中医美容的秘诀：自然，心灵， 食疗

 小竹

《黄帝内经》中的有一段对话：

黄帝问医师齐苞“为什么古代人长寿，快乐，而今天人才活到50 岁，是我们的世界改变了吗？”

齐苞答道“古人知晓阴阳平衡之理，心身与自然和谐之道，节制饮食，按时作息，调节身心，当然长寿了。”

这就是阴阳的理论基础， 阴阳揭示了自然界事物中对立的两面性， 阐述了宇宙间的万物生变，健康是身心，社会和自然之间的和谐动态平衡。 中医美容以阴阳理论为依据，美容以身心和自然和谐，内部器官协调为前提， 皮肤和面容是内部器官健康的一面镜子, 用宏观的理念调节身心与自然的平衡达到自然美容的目的。中医宏观的理念有别于西医的微观理念，西医将身心分离开来， 疾病局限于人体每一个内部器官的功能失调， 外因导致生病，像细菌感染，药物治疗功能失调， 手术改变体貌。 中西医方法的美容各有所长，人们寻求传统中医美容是因其有安全，非创伤的优点。传统中医美容认为人体是自然界中的小宇宙，人的健康生活是日出而作，日入而息，情绪随自然环境而波动，中医术语中的“心”控制情绪，紧张，焦虑诱发心病，心病表现于面容，面色失调预示心理疾病，中医美容以调节心理平衡为首选治疗手段，要求病人按时作息，静心放松，气功和太极就是以静心放松来调节心理平衡。中医美容也用饮食疗法， 健康饮食可调节阴阳平衡，中国食物分热，温，凉，寒，平五性，饮食疗法是非常个性化的， 如心热症状可用凉性食物治疗如食用黄瓜，在中餐馆的甜点中红豆汤，绿豆汤，芝麻糊均有滋润皮肤的效果。

Natural Beauty and Health (2): Nature, Mind, and Food

The Yellow Emperor asked: “Why people in ancient times enjoyed longer, happier lives, yet today people live only 50 years? Is the world itself that has changed?”

The physician, Qi Bo, replied: "Men in ancient times understood the universal principle of balance, yin and yang, ensuring the spirit and the body are in harmony with natural law. They ate a balanced diet, took rests at regular times, and avoided overstressing their bodies and minds. It is not surprising that they lived longer."

This conversation was recorded in “Yellow Emperor's Internal Classics” about three thousands years ago. It describes a fundamental principle of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang represent the two positing of sides of nature. Yin and Yang tell how things affect each other in order to be functional in the universe. All things are regarded as a combination of Yin and Yang: supporting each other and maintaining optimal balance. Health and well-being are viewed as a dynamic balance and harmonization of human body (the physical form) with mind, society and nature.

The theory of Yin and Yang is a basis for Traditional Cosmetic Medicine. Natural beauty of man is a balance of health. To maintain natural beauty, the human body must keep harmony with nature and spirit, and internal harmony among the internal organs. The skin and face is a mirror of the inner body system. Chinese have known that beauty radiates from the inside out. Unable to maintain beauty of the body is often viewed as imbalance in the inner body system or between the internal and external environmental. Chinese cosmetic practitioners treat the whole human body (physical, mental, spiritual function together) and restore the balance between the body and environment to achieve the goal for natural beauty. This is called a “holistic Approach”. The holism views that disease is due to an internal imbalance of Yin and Yang. It is different from Western cosmetic’s “Scientific Approach” in which the body represents one functioning system and is separated from mind. Disease is due to an external force like bacteria, or malfunction of each organ. In the Western Medicine, chemicals are used to cure disease and surgery is used to change the appearance of the body. Both approaches are valid alternatives. People have sough traditional cosmetic medicine as not an alternative but another medical system with certain benefits to individuals such as safe, non-surgical alternative cosmetic procedure.

In Traditional Cosmetic Medicine, the most important factor to maintain natural beauty is harmony with nature. The human body just like nature has its own climate. Taking regular rest as following transition of day and night is a good rule to follow the nature. Human emotion is a result of the interaction between the human body and external environment. The Heart (different term from Western medicine) controls mind. Emotion disturbances due to stress, worry, pensiveness, fear or anxiety can cause the Heart problems. The Heart is linked to face. The Heart problems can often cause facial conditions. Thus, emotion counceling is part of cosmetic practice. Cosmetic practitioners usually advise their clients to take regular rest, clam mind and relax the body before using other cosmetic methods. Practice of Qigong or Tai Chi, self-healing tradition, aims to improve flexibility and balance, relax the body and mind, and improve overall health.

It is believed that natural beauty can be achieved and maintained through a slow, effective process of balanced diet therapy. Eating healthy food is to restore Yin and Yang balance. Chinese food items are grouped based on temperature properties such as hot, warm, cold, cool and neutral. Dietary recommendations are unique to each individual. If an individual experiences the excess heat of the Heart, a practitioner may recommend eating cooling foods such as cucumbers. If you visit Chinese restaurants, you will often find Chinese desert such as red been soup, green been soup and black sesame seed soup. These foods are considered for making skin healthy.