When cold settles in the lower abdomen

A lower abdomen that stays cold, a need for warmth on the belly, a feeling of heaviness in the lower body, cold hands and feet, discomfort more noticeable at certain times of the cycle… In TCM, these signs may be associated with Blood stasis linked to Cold: according to tradition, Cold settled in the lower abdomen congeals the Blood, just as freezing water stops flowing, and the Qi no longer circulates freely there.

Shao Fu Zhu Yu Tang, the “Decoction that dispels Stasis from the lower abdomen”, is the work of Wang Qingren (王清任) and appeared in 1830, under the Qing dynasty, in the Yi Lin Gai Cuo (《医林改错》). It belongs to the series of formulas through which Wang Qingren gave Blood stasis its present-day place, each named after the region it targets. Its sister formula, Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang, targets the chest; this one turns to the lower body.

Warm first, then move

The formula stands apart from its sisters through a twofold strategy: warming the root of the Cold and setting the Blood moving again. Three hot herbs warm at three levels, fennel towards the Liver, dried ginger towards the centre, cinnamon towards the Kidney; Chinese angelica, Sichuan lovage, red peony and myrrh move the Blood.

Warms the meridians: Cinnamon bark, dried ginger and fennel, pungent and hot, dispel the Cold that congeals the Blood in the lower body.

Disperses Stasis: Myrrh and Sichuan lovage, which moves the Qi within the Blood, help disperse what has congealed.

Supports Blood circulation: Chinese angelica, the herb with the highest dose, both nourishes the Blood and sets it moving; red peony, cooler, accompanies it and keeps such a warm formula from creating Heat.

Supports comfort throughout the female cycle: According to tradition, the formula reaches the Chong Mai, the “Sea of Blood”, and the Ren Mai, two vessels closely linked to female balance.