Difficulty swallowing

Difficulty swallowing (if it is not a condition related to a neurological disorder or physical event) is connected with liver chi stagnation which means your chi is not flowing smoothly. In TCM the rhythmic contraction and relaxation of the throat, oesophagus and the opening of the stomach, that is required for the action of swallowing, […]

Epigastric Pain

Epigastric pain can be sudden and with an obvious cause such as overeating (think xmas lunch) which causes liver chi stagnation, or it can be chronic. In the latter, epigastric pain is usually affiliated with a yin deficiency which is a condition that builds slowly over time as a result of lifestyle factors. I’ve treated […]

Hiccups

From the lifestyle medicine angle, some kind of resistance to the flow of life, which can translate as muscle spasms in the diaphragm, underlies ongoing hiccups. Your diaphragm is the physical location of your liver, and the hub of chi-flow. Hiccups might appear to be a small thing and not worth worrying about but, as […]

Abdominal Distension

Abdominal distension is what happens when chi stagnates in your abdominal area. This is the hub of chi flow in your body. Abdominal distension is not bloating, as it doesn’t go down, and in the initial stage it is not fat, it is not weight gain, it is just chi stagnation. This begins on an […]

Acid Reflux

Acid reflux is the outcome of a valve malfunction (your lower oesophageal sphincter or LOS) and stomach acid flowing upwards rather than downwards. The solution is simple; fix the valve and enable your stomach chi to descend so that stomach acid flows downwards. Lifestyle is what causes the valve malfunction and the reversal of stomach […]

Bloating

Bloating is so common now, I rarely see a client who doesn’t suffer from it. I’ve noticed that people always blame bread, pasta or carbs, but this is only part of the cause. If you try and treat bloating by cutting out everything that makes you bloat, you can end up with a diet so […]

Belching

If you find yourself belching all the time, it’s not bad manners it’s a sign that your liver needs some TLC. Liver directs chi flow around your body to make sure all your organs and processes work properly. Belching is a sign that that flow is being interrupted somewhere. The odd burp or two is […]