Exercising the ears helps to open up the meridians throughout the body. Older adults often engage in activities such as pulling, rubbing, tapping, kneading, and pinching the earlobes and roots, which can stimulate the peripheral nerves and microvessels of the earlobes, accelerate local circulation, and help clear the meridians throughout the body, enhance metabolic function, and promote blood circulation. This is beneficial for preventing and treating diseases and improving physical fitness.
Specifically, the following movements can be repeated every day:
Rubbing the earlobes: With both hands, place the palms on the earlobes and evenly and forcefully rub them towards the back of the head, then pull and rub them towards the face. When pulling and rubbing towards the face, press the earlobes with the palms and rub the back of the earlobes. One forward and one backward motion counts as 1 time, a total of 9 times. It is best to feel warmth in both earlobes after rubbing.
Then, knead the earlobes: With the thumbs and index fingers of both hands facing each other, knead the earlobes in a spiral motion from the upper end to the earlobe, repeating several times. Next, use the index fingers of both hands to press the Tinggong acupoints in front of the ears on the face, kneading upward and backward while inhaling, and pressing downward and forward while exhaling, kneading and pressing in a circular motion with each inhalation and exhalation, a total of 9 times. This can effectively prevent diseases such as tinnitus and hearing loss in older adults.
Exercising the eyes helps nourish the liver. According to traditional Chinese medicine, "the liver governs blood and enables vision." By massaging and exercising the eyes, the eyeballs can receive more nourishment from refined blood. Older adults can maintain liver health and eliminate eye disorders through eye exercises.
The specific method is to gently close the eyes and quickly rub the Dazhui acupoints on both hands 18 times, making them warm and placing them on the eyeballs, stroking from the inner corner of the eye to the outer corner of the eye 9 times, repeating twice.
Massage the eyes to the temples, place the thumbs of both hands behind the earlobes, the middle fingers on the temples, and the ring fingers on the pupils. Rub the middle and ring fingers inward and then outward 9 times each, stopping when there is a sense of soreness.
Older adults can also take care of their brains by gargling and stirring their tongues. Every morning, they can start practicing teeth knocking in bed. During the activity, the teeth should be aligned and the knocking should be forceful, so that the sound of the teeth colliding can be clearly heard. This should be done 100 times.
You can also do the "Red Dragon Stirring the Sea" exercise: Close the upper and lower lips lightly, and use the tip of the tongue to lick the inside and outside of the teeth, clockwise and counterclockwise. Start with the inside of the teeth and then the outside. When licking, the tip of the tongue should press firmly and slowly against the roots of the teeth, without being impatient. Lick the inside and outside of the teeth 9 times each.
After getting out of bed, older adults can do the gargling exercise while drinking water: A large amount of saliva will be produced in the mouth. At this time, do not spit it out. Instead, puff up both cheeks and let the saliva flow and circulate inside and outside the teeth. This will increase the amount of saliva.
