Fighting Parkinson’s, and the Recipe in-depth, part 2

I intend to take each part of the Recipe, physical, mental, and spiritual, and explain why it is in the Recipe and what it is doing for you in your recovery, deeply drilling down to the how and why it is helping you recover from Parkinson’s. Today is the second part: Medical Qigong Sound for Calming the Liver.

For those of you new to the blog, when I say “the Recipe,” I am talking about the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. Click here to review the full version of the Recipe.

Medical Qigong Sound for Calming the Liver.

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and eyes closed.
2. Place hands overlapping over the Dantian.
3. On the inhale, visualize energy rising up the liver meridian (begin at inside of big toe, come across foot and go above the inside ankle bone, up the inside of the leg to the groin, across to the outside of the ribs).
4. On the exhale, open your eyes and as you are pulling in your abdomen, squeeze your anus and let out the Xu sound (it is pronounced Shuuu Yiii).
5. Repeat for a total of 6 inhalations and 6 exhalations.

Click here for a graphic of the liver meridian.

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and eyes closed.
This puts you in a position of balance. Eyes closed turns your focus inward.

2. Place hands overlapping over the Dantian.
The Dantian is an energy center about one inch below the navel and two inches inward from there inside your body. This creates a concentration of energy, and your intention focuses inward.

3. On the inhale, visualize energy rising up the liver meridian (begin at inside of big toe, come across foot and go above the inside ankle bone, up the inside of the leg to the groin, across to the outside of the ribs).
If you look at the liver meridian graphic above, you will see where the energy flows. In the previous post, Medical Qigong for the Liver, you stirred up a lot of toxins, and in the final movement of each repetition, you pushed energy down the liver meridian. Here, you are helping calm the liver by bringing energy slowly and smoothly back up the meridian, simultaneously up each leg and through the groin to the ribs, ending at the same point where you begin Medical Qigong for the Liver, LV 14. For those who have difficulty with visualization, I will have that discussion below.

4. On the exhale, open your eyes and as you are pulling in your abdomen, squeeze your anus and let out the Xu sound (it is pronounced Shuuu Yiii).
Here, there is a shift in intention and energy flow. Opening the eyes brings intention outward. Pulling in the abdomen and squeezing the anus forces the energy to flow upward and through the liver. The Shuuu Yiii sound is a vibration combination that is soothing to the liver. Any residual toxins flow outward on the exhale, clearing and calming the liver.

5. Repeat for a total of 6 inhalations and 6 exhalations.
That is what it takes to calm the liver.

The issue of visualization. There are a few parts of the Recipe that call for visualization. Many people over the years have explained to me that they struggle with visualization. Here is my explanation and recommendation. The purpose of visualization is to direct your thoughts and intention inward. If you are trying to accomplish calming your liver, and your mind is thinking about all of the things you have to do that day and you are stressed out about it, you are stressing your liver when you are supposed to be calming your liver.

When doing visualization, I like to picture something that I know how it works in the physical world. For this visualization, on the inhale, I visualized pulling liquid up a straw running up the inside of my legs, through the groin to the ribs. I then pictured it turning into vapor as I pushed out my exhale.

For those who completely feel they cannot perform a visualization, here is what I have recommended. At the beginning of the Qigong, close your eyes and say, “Dear my Higher Power, I am about to do this Qigong exercise. Please direct the energy where it needs to go for my health and recovery. Thank you.” This brings your intention inward, and it calms your liver by removing anger and frustration over “not being able to do a visualization,” and it helps your kidneys because it removes the fear that if you cannot do the visualizations in the Recipe, you cannot recover. Please know, everything in the Recipe can be modified for you…you have nothing to fear!

Click here for a refresher on letting go of fear.

You are worth it!!!

I will be back soon.

All my best,

Howard

NOTE: There are some questions that have been asked in comments written on the blog posts. Since most people will not be returning to those posts and reviewing the comments to retrieve my answers, I am putting them here.

Q: Btw, how is your lovely wife coming along after the accident?
A: Sally is healing well. Thank you for asking. Her ribs are on the mend. Last Friday, we went to the Orthopedic Institute and the x-ray shows that the fractured bone in her foot is mending properly. She is still in a boot and keeping off of her foot, but all looks promising for a full recovery.

Q: I follow along with you in your video on the medical qigong for the liver. Does it matter what time in the morning to do this? Are we suppose to this in the evening as well?
A: The time in the morning does not matter. I did this one in the early evening as well. If you do this one a second time in the evening, do not do it too close to bedtime as you may become energized and have difficulty falling asleep. My primary purpose in doing this (and the other ones I did in the evening) was to energize me in the early evening so I could live my life by having the energy to participate in life with my family. I had been falling asleep in the early evenings from lack of energy, and I needed a solution, so I added certain Qigong exercises into my evening. If you do not have time to do the evening Qigong, do not be afraid that you will not recover. Look above for the refresher on letting go of fear.

Q: The truths you speak wake me up. Until I read it here, I never thought that trying too hard to be a “good person/good daughter/good student/good citizen” could be what is challenging my health. Can you give some more help about how to get rid of unwanted habits? Even though I see habits in me that are counterproductive, I have not successfully overcome them.
A: Practice acceptance, and replace old “bad” habits with new “better” habits. Over time, the new habits will replace the old ones. Be patient. Also, please read this, https://www.fightingparkinsonsdrugfree.com/2012/08/26/fighting-parkinsons-and-okay-okay-okay/. Create a new habit like this: “I am a good person/good daughter/good student/good citizen, but I am not a perfect person/perfect daughter/perfect student/perfect citizen, and that is okay! My best is good enough!” Here is a refresher on your best being good enough, https://www.fightingparkinsonsdrugfree.com/2013/05/15/fighting-parkinsons-and-your-best-is-good-enough/.

Finally, I am grateful for all of your beautiful comments, your kindness to me, and your encouragement to each other. We are real people connecting with each other from around the world. We are re-connecting ourselves to the Whole. Thank you, thank you, thank you…all of you!