Day 10 of my Autumn Liver Cleanse, and I notice that I can release tension in my yoga routine far more than I have managed before. Okay I’ve been practising, but today felt different. I also notice that today, I feel much clearer in my mind, suddenly motivated to get ALL my jobs done, and my tummy has flattened. My skin is clearer and my bowel movements have been … healthier.
The liver cleanse is a really helpful thing to do at the change of season – usually at the onset of spring and autumn. At these times, we normally begin to change the kinds of food we eat, from warming and heavier food, to lighter and cooling, and back again. For me this time, I felt I had had a good summer of fun and drank a bit more alcohol than usual, had had a bit too much meat and my digestion had become sluggish, my belly bloated, as if even a little food left me feeling full. My body felt tight and lethargic.
If you want to try it and want to know more about the Why and How, then read on …..
The Why:
In Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 5 Element Cycle, the liver and gallbladder are the organs that express the wood element. Wood’s season is spring and represents new beginnings – birth, growth and development – symbolized in nature by the oak tree. Autumn’s corresponding season is the Metal element and is characterized in the body by the lungs and large intestine, whose job it is to release and purify. For our spring and autumn cleanse, we mark the transition from winter to spring in the growth of new buds, and from summer to autumn in the turning of the leaves. In nature, this transition happens seamlessly, dictated by the earth’s transformations. For us, the change can be disturbed by the lifestyles we lead, what we consume and the emotions we feel. If the liver is congested then the job of the lungs & large intestine is challenged.
To adapt our diet and lifestyle to the season allows us to be prepared for the changes that season will bring. If we can be healthier in the transition phases, then we can be healthier for the season that follows. This liver cleanse can therefore help to build your immunity to the colds and coughs of the winter.
The How
This is really simple and requires no special ingredients or potions.
Week 1: Eat lightly, or semi fast for a few days, cutting out alcohol, meat and avoiding sugar and processed foods. Vegetable soups or steamed green veg are good and easy. You could exercise gently in the morning before you eat, delay breakfast to late morning, then you need only eat 2 meals in the day.
Week 2: ingest 2 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil and the juice of half a lemon (or one tablespoon apple cider vinegar) first thing in the morning or last thing at night can be more effective. Repeat for up to 6 or 7 days whilst continuing to eat lightly and exercise gently.
This process draws toxins out of the liver so that they can be eliminated. You may notice that you feel lighter, clearer and more energetic.
Enjoy it, and enjoy the results this may bring. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
If you have any serious digestive weakness or condition, do check with your GP as to whether to follow this cleanse.
References: “Wood becomes Water: Chinese Medicine in Everyday Life”, Gail Reichstien, Kodansha International