If you have not already noticed, everyone is becoming Chinese. Over the past few weeks, the internet has been set alight by creators (notably non-Chinese ones) enthusiastically adopting Chinese wellness habits. Sipping hot water and jujube-spiked teas, padding around the house in slippers, and starting their mornings by aggressively whacking their armpits and doing fifty jumps—this obsession has taken on a life of its own. What began as a throwaway joke has quickly evolved into a full-blown lifestyle, complete with routines and a surprising amount of moral conviction.
Watching all of this, I could not help but feel slightly smug. Growing up in Singapore—even as a non-Chinese child—I had already been initiated into the mysterious world of Chinese beauty and wellness wisdom. My mother warned me incessantly against eating too much heaty food and never, under any circumstances, go to bed with wet hair. My auntie pressed cups of red date infused tea into my hands, particularly during my menstrual cycle, promising improved immunity and energy. And like every Singaporean child, watching grandparents practise tai chi in the park felt less like an activity and more like part of the city’s landscape.
And so, this surge of interest could not have come at a more opportune time. With the new year settling in, I saw this as the perfect excuse to sneak a few new steps into my ever-evolving wellness routine. Drawing inspiration from TikTok gurus and from the habits I had always observed around me, I set out on a trial of my own: starting mornings with a glass of warm water, experimenting with TCM teas that promised everything from glowing skin to inner tranquillity and even attempting the armpit-slapping-and-jumping ritual, all in the name of lymphatic drainage.
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The benefits
The supposed benefits of these hacks vary, but at their core is a foundational belief that women should maintain a warm body. In traditional Chinese medicine, cold is thought to cause stagnation in blood and Qi, leading to discomfort, while warmth supports healthy circulation. Keeping warm, then, comes down to a series of conscious everyday choices, from avoiding cold water and opting for warm drinks instead to prevent shocking the digestive system, to favouring cooked meals like congee and soups over raw foods such as salads, which are considered cold and harder to digest.
These habits can also have surprisingly practical effects. A warm drink in the morning does indeed wake you up gently, soups and congee are soothing and easy on the stomach and layering up in socks and slippers keeps the chill at bay. Even the more unusual rituals, like armpit slaps and lymphatic exercises, encourage movement and circulation, offering a mix of gentle physical activity and a structured start to the day. Whether it’s physiological benefit, mental comfort or simply the satisfaction of checking off a mini ritual, these practices offer a sense of tender care and control over one’s body.
How-to
After researching various tactics online, I put together a simple wellness regimen I could realistically follow. Each morning began with a glass of warm water, a practice widely praised for helping digestion and encouraging regular bowel movements. Then came twenty tiny jumps to get my lymph nodes moving—hoping, very desperately, that no one walks in on me doing this in my room. For meals, I favoured warmer options like soups and congee over raw salads, embracing foods considered easier to digest in traditional Chinese medicine. And at night, I slipped on socks before bed to help my body retain heat, adding a small ritual to the end of the day. These changes were easy to incorporate, required no special equipment and gave my daily routine a sense of rhythm that felt surprisingly satisfying.
The results
Overall, the results were subtle. Perhaps it was because I was already doing some of these practices, only now in a more deliberate, enforced way, so I didn’t experience the dramatic transformations that others online seemed to rave about. Still, a few changes stood out.
Digestively, I noticed less bloating and a smoother morning rhythm, suggesting that the warm water and lighter, cooked meals were doing their quiet work.
The most noticeable difference, however, was in my mood. Starting the day with a fixed routine, rather than my usual rushed scramble, gave mornings a sense of calm and control. Even small rituals, like a glass of warm water in hand or a few gentle jumps, set the tone for the day in a way that felt grounding.
That being said, these tips have easily earned a place in my wellness routine because they feel genuinely accessible. Most wellness trends demand hours at the gym, obsessive dedication to hitting 10,000 steps a day, or waking up before sunrise—standards that are often unrealistic and, let’s be honest, guilt-inducing when you don’t hit them. In contrast, these Chinese wellness practices are gentle and don’t require uprooting your entire life to feel healthier. Though admittedly, I will not be confessing to my mother that she was right all along.
