Cinnamon twig Gui Zhi & Paeonia Bai Shao


Cinnamon twig Gui Zhi is Warm, Pungent and Sweet. It relieves the surface of the body, warms and strengthens the Heart, promotes circulation, opens the channels and warms the Body. It leads up and out, so moves the circulation of Qi and Blood to the surface (skin) and upper body.

Peony root is Cool, mildly Bitter and Sour, nourishes Liver Blood and Yin, calms Internal Wind, stops Pain and Spasms, balances Ying and Wei (interior and exterior).

This combination is used to harmonise the Ying (Nutritive) and Wei Qi (Defense), or the interior and exterior. Cinnamon twig warms the surface to expel Wind and Cold while Peony balances the interior. Together, they regulate the interior and exterior circulation. They have the effect of strengthening the exterior to prevent attack by Wind and Cold.

Together, they have a number of uses:
1. Common Cold and Flu from exterior Wind-Cold with Fever, chills, light sweating, headache with a thin white tongue coating and a floating (surface) pulse.
2. Heart pain caused by Coldness (Yang deficiency) and blocked Qi.
3. Spontaneous or Night Sweats with aversion to Wind and Cold and regularly catching Colds.
4. Abdominal Pain, Spasms and Cramps caused by Cold and obstruction of Qi.
5. Nausea, Vomiting and weakness during pregnancy with aversion to Wind and Cold, poor appetite, pale face and a low pulse.
6. Weakness with coldness, low energy, aversion to Wind, maybe with slight sweating. This is useful in the elderly, postpartum, in convalescence, or post surgery, and is good for the old and weak who regularly catch colds.
7. Also a good combination for Blood stasis (with additions).

Key Indications
  • Common Cold and Flu from Wind-Cold
  • Chest Oppression or Heart Pain from Cold
  • Abdominal Pain, Spasms and Cramps
  • Weakness with coldness, low energy, aversion to Wind

Examples
Gui Zhi Tang, Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan, Wen Jing Tang

Cautions
1. Use cautiously in Pregnancy, and not used in there is Heat.
2. Not used for severe Heat disease.

Additions
1. For acute Wind-Cold with light Sweating, Chills, low Fever, headache and body aches, nasal congestion, add fresh Ginger, Red Dates Da Zao, and Honey-fried Licorice root as in Gui Zhi Tang.
2. Regularly catching colds, spontaneous sweating with deficiency, add Astragalus to Gui Zhi Tang.
3. For more marked Coldness and Yang deficiency, add prepared Aconitum Fu Zi to Gui Zhi Tang.
4. Spasms or Cramps of the muscles or abdomen, add Licorice.
5. For Cold-type Uterine Pain with Blood stasis marked by pale Blood with clotting add Angelica Dang Gui, Ligusticum Chuan Xiong, Paeonia Mu Dan Pi, and Honey-fried Licorice as in Wen Jing Tang.
6. For Blood stasis of the Uterus, add Poria Fu Ling, Paeonia Mu Dan Pi and Peach kernel Tao Ren as in Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan. This is used for Ovarian Cysts, Uterine Fibroids, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, chronic Prostatitis, Prostate Tumor, Infertility, Blocked Fallopian Tubes, etc.