A Fatty Liver

good morning.welcome to 30 days of qigong to better health. my name is chris shelton. today, we're working with the liver cleansing exercise, day number 11. in chinese medicine, the liver is paired with the, with the gallbladder, and aids in digestion,and it also helps with things like the, regulating the blood flow throughout thebody, blood and qi flow. but in my world of seeing clients in practice,i would say that in our society or at least here in the bay area, one of the biggestdysfunctions that i actually see is liver imbalances. because liver is harmed bythe negative emotions of anger, frustration, rage and resentment. now the organ's a big, the liver is a big organ that loves

to process toxins, but at a certain pointthen what happens is, is that it can no longer withstand the amount that it'shaving to process through, so if you're, if it's having to process toxins from the food that we eat, as well as our environment, what we're breathing in, and then also the toxicity ofthe emotions of anger, frustration, rage, resentment, old anger, repressed anger, control if you're somebody that has too much control or if you're too controlling, that's a sign of a liver imbalance. so, there are so many different conditions or symptomsthat we actually see stemming from the liver, and the liver controls the tendons,ligaments and sinews, also opens up in to the eyes. and when we have imbalancesof the liver, then a person may tend to

grind their teeth, have tmj, wake up inthe morning with their fists clenched. they may have other symptoms likemigraines, headaches, problems with their menstrual cycle. they could have problemswith their fingernails, dryness, cracked fingernails. i mean there are so many different thingsthat could happen: floaters, flowery vision so, problems with the eyesightactually can stem from the, from the liver if you are one of those people that, during the day, that your energy tends to drop, or tends to fluctuate actually, then we can look at the liveras being responsible for that, because the liver does govern blood, but whathappens is, is that it also contains the qi, so if the blood isn't circulating right,if there's a stasis of blood in the

liver, or a deficiency of blood in the liver, then the person's energy is going to be off, and what's interesting is that when a personholds on to anger then what happens is that it actually can explode, and this is wherepeople, you hear some people say, "i was so angry, i saw red" or what will happen isit will actually, they may explode, but then they implode and this is where where we endup with cases of depression. so, in chinese medicine, we don't treat the mind, and i know that in western medicine, western science this frontal cortex here is responsiblefor, is responsible for our consciousness, etcetera, but in chinese medicine,when we see somebody with depression, we, we go to regulate the liver, which thenaffects the heart, which then affects the mind

so, i can't say enoughabout this organ; it has such a big responsibility, it has over like 500functions, but i would say in our culture this thing of anger, holding on to anger, our ego lovesto hold on to anger, because we believe it will serve us at a future date, it will keep us prepared just in case something happens again that's similar to past trauma, and as a resultof this, holding on to this past anger, or getting angry or irritated easily,agitated easily, then what happens is it creates this dysfunction inside the body.now what's interesting is, if i have a client come in that does not feel anger atall, does not even know what anger is, then i start to see symptoms ofautoimmune or inflammatory conditions,

that arise, because if you hold onto this stuff or you pretend like it doesn't affect you, it has to show up somewhere inside thebody and so one of the ways that it shows up actually is inflammation. if you are somebody with high cholesterol and you're eating healthy, you're exercising, i see this a lot too, you seepeople come in, body builders, whatnot, with the, you know, that are in greatshape, but then what happens is that as a result of them holding onto this past anger, then it creates high cholesterol inside the body. so, like i said, i can'tsay enough about this practice. it's such a great practice to do, and the next timeyou're feeling angry or resentful about something, go off into another room andjust do this practice, this movement by yourself.

and what's going to happen is going to be as though we're holding a ball, and then we're squeezing through the center ofthe body you can imagine the colored green, filling upinto the liver, which is located on the right side of the body exhaling, inhaling. so as i'm squeezingthrough the center here, i'm also pulling and elongating the side of the bodywhere this liver meridian, here's liver 13, and then liver 14's right here, so i'mactually, actually stimulating this acupuncture channel that feeds into liver and thenas i squeeze in through the center here, as i squeeze the ball, it's likei'm wringing out this internal organ.

okay, so the negative emotion is anger, resentment; positive virtue is kindness and/or creativity. the ability of the liver houses the etherealsoul, the part of the body, or the part of the person's being that allows for oneto be able, to plan to execute a plan, and to follow through with that. okay.so starting off with our feet outabout shoulder's width apart, knees slightly bent, sacrumtucked underneath, pressing back the ming men, begin by pulling down the heavensthree times, inhale exhaling inhaling. and exhale.

third time, pull up. and exhale, release. and then bringing thearms up about shoulder height, inhale, exhale going at your own pace.long, steady, even, deep with the breathing. releasing out any toxins, tension, tightness and then from there, then we slow down,coming back to the center, and in, pulling down the heavens three times.inhale. exhale. gather. and then from there, bringing the feet a little bit closer together, begin to slightly bounce, or lightly

bounce on the balls of the feet, to just allowfor any tension in the ankles to release out, through the bottom of the feet,and down deep into the ground and then from there, the knees, tension or tightness in the knees, allow for that to release next, the hips, the groin, low back allow for all that to release out, through the legs and through the feet, and down deep into the ground. next, the center of the back and chest,any excess thoughts, feelings, emotions tightness on the spine, in between theshoulder blades, allow for that to let go, through the body, through the feet,and deep into the earth next, the fingers, the wrists,

shaking that, any tension or tightness from there,out through the fingertips and just imagine it as a dark cloud of energy,flowing down deep into the ground and next, the elbows, shoulders, head and neck guiding out all that toxicity, stagnation out through the arms, out through the fingers, and deep into the ground and then from there, we inhale flowing up,pulling up through the body, golden light exhale and drop, and releasing down any dark, toxic energy into the ground. inhaling, and drop.and again, inhale, and release. good, and then,stepping back out into your wu ji posture again, shaking the tree, inhaling all the way up, exhaling down; inhaling up, exhaling down; and again, inhaling

two more, inhaling, like the taylorswift song 'shake it off," inhaling and from there, pulling the energy back, releasing down, inhaling. and exhaling, releasing out any heator vibration in the body inhale. and then from there, with your eyes closed with your eyes closed, gently tucking the chin, pressing up at the crown point, breath long

steady, even and deep into the lowerabdomen, imagine warm oil that begins to flow down through the front of the body, increasing yourawareness of what's happening in front of you starting at the forehead and throughthe temples, the brow bone, eyebrows and eyes, you feel the nose, the cheeks, the side of the face, the lips, the chin and jaw structure the ears, the neck, throat, flowing through the shoulders, relaxing the tissues of the shoulders, through the biceps and elbows andforearms, the wrists, the palms of the hands leading all the way out to the fingertips.and from there, enveloping the entire chest, and flanks of the body, underneath the armpits, through the side of the ribs through the mid abdomen, through the lower abdomen, allow for this warm oil to now melt into the waist,

through the groin, through the thighs, through the knees, the shins, ankles, feet and toes, all connecting, all flowing off, deep into the ground. and from there,feel the entire front of your body, as well as the left and rightsides of your body touching it all, being aware and beingmindful of your entire body, and now, from the crown point at the top of head, begin to melt down through the back, enveloping the scalp, behind the ears, flowing through the neck and the shoulders, through the triceps and elbows through the forearms, the wrists, the back of the hands all the way through the back of the fingernails to the fingertips. and then from there, theshoulders, the upper back, mid-back, flowing and pouring down through the low back,in through the waist, in through the buttocks, the hamstrings, the knees,

the calves, ankles, heels, allow for thiswarm oil to flow down deep into the ground and from there, feel the entire back of yourbody, from head to toe, feel what's behind you, feel it just as much in the back as you do in the front, and to the left and to the right sides and from there,connecting with your higher power, imagine a white light that begins to flow downthrough the center of your being increasing your awareness of what's insideof you. you visualize and feel the brain and surrounding tissues, the skull the inner ear, the sinuses,

the teeth, the tongue, the gums, the musclessurrounding the jaw, flowing down each of the vertebra of the neck and throat, and feel the musclesand the arteries of the neck, branching off into the shoulders, the bones, themuscles of the shoulders, through the biceps, triceps, through the elbows,through the forearms all the small bones, tendons, ligaments of the wrists, hands and fingers. and from there, you touch,the white light touches every rib feel the ribs as they wrap around to thespine on the back, feel the heart, the lungs, traveling down into the liver andgallbladder on the right side of the body, stomach and spleen on the left, theintestines, the urinary bladder,

the kidneys, traveling down each vertebra, into the sacrum, feel the pelvic bone, the hips the bones of the legs, the muscles surroundingthem, the center of the knees, the center of the shins and calves, ankles, feet and toes, and allow for this white light to flow down deep into the ground. from there imagine your feet melting into the floor like you're standing on a sea of liquid energy. up next you imagine roots growing from the bubbling well points, at the bottom of the feet, all the way down to the center core of the earth. then as you inhale pull this golden light all the way up the root, up the legs, into the lower abdomen, as we inhale. then as we exhale descending back down out the legs, out the roots, and down deepinto the ground. any toxicity of the body. over and over

-inhaling and exhaling- over and over feel the energy come up, and then you feel it descending back down deep into the ground. inhaling and exhale.and then on in next inhalation we're going to pull the energy straight up the spine up over thetop the head, down from the face, the chest, the abdomen, flowing through the perineum, and then entering through the sacrum. like a pump, going up the spines, stimulating the central nervous system, up over over the top of head, down from the face and chest, the abdomen. still allowing for this imagination to lead the mind, and the mind to lead the smooth flow of the qi. if you want you can use your hands to help guide energy. if you feel that you have much better concentration just

relaxing in the wu ji posture; then just do the practice without hand movements. feel the energy racing up the spine, over the top of the head, down in front of face, the chest, the abdomen. completing the cycle. tip of the tongue still gently curled the roof of mouth, behind the teeth, as if saying the letter "n." closing off the upper gate lightly squeezing the anal sphincter muscle, closing off the lower gate of the body. allowing for this complete circuit, through the governing and conception channels. just allowing for that energy to descend down into the lower dan tien, and then we finish. making sure to pull any excess energy out of the head bypulling down the heavens 3x

inhale and gather. and then from there, going directly into the liver movement. exhaling - inhale - exhale - in so the liveronce cleansing out the emotions of anger, frustration, rage andresentment. positive virtue of kindness and creativity comes in. it controls the eyes. liver controls your nervous system. so if you're somebody who's sensitive to touch, of if your sensitive to light, or sounds; that's a sign that your liver out of balance. if you're somebody who gets springallergies, seasonal allergies

the spring months is when the livers most prone to disease, and is affected by wind. so the liver does not like wind. they have a saying that whatever lies dormant in the liver during the winter months in springtime when everythingstarts to blossom, flowers, trees, anything that's been lying dormant in the liveralso starts to blossom and push out. this is what the seasonal allergies are. maybe you could extend the tendons on the hands, widen the eyes, imagine a green cloud around the liver topurge, having to purge, cleanse, so if you're some body also who has acid reflux, gerd, abdominal distension,bloatedness you can also look at the liver as being a contributing factor for thisdysfunction as well.

pain as though you have a rib out, on theback, that's another sign. just allow for this to cleanse, push out letting go of that past anger, bring forth kindness, flexibility. and then from there, one last one, push the energy in, push the energy down. and pulling down the heavens 3x - inhale -exhaling releasing out any heat, vibration in thebody. inhale and exhale and again, pulling down and from there placing the hands over the lower dan tien, one inch below the navel. as you inhale imagine a mystical white peal that begins to

form underneath the hands. gathering the energy of the body, of the space around you, and then as you exhale feel this white light restore the vitality ofthe kidneys on the lower back. inhaling and exhale gathering and exhale feel the warmth of the white light asyou inhale, then as you exhale a feel this warmth wrap around and fill up the kidneys on the low-back last one - inhaling & exhale -

restoring the vitality of the kidneys, bringing your energy back into your body. and then from there just kind ofshake out the legs, shake it off a little bit. come back to the present. good! so we wrapped up day # 11 with the liver cleansing exercise. my name is chris shelton. thank you forjoining me 30 days of qigong to better health. i have a saying that "qigong is a simple practice with profound results."