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In Chinese medicine, each period of the year is associated with the activity of one or another organ of our body. Spring is the time to take care of liver health. Exercises for her best work are presented by Chinese medicine specialist Anna Vladimirova.
The basic postulate of Chinese medicine says: there is nothing unequivocally useful or dangerous for the body. What strengthens the body destroys it. This statement is easy to understand with an example … yes, at least water! We need an adequate amount of water for health. At the same time, if you drink several buckets of water at a time, the body will be destroyed.
Therefore, speaking about spring preventive measures aimed at strengthening the liver, I will repeat: those factors that strengthen the liver destroy it. Therefore, strive for balance, and the body will thank you.
Nutrition for the liver
To give the liver a rest in the spring, a diet based on boiled, steamed, even overcooked plant products is relevant. A variety of boiled cereals (buckwheat, millet, quinoa and others), boiled vegetable dishes. Especially relevant for liver health are green vegetables such as broccoli, zucchini, asparagus. If it is possible to give up meat dishes for a while, this will be an excellent solution for unloading the entire digestive tract.
Also, to tone and maintain a healthy liver, Chinese medicine recommends sour-tasting foods: add lemon or lime juice to vegetable dishes and drinking water. However, remember that an excess of acid negatively affects digestion — everything is good in moderation.
Physical activity
According to Chinese medicine, each organ corresponds to one or another type of activity: in adequate amounts it will tone up the work of the organ, and in case of an excess, it will act destructively.
Liver health in traditional medicine is associated with walking: nothing is more beneficial for the liver than daily walks, and nothing is more destructive than daily walks for many hours.
Each person can determine their norm quite simply: as long as walking is pleasurable, refreshing and invigorating, this is a useful exercise. When this activity becomes tedious and overwhelming, it begins to work to your detriment. The second half of spring is the time for active walks: walk, listening to yourself, rest if necessary, and your health will only get stronger.
Special exercises
In qigong practices, there is a special exercise that tones the liver. In Xinseng gymnastics, it is called “Cloud Dispersal”: the exercise affects the 12th thoracic vertebra, which is located in the same area as the solar plexus and is associated with liver health.
Bonus for those who want to lose weight
Regular exercise, during which the upper body moves relative to the lower (or vice versa), stimulates the liver and the entire digestive tract, and this, in turn, is a direct path to weight loss.
In many practices, these movements are taught as one of the ways to lose weight, because the better the digestive tract works, the better the absorption of nutrients and the higher the metabolic rate — and less body fat. Remember this nice plus when mastering the practice of qigong, and it will become your motivator.