Springtime & The Liver
Maybe you’ve been stressing your liver out by hitting the booze too hard to cope with the winter months? No judgement here 😉 Maybe you are feeling sluggish and your weight management needs perking up? Spring is the time to focus on the liver! Per traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver is associated with this season. Known as the detoxify of our bodies, we definitely want to keep this organ functioning efficiently and not taxing it with too much garbage to handle, right???
Spring is all about upward and outward energy flowing about! Flowers, greens, and buds are starting to pop up and appear. It’s important to focus on grounding during this season of change and higher winds. When our liver is imbalance, we may feel sluggish, bloated, inability to lose weight, moody or anxious. There are many ways we can focus on balance this time of year – mentally & physically!
First off, let’s talk energy. I really believe that focusing on forgiveness and letting go of resentment is key. I listened to a podcast that reminded me that Resentment is “Re” and “Sentiment” combined – It’s a revisiting of a bitter or sour feeling again and again. The liver is about free and easy, Detoxifying. Decide what you can let go of so you can leave room for upward and outward growth. Harness the energy of this season to channel attention into the things in your life that really deserve your energy and attention. When we let go of the drama and what we don’t need, we are able to use this energy more efficiently to what our bodies really need. Start here with a loving kindness mediation. There are lots of them on the Insight Timer Meditation App!
Secondly, The standpoint of diet – our livers definitely take a beating if we are consuming lots of alcohol, sugar, or a diet in processed or high bad fat foods. Even prescription pills can be taxing for the liver. Some people are in the camp that a liver detox is not necessary although many debate it is a great thing to do this specific time of year. There are so many different and specific (and crazy strict!) liver cleansing protocols out there if you research them. I personally like the theory of doing a good colon cleanse before any liver cleansing. I always do this one once a quarter –> 3 Day Reset
If you are interested in doing a liver cleanse it can be as simple as incorporating liver balancing foods, doing a juice cleanse that is formulated to incorporate liver cleansing ingredients or herbal supplements. (I would include a few beet juices with some dandelion and lemon added to it for a juice cleanse) There are also specific liver cleanse supplements that contain Milk Thistle. I’m currently doing this one –> Gaia Liver Cleanse. So I’ve made up my own Liver Cleanse protocol which is easy and manageable for me which I am focusing on drinking tons more water with lemon for the flushing effect, the liver cleanse supplements, and adding in the foods that support a balanced liver. I like Dr. Josh Axe’s article –> Liver Cleanse
In addition to diet, Yin Yoga is an excellent way to stimulate the Liver and Gall Bladder meridian lines. By diving into hip opens and twists, we are able to pull and apply pressure to these lines of energy to help facilitate the flow of energy to heal and balance. I’ll list the poses and some links to online sequences or classes for ideas for your home practice. It is also suggested to stimulate Kidneys with some sphnix or seal poses too! Any yin practice also provides a grounding that I know at I really need this time of year.
I also strongly believe detoxifying our lives in every way we can by reducing toxic chemicals and beauty products is key for us and our families. It’s a great time to switch our laundry detergents, cleaning products, and anything with artificial fragrances to something safer and more natural! There is a list below of essential oils that are wonderful for the liver with Lemon being one of them! Try adding some in your diffuser or check out our Lemon & Rosemary solid perfume (that’s what you’d rather get absorbed into your skin than artificial fragrances or weird ingredients), lotions, handmade vegan soaps and yoga mat spray which can be used to clean many other things besides a mat! (Shameless Product Placement Plug)
Thanks for Reading and may your journey to a happy and healthy lifestyle be filled with lot of love and laughter! Please drop me a line and let me know what you think!
XO
Jen
Foods to Help Cleanse The Liver:
Garlic, Grapefruit, Lemon, Beets, Olive Oil, Leafy Greens (Dandelion), Green Tea, Avacados and Apples
Herbs to Cleanse the Liver:
Milk Thistle, Zinc, Selenium and Tumeric
Yoga Poses to Balance the Liver Meridians:
Pigeon/Swan
Shoelace
Fire Log/Agnistambhasana
Hurdler Pose (modification of half hero/Janu sirsana)
Wide Straddle (Against Wall or folding forward)
Childs Pose
Twists
Half Butterfly or Janu Sirsana
Bound Angle/Full Butterfly
FROG
Happy Baby
1/2 Happy Baby w/ other leg in half butterfly (I love this one)
Yin Sequence
Nancy Nelson Yin For Liver/Kidney
Essential Oils That Benefit the Liver:
*Grapefruit, Lemon, Rosemary, Peppermint, Patchouli and Lavender
*Try diffusing these or finding ingestiable grades to add to your water!
*We make solid perfumes using many of these. The Lemon Rosemary is a great one to incorporate into your routine this Spring since it will still get absorbed through the skin
Here’s a list of my references used to write this post:
Yin Yoga by Bernie Clark (LOVE LOVE LOVE This Book)
Danielle Mercer’s Yin Training
Forgiveness: A Liver Detox Podcast by A Healthy Curiosity by Brodie Welch
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