams of black-bone chicken, 15 grams of angelica, 10 grams of tianqi, and 5 slices of ginger.

06 Medication technique

The information of this part of the guidance plan is intentionally left blank for general public reading. Those who want to read it may request the information by email.

07 Mustang jingzuo technique using music

With a blood-stasis body constitution, we should choose high-pitched, uplifting music to cultivate a cheerful and open-minded character.

Once our spirit flows smoothly, our emotions can be organized, the qi and blood can be harmonious, the yin and yang can be balanced, and all diseases can be prevented.

08 Mustang tuina technique for smooth flow of qi and blood

With a blood-stasis body constitution, we may apply massage technique to (1) tanzhong acupoint, (2) xuehai acupoint, (3) taichong acupoint, (4) sanyinjiao acupoint, (5) weizhong acupoint, (6) quze acupoint, or (7) other acupoints.

We may also apply the cupping technique to (1) geshu acupoint, or (2) ganshu acupoint.

We may also apply the scraping technique on the du meridian or the bladder meridian.

01 Tanzhong acupoint

One of the main acupoints on the ren meridian. It has the effect of recruiting qi and blood from the pericardial meridian, and can treat chest pain, heart palpitations, upset, etc.

02 Taichong acupoint

It is one of the important acupoints on the liver meridian. It seals the point along the liver meridian. It has the effects of calming the liver and releasing heat, soothing the liver and nourishing blood. It can treat headaches, chest numbness, chest and hypochondriac distension and pain.

03 A brief summary

Check what type of body constitution you have. If you have a type G blood-stasis body constitution, the first thing you want to do is to eat what is good for you. You have to eat in any event, so you might as well eat what will adjust your body constitution back to normal.

Take the afore-mentioned medicinal foods. They are very effective, especially for women who suffer from blood-stasis.

All in all, once you follow the guidance plan here, you will adjust your body constitution from type G back to type A, the balanced type.

In our next article, we will focus on Type H qi-stagnant body constitution, on its classification and maintenance. Stay tuned.

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