Liver chi stagnation is a syndrome(1) of the buildup of emotional pressure. It manifests outwardly not just through emotional expression but via physical symptoms as well. Traditional Chinese medicine understands liver chi stagnation in terms of vital energy.
What is vitally important is that we become aware of stress in our lives and learn ways to manage and prevent it otherwise this syndrome can deteriorate into still other syndromes and finally degenerate into chronic illnesses.
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In a previous blog entitled, “How the Liver is Directly Involved in Energy Flow, Emotional Balance and Life Planning According to Traditional Chinese Medicine,” we said:
“In traditional Chinese medicine one of the principal roles of the liver, the organ associated with the Wood element and energetic Spring, is to help chi (vital energy) and emotions flow smoothly throughout body and mind. Its physiological function is to dynamically bring smoothness to the flow of chi. If it doesn’t, liver stagnates causing mental, emotional and physical problems.”
And we further explained:
“Liver chi stagnation may also lead to overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, elevated cortisol levels and higher stress levels, and these, in turn, compromise the immune system.”
There are many types of stress. In addition to heart pounding, shallow breathing, forehead sweating stress, sinking into more volatile emotional and darkly depressive states are also forms of stress equated with liver chi stagnation.
“To Chinese medicine, these states into which people get themselves were described over 3,000 years ago. We have just invented new ways to reach them.”
In the body, stagnant chi energy for many people though not all, causes a sensation of fullness—a feeling of swelling, distention, stuffiness and being blocked up.
As the pressure of stress builds up, the signs of liver chi stagnation may include a number of the following physical and corresponding emotional symptoms:
The Adam’s apple seems to want to push up into the mouth. You have the urge to swallow. The throat tightens and your voice feels strangled. Emotionally speaking this means you feel stuck, challenged to express yourself both generally and creatively. You feel challenged to handle conflicts in a positive way.
Your bladder feels full accompanied by a sudden urge to urinate. The emotion is that of feeling ‘pissed off.’ The rectum tightens creating the urge to pass a stool. You feel damn angry. You lash out.
For women, the breasts feel swollen similar to how they feel pre-menses. The woman cannot offer her innate nurturing compassion to others.
Breathing feels tight and more labored. Your nose may feel narrower on one or both sides. Emotionally, you feel claustrophobic. You want to get away, run away. You’ve lost your confidence.
The ears feel blocked as if you are in a fast ascending elevator. The pressure of stress is so severe you will not or cannot hear truth. In denial, you refuse to hear what you need to hear.
Your eyes feel larger and you need to blink more. This also translates into a lack of clear vision or purpose in life. You “cannot see the forest for the trees.”
The forehead feels pressured and squeezed as if you’re trying to force something from it. Your third eye chakra is blocked. You’re stuck in your head and your calculating, rationalizing ego mind.
Your intestines feel tight and you get cramping. And as the intestines are located in both the sacral and solar plexus emotional regions of the body, you feel angry, frustrated, irritable. You may even experience mood swings and feel depressed and negative. Your creativity is blocked.
The heart pounds as if it’s too large. You feel constricted, unable to make decisions. You can’t give love or receive it. The emotion of gripping fear or panic ensues. You feel stuck. You want to flee, to get away.
Your jaws stiffen, your shoulders tighten and your limbs feel rigid. Your hands are either too hot or too cold. This also translates into an attitude of inflexibility. It’s “your way or the highway” and you leave no room to learn something new.
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One way to begin to resolve these stresses before they evolve into something bigger is to tackle what is obvious and more tangible through the simple vehicles like 1) breathing, 2) eating, 3) drinking, 4) exercising, and 5) slowing down. Take care of yourself on this base level and the benefits you derive will tend to cascade into the less visible emotional and energetic levels.
Breathing
In our previous blog entitled, “Six Breaths a Minute to Slow Aging and Its Causes,” we discuss a very simple breathing technique anyone can do to live better and in greater health and ultimately reduce the body’s negative response to stress. (Premature aging is often caused by the ill effects of stress when we are unprepared to respond resiliently to it.) Right breathing, in particular, delivers much required nourishing oxygen to all parts of the body including the Wood element’s organ, the liver.
If you’re really intrigued with learning different breathing techniques, look into the pranayama techniques of yoga.
Eating and Drinking
Green is the 5-element color for the Spring energetic season, the Wood element and the color of plants that begin to sprout in Spring. It's also the color of the food we should consume during the season.
Consuming green foods, especially during energetic Spring, will support your vital energy flow and not just liver but also gall bladder balance.
Green produce, especially when fresh, is imbued with solar energy and light. When you eat green whether it’s spinach, broccoli, green apples, or kiwi, you’re actually also consuming the light they absorbed while growing to energize the body and stimulate your vital energy flow.
Drink green juices made of leafy greens, cucumber and a bit of green apple. Simply by drinking no more than one ounce of wheatgrass juice, you’ll derive enormous cleansing and balancing health benefits.
Many believe that one green smoothie a day will significantly improve your health. The entire smoothie doesn’t have to be made from green ingredients to be a green smoothie. Just add chlorophyll-rich foods to your smoothies like barley grass, chlorella, spirulina, blue green algae, ceremonial grade matcha green tea, parsley, kale or spinach.
Eat green bitters like rye, romaine, asparagus, endive and dandelion greens. They improve digestion, help to alleviate springtime allergies and balance the liver.
Drink dandelion tea. It’s the celebrated liver cleanse tea. Wash the dandelions, snip off the flowers, immerse in hot water and steep for 15 minutes. Or drink hot mint tea to soothe the liver's chi energy.
Slow down with conscious breathing such as the “six breaths a minute” technique mentioned above immediately helps us to slow down and relax the body so that vital energy may flow more freely.
Slowing down doesn’t mean kicking back on the couch and watching television as your only means of relaxation. The Japanese practice called shinrin-yoku or forest bathing can be an exceptionally beneficial practice for melting the effects of stress away, almost immediately.
Surrounding yourself with negative ions which naturally occur in nature will also uplift mind, emotions, body and spirit. For negative ion sources and how to enjoy them, read our viral blog entitled, “8 Ways to Expose Yourself to Negative Ions,” here.(2)
Essentially, participating in the more yin energy oriented activities in nature such as walking meditation, sitting on a park bench and taking in the sights around you, sunbathing or enjoying the feeling of a breeze as it blows across your skin and body are simple exercises you can take pleasure in to reduce an adverse response to stress and support your liver chi.
Finally, by ensuring the routine of your Circadian Rhythm or Cycle—the natural, internal process that regulates the sleep–wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours—you will support the systems, fluids and organs of your body, including the liver and vital energy, to function at their best.
Shut down your computer and stop consulting your smartphone at least three hours before you go to sleep. Establish a routine of going to bed and waking up at roughly the same times every day. If you have trouble getting to sleep or sleeping through the night, it is possible your body is deficient in melatonin and you need to reestablish a healthy Circadian Rhythm.
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Endnotes:
A syndrome is defined as a group of symptoms which consistently occur together.
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Sources:
Clogstoun-Willmott, Jonathan Nigel. Qi Stagnation - Signs of Stress: Putting Chinese Medicine Into English this Book Explains Stress from Its Earliest Appearance Right Through to Severe. United Kingdom, Frame of Mind Publishing, 2013.