Sun Simiao's Health Preservation - Emphasizing physical care to Strengthen the body

The so-called "nourishing the body" refers to the way of self-cultivation. The physical form belongs to Yang and is the external manifestation of essence. "Xing" refers to the body shape, thus it is the carrier of qi. Sun Simiao realized from his own practice that maintaining good physical condition is an important aspect of longevity and health preservation. He said, "Even if one constantly takes bait without knowing the art of nurturing one's nature, it is still difficult to achieve immortality." The key to maintaining good health lies in "always craving for a small amount of hair, but never overexerting oneself or forcing oneself to do what one cannot." This means that it is important to keep the body moderately active, because "running water does not go bad and a door hinge does not get worm-eaten". Exercise can promote the circulation of qi and blood and harmonize the meridians. But it is essential to avoid overwork and refrain from forcing oneself to do things beyond one's capacity. Otherwise, it will damage the body and be harmful to health. For instance, "Listening for too long harms the mind, looking for too long harms the blood, lying down for too long harms the qi, standing for too long harms the bones, sitting for too long harms the flesh, and walking for too long harms the tendons." Therefore, one should avoid "walking, standing, lying down, looking or listening for a long time." Nourishing the body is the same as governing the body, and governing the body is just like governing a country. To govern a country, one must act within its capacity and must not deplete its national strength. Self-cultivation also requires the ability to conserve energy. Whether a person's ability is innate instinct or acquired skills, there is always a certain limit to it. Once a person has the ability, they cannot be left unused; otherwise, they will become useless and retreat. But it should not be overused either, as overuse is detrimental to health. In this world, there are always more people who exert themselves beyond their means. Sun pointed out that overusing one's strength without considering health preservation is just like using an ice plate to hold soup or wrapping fire in a feather towel, which is very harmful to the body. For instance: One's talent is far from achievable but one insists on pursuing overly high goals. Struggling to lift weights when one's strength is insufficient; Endless worry, unending rage, unrestrained sorrow, excessive joy; Anxious and worried about gains and losses; Long periods of chatting and laughing or loud cheering and crying; Irregular daily routine, doing as one pleases, sleeping too little or too much. Pulling a bow or pulling a crossbow or running and jumping too hard to the point of being out of breath; Vomiting after drinking alcohol or lying down immediately after a full meal; Men and women do not interact for a long time or have too many rooms. ... All the above-mentioned items are done by ordinary people and are all harmful to the body, which is a major taboo in health preservation. Therefore, Sun pointed out: "Do not desire to work too hard, do not desire to be too relaxed, do not desire to sweat, do not desire to spit too much, do not desire to travel on carriages and horses, do not desire to look far into the distance,..." I do not wish to have lofty aspirations, nor to create extraordinary ingenuity. I do not desire extreme heat in winter, nor extreme coolness in summer. I do not wish to lie under the stars and the moon in the dew, nor do I wish to use a fan in sleep. I do not wish to brave extreme cold, extreme heat, strong wind or thick fog. All of these are based on experience and are important methods of health preservation. They should not be ignored just because they are trivial. As the saying goes, "Eliminate diseases that have not yet arisen, treat diseases that have not yet occurred, and treat diseases before they occur, not after they have already passed away." As for sleep, there are particular considerations. The direction of the head when sleeping should be adjusted at any time. In spring and summer, it is advisable to lie east; in autumn and winter, it is better to lie west. It is not advisable to lie north, and the bed should not be placed against the north side of the wall. When sleeping, it is advisable to develop the habit of keeping your mouth closed. Sleeping with your mouth open can easily damage your vital energy and body fluids, leading to excessive thirst over time, and it is also easy for external pathogenic factors to enter through your mouth. The best sleeping position is to lie on your side with your knees bent, which is more conducive to restoring physical strength than lying on your back or stomach. As the saying goes, "Sleep without tiring 踧, sleep without tiring comfort." That is to say, it is advisable to curl up and bend your body during sleep. When waking up, it is advisable to stretch your body. When sleeping, one should "lie down the heart first and then the eyes", that is, one should first lie down quietly and then close the eyes to fall asleep. It is also pointed out that a person's sleep throughout the night "should be regarded as a five-degree repetition" and "constantly change positions". The "five-degree repetition" means that a person's complete sleep has five sleep cycles, and "constantly change positions" means that a person needs to constantly change positions during sleep. Modern medical research on human sleep has fully confirmed this point. The requirements for sleep proposed by Sun are very reasonable. It is evident that these methods are indeed a summary of Sun Simiao's own experience in health preservation.