Spring Detox: 5 Ways to Love Your Liver According to Traditional Chinese Medicine
“In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” – Mark Twain
People either love or hate the spring. For some, the gusts of wind, the spots of sun, and the ubiquitous mud puddles are welcome signs that winter has come to a close – it’s time to be reborn after a long, cold winter. Plant life begins pushing up from the soil long before it seems warm enough. Bright yellow daffodils, crocuses, and fiddleheads appear overnight, reminders to put on some boots and get outside for some fresh air.
For others, the unpredictable nature of spring is nothing but a headache, literally. The thick mud and the damp spring winds are even more inconvenient than the frozen heaps of snow. Many people report that their health issues seem to worsen during this time – there is often an increase in complaints of headaches, allergies, TMJ, indigestion, and insomnia.
So what’s the deal? Why do some people thrive during spring, while others would prefer to skip right into summer? Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a perspective on the four seasons that might help explain why some people love a particular season, but dislike another.
According to TCM, spring is the season associated with the liver. The liver is the organ in charge of maintaining the smooth, unrestrained movement of qi (energy). People who feel as their health worsens in the spring are often those with a tendency to experience imbalance in the liver. Since the liver is also associated with stress, tension, and emotional expression, most of us cannot help but experience some imbalance in this organ, especially under the pressure to keep up with the fast-paced, consumer-heavy, individualistic American culture.
Liver qi has a tendency to become constrained, and if it stays “blocked” for long enough, it will create heat. This can quickly further disrupt emotional balance, and manifest as anger outbursts and an unshakeable sense of frustration. Energetically, people report feeling stagnant or stuck. They experience tight shoulders and lack of flexibility in their neck. Pressure behind the eyes can build up, and some experience incapacitating migraines. They tend to sigh a lot, and find themselves craving strong (but damaging) qi-movers, like coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes, to help move their stagnant qi.
The liver meridian also encircles the reproductive organs and runs through the breasts, and is implicated in many complaints associated with the reproductive organs (in fact, in TCM, it is said the liver “regulates” menstruation, which means irregular cycles, sore breasts, and menstrual cramps are often treated by balancing this organ/meridian). The liver also has a powerful influence on our GI tract, and a liver that is constrained can greatly disrupt digestion and defecation, causing symptoms of gas, bloating, loose stools, belching, cramping pain in the abdomen, and GERD.
We all understand that transition isn’t easy. If you can take a moment to imagine the human body as a reflection of the world around you, it’s not hard to understand why spring can be such a tough time for some. The transition from a frigid winter to the green buds of spring involves significant movement, specifically an upward and outward movement (imagine an ostrich fern pushing up from the earth and unfurling). This “upward and outward” movement is exactly the kind of movement associated with the liver organ- it’s what the liver qi wants to do, naturally. However, if your liver qi is stuck, then it’s like trying to blow bubbles with a straw that has a wad of paper stuck inside the shaft – you’re going to be met with resistance. And the more resistance you are met with, the more frustrated you will become.
So, do you recognize yourself at all? No? That’s great!
Yes? Read on for some tips on how to move stagnant liver qi in healthy ways. Spring is a perfect time to do this, since the energy of the spring will simply reinforce the energy of a healthy liver.
5 Ways to Welcome Spring and Keep the Liver Happy
- Open the windows. On a sunny day in early spring, open your windows for 5-10 minutes and welcome the crisp spring air into your living space. Let it replace the stagnant winter energy with the fresh energy of the new season. You’ll feel as if you have more room to breathe, and more space to move about. While you’re at it, rearrange furniture, or do a deep clean. Do whatever you can to change up the old winter energy, and welcome the change in season.
- Get your heart rate up. Go for a brisk walk, run, or bike ride. Jump in place. Do squats in your living room. Dance. Do whatever you can do to get your muscles moving and your blood flowing.
- Sing. Seriously. Singing is a great way to move liver qi. Try it! See if you feel less stagnant after belting out some tunes at a stop light, or in the shower.
- Incorporate spring greens into your diet. Arugula. Escarole. Fiddlehead. Radicchio. Dandelion. Watercress. Romaine. Red chicory. Those slightly bitter, spring greens are an edible gift to your liver, even in small to moderate amounts. If you don’t know how to prepare them, find a recipe that looks good and experiment.
- Get acupuncture. Take a nap while your acupuncturist helps your body restore balance. Liver 3 is a very famous point for good reason – it’s on the dorsum (top) of the foot, proximal to the 1st metatarsal space. Learn the location of the point and apply acupressure when you’re feeling especially stuck.
Lauren Breau is an acupuncturist and herbalist at Wildwood Community Acupuncture in Portland, Maine. Wildwood Community Acupuncture is a sliding scale acupuncture clinic where all people can be treated, regardless of income. Learn more about Lauren at www.wildwoodmedicine.com.
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