Licorice Root

Bupleurum Spread the Liver

柴胡疏肝散 · chái hú shū gān sǎn

For rib-side pain, deep sighs, and irritability when Liver qi is constrained

Calm the Stomach

平胃散 · píng wèi sǎn

For bloating and heaviness that lingers after too much cold or raw food.

Drive Out Blood Stasis

血府逐瘀湯 · xuè fǔ zhú yū tāng

For the fixed, piercing pain and emotional storms of blood stasis in the chest

Eight Treasure

八珍湯 · bā zhēn tāng

The classic TCM double-tonic for when your energy and blood are both running low at the same time.

Eliminate Wind

消風散 · xiāo fēng sǎn

For weepy, red, intensely itchy skin eruptions spreading over large areas of the body.

Four Gentlemen

四君子湯 · sì jūn zǐ tāng

TCM's most foundational qi tonic. The starting point for rebuilding energy and digestion.

Free and Easy Wanderer

逍遙散 · xiāo yáo sǎn

One of the most-prescribed TCM formulas in the world, used for stress, PMS, and the feeling of being emotionally stuck.

Frigid Extremities Powder

四逆散 · sì nì sǎn

For cold hands and feet that come with stress, tension, and a tight gut.

Gentian to Drain the Liver

龍膽瀉肝湯 · lóng dǎn xiè gān tāng

A strong cooling formula for burning urination, itchy genital rashes, and red, sore eyes.

Ginseng, Poria, and Atractylodes

參苓白朮散 · shēn líng bái zhú sǎn

For loose stools, fatigue, and poor appetite when dampness has settled into the gut

Honeysuckle & Forsythia

銀翹散 · yín qiào sǎn

The classical TCM formula for catching a wind-heat cold early. Take at the first sign of sore throat and fever.

Minor Bupleurum

小柴胡湯 · xiǎo chái hú tāng

A foundational TCM formula for symptoms that come and go in waves. Alternating chills and fever, bad mood, sticky digestion.

Modified Free & Easy Wanderer

加味逍遙散 · jiā wèi xiāo yáo sǎn

The variant of Free and Easy Wanderer for when liver tension has tipped into irritability and heat.

Mulberry Leaf & Chrysanthemum

桑菊飲 · sāng jú yǐn

For the first days of a hot-type cold, when a cough is the main problem.

Pinellia Decoction to Drain the Epigastrium

半夏瀉心湯 · bàn xià xiè xīn tāng

When nausea, gut gurgling, and epigastric tightness all hit at the same time.

Regulate the Middle

理中丸 · lǐ zhōng wán

For a cold, sluggish gut with watery stools, low appetite, and no real thirst.

Restore the Spleen

歸脾湯 · guī pí tāng

TCM's classical formula for the trifecta of anxious overthinking, exhaustion, and poor sleep.

Six Gentlemen

六君子湯 · liù jūn zǐ tāng

The qi tonic when poor appetite and fatigue are joined by nausea and a wet cough

Sour Jujube Decoction

酸棗仁湯 · suān zǎo rén tāng

The classical TCM formula for the kind of insomnia where your mind won't stop and your body feels parched.

Tonify the Middle & Augment Qi

補中益氣湯 · bǔ zhōng yì qì tāng

TCM's foundational formula for low energy that comes from the digestion being run-down for a long time.

Two-Aged Decoction

二陳湯 · èr chén tāng

TCM's classical base formula for what it calls 'phlegm-damp,' the heavy, sluggish quality that builds up from poor digestion.

Warm Gallbladder Decoction

溫膽湯 · wēn dǎn tāng

For anxious, restless nights that come with nausea and a churning stomach.

Warm the Menses

溫經湯 · wēn jīng tāng

A TCM formula for cold in the uterus with irregular periods, lower belly chill, and a mix of cold and heat signs.