When heat and exertion empty your reserves

Marked fatigue in hot weather, heavy sweating at the slightest effort, a dry mouth and thirst, getting out of breath easily, a voice that weakens by the end of the day… In TCM, these signs may point to a deficiency of Qi and Yin: sweating carries away the Fluids, and the Qi leaves with them. The body then lacks both the drive and the resources to cool itself.

Sheng Mai Yin, better known in the old texts as Sheng Mai San, the “Powder that revives the pulse”, appeared around 1186, under the Jin dynasty, in the Yi Xue Qi Yuan (《医学启源》) by Zhang Yuansu (张元素). His student Li Dongyuan (李东垣) later recommended it for summer, the season when heat wears out the Qi. Its name comes from a simple idea in Chinese medicine: a pulse that receives Qi is full, one that loses it grows weak.

One to replenish, one to clear, one to retain

The physician Wu Kun (吴昆) summed up the formula in a sentence that became famous: ginseng replenishes the Qi, ophiopogon cools it, schisandra retains it. One to replenish, one to clear, one to retain: the way to nourish the Qi is complete.

Nourishes Qi and Yin: Ginseng supports the Qi, while ophiopogon nourishes the Yin: two complementary paths to the same goal.

Supports you through fatigue in hot weather: By supporting the Qi, the formula helps the body regain its vigour when heat or exertion has worn it out.

Preserves the body’s Fluids: Ophiopogon nourishes the Fluids, and schisandra, sour and astringent, helps to retain them. According to tradition, sour and sweet combined transform into Yin.

Supports your vital energy: All three herbs are associated with the Lung, which in TCM governs the Qi and the breath.