蘇軾是宋代「尚醫士人」代表人物之一，對疾病、醫藥及養生具有深刻認識與自覺，並以尺牘、雜文書寫相關內容，表現個人性情、學養。中年以後貶謫黃州，是蘇軾人生中重大轉折，除仕途重挫、生活貧困外，疾病折磨亦是生命困境之一。其曾經因臥病長達數月，而閉門省事，「澹泊自持」；又閑居、疾病促使其積極養生，在飲食方面，蘇軾主張「節食少欲」，及服食養身；但更重視「安心調氣」，並自編「養生訣」，以閉息行氣為主，結合古代叩齒、漱津、閉息、內觀、按摩等養生術，是一套簡易可行的養生功法，為蘇軾中年養生經驗之總結。蘇軾在困窘的黃州期間，突破貶謫、疾病之生命困境，淬鍊出曠達自適的人生態度，帶給後人無限啟發，也因此促進宋代以後文人養生風潮。

Chinese intellectual Su Shi had a profound understanding and self-awareness of disease, medicine, and health promotion techniques. Su was relegated to Huangzhou in his middle age. The event was a key setback in his life. In addition to the reversal in his career development and sudden poverty in life, Su also faced the predicament of disease, and he was bedridden for several months, during which time he stayed at home and reflected on his life. Moreover, unemployment and disease prompted him to actively engage in health-promoting practices. Su proposed restraint on diet and desires. In addition to health-promoting diets, Su emphasized maintaining psychological tranquility by regulating qi (literally breath). He also compiled the ＂Knacks of Health-Promoting Practices,＂ integrating ancient health-promoting regiments such as tooth knocking, gargling with saliva, breath holding, vipassana meditation, and massaging. These simple and feasible health-promoting techniques concluded Su's health-promoting practices in his middle age. In the midst of hardship in Huangzhou, Su managed to transcend his life's difficulties of relegated and disease to develop an open-minded liberal attitude, which inspired numerous intellectuals in later periods and triggered the trend of health-promoting practices among intellectuals since the Song dynasty.