Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
With the Beginning of Autumn (Liqiu), the sky is already high and the air crisp, and one should begin to “go to bed early and rise early, getting up with the rooster.”
Going to bed early accords with the gathering in of yang qi; rising early lets the lung qi stretch out and guards against gathering in too much. To nurture health in accordance with the four seasons, one must know the natural law of birth in spring, growth in summer, gathering in autumn, and storage in winter. To prolong life, one must accord with this law and follow it.
All change in the natural world is a gradual process. The Beginning of Autumn is the solar term of transition when the climate turns from hot to cool; it is also the period when yang qi gradually withdraws and yin qi gradually grows, shifting step by step from abundant yang to abundant yin. It is the season when all things ripen and are harvested, and also the transitional period in which the yin-yang metabolism of the body shows yang waning and yin growing. Therefore, in autumn wellness, everything—the mind and emotions, diet and daily routine, exercise and training—takes nurturing gathering-in as its basic principle.
1. Care of the Mind
Keep the heart tranquil, the spirit at peace, and the mood easy. Above all avoid grief, worry, and melancholy; even when something sad happens, take the initiative to let it go, so as to avoid the austere, killing qi of autumn. At the same time, gather in the spirit and qi to adapt to the settled, even qi of autumn.
2. Care in Daily Routine
After the Beginning of Autumn, one should begin to “go to bed early and rise early, getting up with the rooster.” Going to bed early accords with the gathering in of yang qi; rising early lets the lung qi stretch out and guards against gathering in too much.
The Beginning of Autumn is early autumn: the summer heat has not yet gone, and although cool winds come at times, the weather is changeable. Even in the same area there can be “four seasons in one day, a different sky every ten li.” So one should not wear too many clothes, or the body's ability to adapt to the cooling weather will suffer and one will easily catch a chill or cold.
“Autumn cold” must not be understood simply as “not putting on clothes when it is cold.” In early autumn the summer heat has not yet gone and cool winds come at times; when the weather suddenly turns cold, it is necessary to add clothing appropriately, or instead of preventing illness one will invite trouble and disease. “Adding clothing appropriately” should leave you feeling slightly cool but not cold, rather than bundled up warm and snug. Another meaning of “autumn cold” is that in late autumn one can put off adding clothes for a while, but only as far as one can bear. Of course, “autumn cold” also varies from person to person. Health experts say that the elderly and children have weak resistance and should take care to keep warm once deep autumn arrives. Health experts also say that “autumn cold” is not limited to not rushing to add clothes before it is really cold; it can be extended into a general principle of autumn wellness. For example, do not cover yourself too heavily when sleeping, to avoid sweating and depleting the fluids. Cold-water bathing in particular accords with the wellness principle of “autumn cold” and can be kept up over the long term.
3. Care in Diet
The chapter “On the Qi of the Organs Following the Seasons” in the Plain Questions (Suwen) says: “The lungs govern autumn… The lungs gather in; quickly eat sour food to gather them in; use sour to tonify them and pungent to drain them.” Thus the sour flavor gathers in the lung qi and the pungent flavor disperses and drains the lungs. Autumn calls for gathering in, not dispersing, so eat as little as possible of pungent things such as scallion and ginger, and eat somewhat more sour fruits and vegetables.
In autumn, lung-metal is in command, and when lung-metal is too strong it overcomes liver-wood; hence the Essentials from the Golden Cabinet (Jingui Yaolüe) also says, “Do not eat lung in autumn.” In autumn the dry qi is in command and easily damages the fluids, so the diet should nourish yin and moisten the lungs. The Essentials of Food and Drink (Yinshan Zhengyao) says: “Autumn qi is dry; one should eat sesame to moisten its dryness, and cold drinks are forbidden.” Some even advocate eating rehmannia congee on entering autumn to nourish yin and moisten dryness. In short, in the autumn season one can eat soft, moistening foods such as sesame, glutinous rice, short-grain rice, honey, loquats, pineapple, and dairy products to benefit the stomach and generate fluids.
4. Care Through Exercise
Autumn is an excellent time for all kinds of exercise and training, and everyone can choose a different form of exercise according to their own circumstances. Here is an autumn wellness exercise, the “autumn breathing exercises for health” recorded in the Jade Axle Scripture (Yuzhou Jing) of the Taoist Canon (Daozang). The method: in the early morning, after washing, sit indoors in quiet seated meditation with the eyes closed. First tap the teeth 36 times, then stir the tongue around the mouth. When the mouth is full of saliva, rinse it round several times and swallow it in three gulps, sending it with the mind down to the elixir field (dantian). Pause for a moment, then slowly breathe deeply with the abdomen. When breathing in, touch the tongue to the upper palate, inhale through the nose, and send the breath with the mind to the dantian. Then breathe out slowly through the mouth; while breathing out, silently intone the syllable “si” without making a sound. Repeat this 30 times. Keeping up this exercise in autumn protects the lungs and strengthens the body.
5. In Autumn Wellness, Keep the Head Cool and the Feet Warm
The head is the meeting place of all the yang. A moderate amount of cold stimulates the blood vessels and nerves of the head, helps keep the brain clear, and to some extent benefits health. If the head is kept too warm, it is not only bad for health but can even cause illness. In addition, cold starts from the feet: because the feet touch the ground and are farthest from the heart, heat reaches them slowly; they are where yin qi gathers and are most easily invaded by the cold pathogen. So keeping the feet warm is just as important. Regularly soaking the feet in hot water is very effective.
The above is only some general knowledge of autumn health care. Each person's individual circumstances are different, and no single method can achieve all-round health and wellness.