Yang Sheng 養生: Nourishing Life: Chinese Medical Wisdom for the Preservation of Life

Yang Sheng 養生: Nourishing Life: Chinese Medical Wisdom for the Preservation of Life:

One of the main goals of Chinese medicine is to help preserve wellness and promote longevity. Within the Taoist tradition, Yang Sheng practices can be an important tool in preserving one’s mind and body into old age, essentially buying time to complete spiritual cultivation practices. While notable figures such as Zhuangzi have criticized the desire for longevity, nonetheless it has deep roots in Chinese culture. A wide variety of useful techniques have been preserved through various traditions that can be utilized both to help preserve our own health and that of our patients.

In this series, Jeffrey Yuen will be discussing Yang Sheng: providing both theory and practical instruction in a variety of practices historically used to maintain and extend life. 

On Day 1 Jeffrey will give an overview of the practices of Yang Sheng (養生) and discuss the how we can harmonize our internal and external environments.  

On Day 2 Jeffrey will teach selected Qigong techniques for the practice of Yang Sheng including bone marrow washing for preserving bone density and preventing osteoporosis, Sinew Changing exercises to strengthen the tendons and breathing and daoyin techniques used to preserve the body and help prevent dementia. 

On Day 3 Jeffrey will discuss techniques historically used for preservation and maintenance of jing through sexual cultivation, including a discussion of ancient medical manuscripts discovered in the Mawangdui (馬王堆) texts from 169 BCE.

On Day 4 Jeffrey will discuss the use of diet and herbal medicine within the context of yang sheng. For diet, Jeffrey will provide an overview and context of dietary suggestions including a discussion of grain restriction, fasting and so forth. He will also provide examples of various dietary recipes used for promoting longevity. For herbal medicine, Jeffrey will discuss the use of upper-grade herbs from Shen Nong’s Ben Cao and instructions on how they can be incorporated into medicinal wines.