Improve Digestion with Qi Gong

Today we’re talking about the Best Time of Day for Digestion

I’m here today with my friend Jeff from Coastal Acupuncture and Wellness. Jeff is a Registered Acupuncturist and has been in practice since 2000. He is a licensed member of the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of BC.

If you suffer from poor digestion, upset stomach, overactive or underactive digestion Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM can help you understand the root of the problem.

According to TCM any condition can either be “deficient” or “excess” in nature. Once you know if a symptom is excess or deficient you can treat it using acupuncture, herbs, foods, massage, yoga, and qi gong.

In TCM all symptoms have a root “organ” or meridian that is mainly affected. This could be the lungs, heart, liver, kidneys and so on. Any symptom related to digestion is connected to the stomach and spleen system.

Your symptoms may be deficient if you have:

• Poor appetite
• Slow sluggish digestion
• Nausea
• Inability to eat large or “normal” portion sizes
• A desire for room temperature or warm foods
• A craving for sweet foods
• Bloating , and a feeling of fullness in the stomach
• after eating
• Low energy and a feeling of heaviness in the body
• Diarrhea
• Or if you feel like your stomach is very “sensitive”
  Then you most likely have a deficient pattern.

Your symptons may be excessive if you have:

• Have an excess appetite
• Eat a large amount of food, with very little weight gain
• Are always hungry
• Desire cold foods
• Crave salty foods
• Experience heartburn or reflux
• Headaches on the forehead or temples
• Red eyes
• Have difficulties sleeping, or you like to “keep moving”
• Experience constipation
• Have a strong odor on the breath
• Then you most likely have an excess stomach

**Always consult with a practitioner of TCM or acupuncturist for an accurate diagnosis.

In this video Jeff shows two qi gong exercises that help with your digestion whether you have an excess or deficient pattern.

Best Time of Day for Digestion:

TCM Uses of concept called the orary clock. This concept suggests that there is an ideal time to tonify a deficient condition or sedate an excess condition. The best time to balance the stomach is between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Try to do these exercises everyday.

Some tips for Eating to Improve Digestion:

If you can identify your stomach being deficient you can:

• make sure to eat only cooked foods, no raw vegetables
• avoid ice cold drinks and food, yes that includes ice cream
• avoid eating large meals with many different flavors, instead choose smaller meals with simple seasonings
• use soups and stews that have been cooked simmered for 35+ minutes; try to include bones if you are not a
• vegetarian (bone broth)
• reduce overly sweet foods
• drink ginger tea or add ginger and mild spices to foods

If you identify with having an excessive stomach:

• include plenty of raw green salads
• drink green smoothies (I thought you may have had a post on this?)
• drink plenty of water
• include cucumbers, celery, parsley, and dark leafy greens
• include salmon, sardines, mackerel
• avoid spicy foods such as ginger, cayenne, hot peppers
• avoid lamb, and lobster as they are very hot in nature
• reduce or avoid red wine, dark spirits (dark rum, whiskey, bourbon, brandy)

If you would like more support for your digestions come visit Jeff at www.qigongforvitality.com

If you would like more support for digestion then check out our free Yoga class from the Benefits of Yoga series on digestion, assimilation and elimination

We also have our value added class on Digestion in our Membership Community:

Become a Member Today:

And if you would like a handy downloadable Traditional Chinese Medicine clock that shows you not only the best time of day to improve digestion, but also some other important times of day related to health problems you may be experiencing then click below.

Today’s question for the comments is, How has yoga helped you with your digestion? We would love to know.

Thanks for watching, thanks for being here today Jeff 🙂

Namaste, Melissa and Jeff

 

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