Here Are Examples You Might Relate To...

I had two private sessions last week, and both represented what it looks like to have balanced liver chi (energy), which runs at its strongest in the spring, compared to stagnant energy.

Witnessing them walk in the door was telling. First came a woman, I'll call Maya, who walked in relaxed and confident with a warm smile.

During her intake session, she shared with me that she's a community leader who advocates for mental health awareness. I could see her liver energy was strong: she has a clear vision, a strong sense of justice, and makes decisions with confidence. This grounded drive fuels her heart, as she radiates compassion and joy in her work, and clearly is a strong leader.

When guiding her through a practice, she moved with intention, and each breath and pose was rooted in inner purpose. During heart-opening poses like Camel (Ustrasana) and Dancer (Natarajasana), I could feel her expansiveness. She didn't force herself into any of the poses; instead, there was a natural flow from her liver's vision into the heart's joyful expressions. Her wood energy of the liver feeds the fire energy of the heart beautifully.

My second private, I'll call Aaron, showed what stagnant liver chi looks like. He rushed in late, with a shallow, rapid breath and tense shoulders. He shared with me that lately he has been feeling lost, easily frustrated, and emotionally volatile. He's a creative spirit, and has so many ideas but no clear direction, and he's suffering from insomnia and heart palpitations.

These are all indications that his liver chi is stagnant, stuck from unexpressed anger and stress. This stagnant wood energy in the liver obstructs the fire chi from his heart, as his heart energy is chaotic rather than joyful.

In backbends, Aaron overextends or collapses. There’s no foundation. His body reflects his inner state—the fire is flickering wildly without enough rooted support from the liver.

Knowing that Aaron needed to ground his energy, I put him in several seated forward bends to soothe his excessive fire energy with long, slow exhales out of his mouth, the water breath of letting go and clearing pent-up tension. I instructed him to breathe through the kidney and bladder meridians of the water element to soothe the fire (the heart) and feed the wood (the liver).

I could see his energy calm down and regulate into an even flow. As he rose out of pashimotanasana (seated forward fold), he had a relaxed smile on his face. He then lay on his back and moved into supta matsyendrasana (reclined twist), which gently moves stagnant liver chi.

I encouraged him to breathe deeply into his abdomen, which would help his excessive thinking shift back into the observing mind, the Hun, the consciousness that's connected to the liver chi. From the observing mind, we have a broader vision and make better decisions.

Aaron took to the meridian breathing, sharing how much it helped focus his mind and that he hadn't felt that calm and clear in a long time. His eyes were brighter after the practice, as they are considered the sense door to the liver. He spoke a bit more slowly, and a sense of purpose rose within him to share his creative gifts with the underserved.

Knowing the state of our energy can guide our practice in bringing us into balance, rather than exacerbating it. When we're feeling anxious and scattered, soothing slower practices are medicinal.

We are now transitioning from the wood season, which corresponds to the liver energy of inspiration and new growth, into the fire season of the heart, where we bloom into joy and peace. Our purpose, rooted in strong liver chi, serves to help the heart shine.

From my heart to yours~

Namaste,

Maggie