Traditional chinese medicine talks about the importance of each organ and its relationship with each other. One organ feeding and working off each other to produce vitality. This is utmost important when becoming a superhuman! Each organ pairs up with another organ that it works best with. The spleen’s partner is the stomach. In “Welcome To The Ballgame, Mr Spleen!”, I explained the spleen’s role in eastern medicine. Below are tips on how to boost your spleen Qi.
Eastern medicine explains how the spleen’s relationship with the stomach makes it vital in gut health. Each organ plays a role in our emotions. The spleen is related to our ability to think and process information like judgement and concentration. One thing that was not mentioned in “Welcome To The Ballgame, Mr Spleen!” is that the Spleen Qi controls our blood. A person with weak spleen will bruise or bleed easier.
Western medicine talks about the spleen and its role in our immune system and removal of red blood cells. There are tons of studies validating the impact of our gut and its role on the immune system. Our gut has hormones that impact our brain and its ability to think. Hmmm…there seems to be a more common theme from both paradigms upon further inspection: spleen health impacts factors that influence our overall well-being.
I like to compare treatment of boosting the spleen Qi as becoming a yogi. Yogis tend to be more calm and spiritual. Yoga poses helps to boost our gut through all the crazy twisting and bending. When one thinks of yogis, one thinks of a natural and organic diet.
QUICK TIPS ON HOW TO BOOST OUR SPLEEN QI
1.One quick way to help maintain the spleen in good function is to apply gentle heat around your belly button. Rub your palms together until the palms heat up, use your hands and gently rub around your belly button. There are a lot of acupuncture points around your belly and heating them up can help promote qi circulation. This will help you tonify your spleen. This technique can help warm up your spleen especially when you are consuming cold food and drinks. You can apply essential oils that have “warming properties” like wintergreen oil. Read “Essential Oil 101: Wintergreen” for more details.
2. There is an acupuncture point called Zu San Li (ST36). The point is located about 4 fingers length below the outer side of your knee cap, one finger length outside to the front of the tibia. This is a common point acupuncturist apply needles due to its strong functionality. When you feel bloated, have acid reflux or stomach ache, you can try to gently tap the point with your fist. This may give you instant relief in symptoms.
3. Stop drinking ice cold beverages. Spleen likes to be warm and the ice cold drinks or salads can further damage it. Next time when you are thirsty, try to order room temperature water or water without ice. Order steamed vegetables instead of the side salads.
4. Chew and eat your food slowly. Spleen and stomach help break down food and turn it into energy. If you take your time to chew, taste, and enjoy your meal, you can take some of the burden off the spleen. Let our spleen do its job easier.
5. Choose our food wisely. Every food item can either boost or deplete our body’s qi. Food that boosts our spleen’s Qi includes apple, orange, grapes, broccoli, ginger, fennel, and pumpkin. Food that depletes our spleen’s Qi includes pear, watermelon, banana, radish, and bok choi. If you are interested in a longer list of foods that helps or hurts the spleen, email me and I will respond back.
6. Sip some tea. It is warm and refreshing. Try green, chai or golgi berry tea. You can buy dried golgi berry and steep it in hot water with ginger and raw organic honey to keep your body revitalized. Golgi berry is the latest superfood. Its properties are used to tonify the spleen and blood.
In “How To Turn Your Spleen Into A Yogi! (Part 2)” I write on more tips to help boost our spleen from an emotional standpoint. This is easier said then done. I split the article up into two parts so I can spend more time elaborating on how to manage our thoughts in our head. This can be taught in a whole semester course but I will focus on the most practical strategies to support spleen health and provide tips that I use on myself for a happy spleen.
Let me know how these tips work for you. Namaste.
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