Skip to main content

Spring Qigong for Your Liver


Are you aware that anger, frustration, resentment and stress are the emotions/feelings that correspond to the Liver? 


Quite simply, if your Liver is not functioning well ˗ if its energy is stuck ˗ you will most likely feel stuck, weighed down and out of sorts. 



Emotions can unbalance its function. Conversely, an out-of-balance Liver can create these emotions. 

 By healing your Liver function, you are effectively creating the possibility for a year of emotional balance. 
Another very powerful reason to heal yourself in spring.  

 Please read the following posts for additional detox / healing ideas



Try the following Qigong for your liver:
In Traditional Chinese medical theory this movement helps stimulate and revitalize the liver.  


"Punching with an Angry Gaze" is a somewhat controversial movement. 


Feel anger and 'make a face like tiger', staring ahead.

The legs are in a horse-riding stance, about 3 feet apart and the fists clenched, palms upwards. 



Sometimes people think they have an anger problem, and sometimes they think they are never angry. 

Here we might become aware of anger and therefore be more able to recognize it.



One point is that even the most angry person, trying to maintain her anger, would soon find that like all things, anger might arise, we observe it mindfully, without trying to influence it. And then it declines. And we notice how it goes away. 
This exercise is part of The Eight Section Brocade Chi Kung. You can read about other exercises in the series in the posts below:

Movement Name:  Punching with Angry Eyes, Purging Anger from the Liver
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

Movement
Step out to the left into a horse stance: feet pointing forward, feet at more than shoulder width, knees bent, back straight, head up, eyes looking forward, shoulders relaxed.

Hips are raised, butt tucked, and lower back strong.  

Arms are positioned at the waist.  Hands are held in a soft and relaxed fist.  Palms are up.

Slowly extend the right arm to the front, turning the fist as the arm moves forward.  The arm should be gently lifted up and extended.  The arm should end at about chest level.  The fist should be palm down at the end of the extension.  Do not use intense and powerful muscular force to strike forward.  

Exhale through the mouth as the arm moves out, inhale through the nose as the arm moves in.  The lips should be slightly parted, with the tongue at the top of the mouth.
Eyes should be wide open, staring forward, and the gaze should be intense. 
Open the eyes really wide!  Project fire, fierceness, toughness, determination and courage through your eyes.  Glare at your opponent.
Clench your teeth, part your lips - snarl!

Imagine that energy is projected outward from the fist and moves into an imaginary opponent.  This energy travels along a path set by your stare.  

The right arms returns to the waist as the left arm duplicates the previous movement of the other arm.  The combined movement results in alternating soft punches by each arm.

Repeat the soft punch with each hand for a number of repetitions: 2, 4, 8, 16, 36, etc
Stay relaxed, keep your head up, and keep your back straight.  

Generally, exhale as you strike something.  
Inhale as you gather your energy before a strike.  



Return you left foot back into the Wu Ji position to rest and realign the body-mind.  Wu Ji signals the end of one movement and the beginning of the next movement.  
Enjoy some cleansing breaths.  Opening/Closing.

Stand up straight and tall.  Lift the head.  Tuck the chin inward a little.
Loosen Up, Soften, Merge and Relax.
Feel yourself sinking and rooting into the Earth.
Free up the mind, reduce thinking, forget, become outside more. 


Labels:

Comments

  1. Chrystal @ Happy MotheringMarch 20, 2014 at 7:33 PM

    Very interesting. I had never thought about liver cleansing through movements and exercise.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brittney MinorMarch 21, 2014 at 4:20 PM

    This is all new to me. Thanks for sharing about Liver cleansing through exercise.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 25, 2014 at 1:33 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home Remedies For Warts

Warts are small benign growths on the skin, caused by a variety of related, slow-acting viruses HPV (human papilloma virus). There are at least sixty known types of HPV. Warts may appear singly or in clusters. We will talk about three types of warts: Common warts, Plantar warts, and genital warts. Common warts can be found anywhere on the body, but are most common on the hands, fingers elbows, forearms, knees, face, and the skin around the nails. Most often, they occur on skin that is expose to constant friction, trauma, or abrasion. They can also occur on the larynx (the voice box) and cause hoarseness. Common warts may be flat or raised , dry or moist, and have a rough and pitted surface that is either the same color as or slightly darker than the surrounding skin. They can be as small as a pinhead or as large as small bean. Highly contagious, the virus that causes common warts is acquired through breaks in the skin.   Common warts can spread if they picked, trimmed,
276 comments
Read more

Zhan Zhuang - Foundation of Internal Martial Arts

I found another good article on my favorite topic. Zhan Zhuang  - foundation of Internal Martial Arts by Karel Koskuba Most Internal Martial Arts use some form of standing practice as foundation training (and  Taijiquan  is no exception in this regard).  These standing exercises are usually called  Zhan Zhuang   (pole standing); sometimes they are called  'Standing Qigong'.   The  standing exercises  are supposed to relax and help you   'accumulate Qi'.  I n this article I shall try to outline my theory that should explain, from western perspective, why these exercises are so important both for Internal Martial Arts and Qigong , how this western view correlates with the traditional  Qi   view and give training advice on how to practice them. In writing this article I have drawn upon my experience from Taijiquan, Yiquan and information from medical postural rehabilitation research and sports science. Recommended books on Standing Qigong The Way of E
21 comments
Read more

3 Tao Longevity Practices (Free Instructions and Video)

Turtle Breathing Qigong  – Longevity Practice Taoists were greatly concerned with promoting longevity and became renowned for their longevity practices. An essential component of their most successful longevity techniques is called "turtle breathing," which is an eight-minute breath. Giant turtles are known to live for hundreds of years. They commonly submerge themselves in the water and hold their breath for more than five minutes at a time. Turtle Breathing instructions below are provided by   Bruce Frantzis. Another Turtle Qigong form is "Golden Turtle" can be seen in Mantak Chia's Iron Shirt Chi Kung and Wang DiXian's Tai-chi Nei-gong 24 styles (in Chinese). The form itself is simple: a squatting stance with horizontal spinal cord. Those practitioners who can go through the initial difficult period can get the great benefits out of this simple form. Instruction below are from Iron Shirt Chi Kung by Mantak Chia.   I also found The 10
7 comments
Read more