Your Liver + Stress
During Spring, we see more involvement of the Liver in patients' health patterns. Coupled with the Gall Bladder to represent the Wood element, the Liver manifests creativity, direction, justice and vision. When the flow of the Liver is disrupted, one experiences stress, anger, frustration, irritability, jealousy and guilt.
We all experience stress but not all stress is bad! Short-term stress is normal and expected in life. So, when does stress become the perpetrator of illness and disease?
Chronic, long term and intense stress have been shown to have harmful effects on the body. Stress places your organs, especially the endocrine (hormone-producing) system, into overdrive wreaking havoc on your body. This imbalance causes body systems to function poorly and cause diseases such as high blood pressure, weight gain, hair loss, missed periods, appetite fluctuations and many other illnesses.
Acupuncture can have a major role in helping you decrease stress and guide your body back to homeostasis (state of balance in the body). In Chinese medicine, stress leads to Liver qi stagnation (and vice versa). The long-term stagnation of qi causes a whole host of issues within the body. A common principle when treating stress for acupuncturists is to move the qi and calm the mind (shen).
Common points used to treat stress in the body and calm the mind:
→ Yin tang - On the forehead between the eyebrows
→ Ear Shen Men - On the ear, based on a microsystem on the ear
→ Ren 17 - On the midline of the chest
→ Du 20 - On the top of the head, on the midpoint
→ Liver 3 - Between the big toe and second toe, an inch or two above the webbing of the toes
What else can you do to move your qi and reduce stress?
Schedule a health + wellness coaching session
Focus on getting good sleep
Practice mindfulness
Eat nourishing foods
Go outside whenever you can
Reduce technology and social media use
Stress is inevitable in life, but there are ways to move through it and reduce it to decrease the chances of long-term illness. Message us to schedule your acupuncture or health + wellness coaching session today!
