Weight Loss and Belly Slimming: A Guide to Unblocking Liver and Gallbladder Meridians to Relieve Liver Stagnation-Related Obesity

Liver Meridian: A Good Remedy for "Liver Stagnation" Type Obesity

A newspaper once reported that a survey conducted in 20 countries worldwide investigated people's happiness levels. The results showed that Americans had the highest happiness levels, with 46% feeling happy about life; followed by India, with 37% of Indians living happily; and China had the lowest happiness levels, ranking last, with only 9% feeling happy. What a startling number!

The old saying goes, "Nine out of ten women are depressed," but today, perhaps "Nine out of ten people are depressed" would be more accurate. Although there's an idiom that says a broad mind leads to a plump body, if you're overweight, you won't be happy at all, resulting in what Traditional Chinese Medicine calls "depression," which is one of the root causes of obesity.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, long-term depression or poor mood can lead to poor blood circulation and toxin elimination, resulting in the accumulation of waste in the body and ultimately obesity. Therefore, for someone with a fiery temper and a penchant for overeating, only by relieving "liver stagnation" can you flatten your belly. How to relieve "liver stagnation"? Reading a good book, listening to good music, planning a trip, taking a leisurely walk or bike ride after get off work, or chatting with a few friends can all help alleviate liver stagnation. Of course, to eliminate abdominal obesity caused by liver stagnation, some special methods are needed, and massaging the liver meridian is one of them.

Ms. Cheng experiences high work pressure and doesn't want to go to bed early at night, often staying up late online. As a result, she always has a sallow complexion and sometimes dark circles under her eyes. Her mother, unable to bear seeing her like this, tried to control her diet by cooking her large meals of meat and fish every day. However, Ms. Cheng's health did not improve; instead, she became even more bloated. Finally, through a friend's introduction, she attended a weight loss class. The doctor told her to scrape her liver meridian, tap her gallbladder and spleen meridians, and warned her that losing belly fat mainly depends on lifestyle changes. Besides leg massage, she should moderate her internet use and develop a habit of going to bed early to nourish her qi and blood. Qi and blood are the driving force for treating all diseases. Seeking medical help only addresses the immediate symptoms; self-care is the key to healing the root cause.

How to scrape the liver meridian? Focus on the area from the lower abdomen to the inner thigh, scraping downwards. Don't use too much pressure, especially at the beginning (though it should be a little stronger than scratching an itch). If you don't feel anything after scraping, increase the pressure. Generally, after one scraping session (not just one stroke), the skin will feel sore, and in severe cases, purplish-red bruises may appear, known as petechiae. Don't scrape too quickly; allow time for blood to return. The number of sessions varies from person to person. Of course, people with anemia or low blood pressure should avoid this method, as scraping the liver meridian promotes blood circulation in the liver, and if blood circulation is already poor, it may lead to ischemia in the heart and brain.

Furthermore, it's best not to scrape later than 11 PM. Scraping the liver meridian promotes blood circulation in the liver and can also cause liver fire to rise, affecting sleep. After scraping, it's best to perform a liver-clearing exercise. To clear liver fire, massage the Xingjian acupoint, located about half an inch below the midpoint between the big toe and second toe, between the two tendons. You should feel a slight soreness when you press it. Massage the Xingjian acupoint firmly until you feel soreness for it to be effective.

A secret to reducing belly fat and treating gallbladder problems—tapping the gallbladder meridian. The liver and gallbladder are interconnected. The liver's toxins are excreted through the gallbladder meridian to relieve its own pressure. Therefore, the gallbladder meridian, bearing a large amount of liver toxins, is prone to stagnation and blockage, hindering the liver's toxin elimination. Thus, the gallbladder meridian needs regular unblocking; otherwise, it can lead to obesity. Obesity caused by gallbladder meridian stagnation mainly occurs in the waist and thighs along the gallbladder meridian. Therefore, if you have gained weight and have both "elephant legs" and a "spare tire," it indicates that your gallbladder meridian is stagnated. Tapping the gallbladder meridian is one way to unblock it.

The *Huangdi Neijing* states, "Of the eleven organs, the gallbladder is the most important." This means that sufficient bile secretion leads to better absorption of food, reducing waste and toxins in the body, thus preventing obesity.

How effective is tapping the gallbladder meridian? Since Mr. Wu Qingzhong's *The User's Manual for the Human Body* became a bestseller, many have benefited, with extremely noticeable effects—significantly reduced belly fat, improved appetite and excretion, and even cures fatty liver and gallstones.

Those with less pronounced effects may experience belching, flatulence, and black stools, among other symptoms. Generally, within 1-2 months, they will notice their pants legs starting to loosen and their "elephant legs" starting to shrink.

Tapping the gallbladder meridian is best done in the early morning or forenoon.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the gallbladder is associated with the Lesser Yang Qi, equivalent to the rising sun within the body, and 11 PM to 1 AM is the optimal "working time" for the gallbladder meridian. "When Yang Qi is abundant, the eyes are wide open; when Yin Qi is abundant, the eyes are closed." The best way to nourish the gallbladder meridian is during sleep, therefore, it should not be tapped at this time. Tapping the gallbladder meridian at this time or in the evening will cause the gallbladder to rise with Yang energy, making one excited and unable to fall asleep.

If you want better results, in addition to tapping the outer thigh, you can choose two other areas to massage: the "Jianjing" acupoint on the shoulder and the "Dai Mai" acupoint on both sides of the ribs. Massaging these three areas at once can have a significant effect on reducing abdominal fat. The Jianjing acupoint is located at the midpoint between the shoulder joint and the edge of the neck. It feels quite painful when pressed. The Jianjing acupoint means the well of Qi and blood in the shoulder, where Qi and blood are deeply stored. Tapping this area can not only help with weight loss but also relieve shoulder and back pain and symptoms of cervical spondylosis.

The Dai Mai acupoint has already been discussed. The greatest function of the Dai Mai acupoint is that it can resolve problems in any meridian in the waist and abdomen, such as stagnation, Qi blockage, rib pain, abdominal distension, and constipation.

When performing gallbladder meridian massage, begin by standing and alternately tapping the Jianjing acupoints on both sides of the shoulder for 3 minutes each with your left and right hands. Then, make loose fists with both hands and gently tap the Dai Mai meridian for 3-5 minutes. Next, sit down and tap the gallbladder meridian on the outer thigh for 5 minutes, from top to bottom, using light pressure. Note that the rhythm should be slow and gentle during the tapping process, avoiding excessive speed to prevent arm fatigue.