When the Spirit can no longer settle
A mind that races in the evening, nervousness, light sleep disturbed by dreams, mild heat in the palms or face, a dry mouth, a feeling of being nervously worn out on waking… In TCM, these signs may be associated with Heart Blood and Yin deficiency, often extended by Liver and Kidney Yin deficiency. According to tradition, the Heart houses the Spirit (Shen): when Blood and Yin are lacking, the Spirit no longer has a “home” in which to settle, and an insubstantial heat rises to agitate it.
An Shen Bu Xin Wan is a modern preparation from the Chinese pharmacopoeia, standardised in the mid-20th century in the Zhong Yao Zhi Ji Shou Ce (《中药制剂手册》), the handbook of Chinese materia medica preparations. Its name combines two actions: an shen, calming the Spirit, and bu xin, nourishing the Heart. It continues the lineage of Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan, the great classical Heart formula, with which it shares red sage, schisandra and rehmannia.
Nourish, anchor, open
Mother-of-pearl and red sage, the two substances with the highest dose, give the formula its two movements: the first, heavy, helps the Spirit settle; the second moves and cools the Heart Blood. Schisandra holds back what is agitated, while acorus, aromatic, opens and lightens so that the whole does not weigh heavy. Around them, five herbs nourish the Yin and Blood at the root.
Calms the Shen: Mother-of-pearl anchors the Spirit and brings down the rising Liver Yang; albizia bark, according to tradition, loosens what is held back.
Nourishes the Blood and supports the Heart: Red sage cools the Heart Blood without letting it stagnate, and fleeceflower vine nourishes the Blood and harmonises Yin and Yang.
Nourishes Kidney and Liver Yin: Eclipta, rehmannia and dodder nourish the Yin at the root, where, according to tradition, the heat that agitates the Heart arises.
Promotes more peaceful sleep: Schisandra, sour, connects the Heart and Kidney, and fleeceflower vine, which tradition associates with evening calm, accompanies the Spirit towards rest.
