Caring for Physical and Mental Health to Safeguard a Beautiful Life
In order to further care for the physical and mental health of female employees, enhance their sense of happiness, and showcase a healthy and high-spirited [1] mental outlook, the Trade Union and the Women’s Working Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies (CASS) held the fourth "Female Professional Image Enhancement Salon" on October 26, 2023, under the leadership and strong support of the Institute’s Party Committee. Dr. Shen Yiqun, a Deputy Chief Physician from the Beijing Dongsi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), was specially invited to deliver a TCM lecture titled "Caring for Physical and Mental Health, Navigating a Beautiful Life." He provided on-site guidance on the TCM prevention and treatment of common occupational diseases for the "sedentary workforce," sub-health [2] conditioning, and skin health management. He also taught exercises suitable for the daily training of the "sedentary workforce," with the aim of cultivating and enhancing the healthy and beautiful professional image of the Institute’s female staff. The event was presided over by Pan Xihua, Director of the Women’s Working Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies, and was attended by members of the Committee and more than 20 staff members.
First, Pan Xihua introduced the preparations made by the Trade Union and the Women’s Working Committee for this salon. To better care for the work and lives of female staff, the Trade Union and the Women’s Working Committee have successfully held three consecutive sessions of the "Female Professional Image Enhancement Salon" since September 2020. These sessions have helped female staff improve their professional image—from the outside in—by enhancing skills in workplace makeup, clothing coordination, and physical posture management, receiving wide acclaim and positive feedback. Given the varying degrees of symptoms in the neck, shoulders, and waist currently prevalent among the "sedentary" female staff of the Institute, the Trade Union and the Women’s Working Committee specially invited Dr. Shen to teach TCM knowledge on the prevention and treatment of common sedentary illnesses. As a treasure of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, TCM culture is characterized by features such as "treating the disease before it arises" [3], "seeking the root in treatment," and "treatment based on syndrome differentiation" [4]. It is hoped that this activity will help everyone understand TCM knowledge regarding the prevention and treatment of common occupational diseases for the sedentary, starting with simple and easy-to-learn movements to alleviate pain in the neck, shoulders, and waist, escape the troubles of a sub-health state, and conduct work, study, and life with high quality, becoming more confident and beautiful on a foundation of health.
Subsequently, Dr. Shen combined his years of medical experience and solid theoretical foundation to introduce TCM prevention and treatment for common occupational diseases of the "sedentary workforce," and personally taught several simple and feasible movements to assist in the regulation of physical and mental health.
First, he introduced TCM knowledge regarding the conditioning and treatment of sub-health. Shen Yiqun pointed out that the sub-health state is actually an intermediate state between health and illness, where the body is in an imbalanced state of structural degeneration and diminished physiological function. The causes of sub-health are primarily high life pressure, irregular diet, and insufficient sleep. The TCM approach to sub-health conditioning is mainly through the method of "treatment based on syndrome differentiation," employing comprehensive intervention measures including pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods such as acupuncture, massage (tuina), cupping, medicinal baths, medicinal diets, medicinal wine, dietary therapy, qigong, daoyin [5], and psychological cultivation. By combining internal and external treatments, TCM seeks to prevent the onset of sub-health and its transformation into disease. The daily prevention and conditioning of sub-health involve reaching the goal of staying away from sub-health through a healthy diet, persistent exercise, ending the practice of staying up late, controlling stress, reducing alcohol consumption, quitting smoking, and strengthening physical training.
Second, he explained the TCM prevention and treatment of common occupational diseases for the sedentary. Shen Yiqun pointed out that the hazards of prolonged sitting primarily involve injury to the bones, muscles, and lungs, as well as leading to blood stasis. Injury to the bones mainly triggers cervical spondylosis and lumbar disc herniation. Injury to the muscles is primarily transformed through injury to the spleen; prolonged sitting injures the spleen, and a deficiency in spleen-qi [6] injures the muscles. Injury to the lungs can affect cardiopulmonary function in mild cases and lead to pulmonary embolism or myocardial ischemia in severe cases. Prolonged sitting leads to blood stasis, increased blood viscosity, and slow blood flow, which in itself is what TCM refers to as yuxue (blood stasis). In response to these common problems, Dr. Shen introduced TCM methods for preventing and treating sedentary illnesses and led everyone in movement on-site. By locating acupoints, massaging the abdomen, and practicing the "opening and closing of the gaohuang" [7] movements from the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle-Tendon Change Classic), participants exercised their backs, relaxed their muscles, and addressed issues such as pelvic diseases.
Third, he introduced TCM knowledge regarding skin health management. Shen Yiqun pointed out that TCM believes skin diseases are caused by external and internal factors. External factors primarily include wind, cold, dampness, dryness, insects, and toxins. Internal factors include internal injuries from the "seven emotions" [8], fatigue from diet and labor, and endogenous evils such as damp-heat and blood stasis, as well as constitutional factors. These further lead to disharmony between qi and blood and dysfunction of the zang-fu organs [9], ultimately generating wind, accumulating dampness, accumulating toxins, transforming into heat, transforming into dryness, leading to deficiency, or resulting in stasis. Dr. Shen also explained TCM knowledge for the prevention and treatment of skin diseases, namely adopting the method of treating both the internal and external through oral decoctions and external medicinal treatments to eradicate the disease at its root.
After the activity, the teachers present expressed their approval of this salon. Using easy-to-understand language and interactive methods such as on-site teaching, Dr. Shen helped everyone understand the prevention and treatment of common sedentary occupational diseases and master simple, effective conditioning movements. In a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, everyone not only appreciated the profundity of TCM culture but also felt a long-awaited physical relaxation and mental refreshedness. They expressed great gratitude to the Institute’s Trade Union and the Women’s Working Committee for organizing such a thoughtful event.
(Contributed by Song Xiaomin)