Shiatsudo Blog

Sighing frequently is one of the signs of Liver Qi Stagnation. And we don’t want that do we? No! We sure don’t

In shiatsu, the Liver is responsible for the smooth flow of Qi. It has a huge influence over our emotional state, keeping our emotions balanced and appropriate. The Liver is aggravated by many things - the high-stress jobs that many of us are in, frustration in any aspect of our lives, our rich diets, overconsumption of alcohol, caffeine and drugs (both legal and illegal). Liver pathologies are common in our society. There’s a lot of sighing going on…..

Liver Qi Stagnation also presents itself in moodiness, irritability, anger, depression and headaches. All of a sudden, little things like the person fumbling with their change in front of you at the supermarket make you really angry and you start snapping at people for no reason. Sighing is an unconscious way of releasing some of the stagnant Liver Qi, but you can also try some nice side stretching.

A simple exercise that I like to give my shiatsu clients who present with Liver Qi Stagnation is in the diagram below. Stand up, feet slightly wider than your shoulders and stretch your arms over your head (the middle pose in the diagram). Then feel the left side of your body and gently at first open the ribs down the left side by reaching up a little with the left hand. Allow the stretch to work down the whole side of your body, into your leg as well. Push a little with the left foot, creating a slight lean to the right. Think of it as more of an arch than a pronounced lean. Repeat on the right side. Don’t force the stretch; for some people it can feel quite intense and you don’t want to strain the intercostal muscles. I find the stretch to be most effective if I focus more on opening the ribs and side of the body rather than trying to create the stretch by leaning.