Keeping fit and healthy from head to toe – Stomach, gallbladder, breast, spleen and liver
Today’s highlighted body regions are the stomach, gallbladder, spleen, liver, and breasts. Pay extra attention to these regions, exercise them, and look after them! Below you find some tips and recipes. But before here is some information about the historical context of ‘body regions’.
The system of the ‘body regions’
For thousands of years, physicians and healers believed that the gravitational forces of the moon and wider cosmos influenced different regions of the body as the lunar cycle progressed. Across many traditional teachings, it was understood that throughout each moon cycle, our energetic focus travels through the body from head to toe.
While this concept is more folkloric than medically proven, it offers a holistic time scale to care for ourselves. Whenever you see the relevant symbol, bring awareness to this region and create a rhythm of conscious self-care. This will, over time, support balance, well-being, and a deeper connection to our body.
Please remember this cycle is intended for general awareness, gentle exercise, prevention, and well-being. It is not a substitute for medical treatment or emergency care. Any health concerns or medical needs should always be guided by a qualified healthcare professional!
However, as Benjamin Franklin wisely wrote in 1736, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” These symbols serve as a gentle reminder to look after your body with regular movement, strengthening exercises, nourishment, and supportive routines — helping you stay healthy and more resilient, and more in tune with yourself. A consistent 15-minute daily program can, over time, have enormous health benefits.
Liquid Fast Weekends:
The idea behind Liquid Fast Weekends is to give your digestion a rest and speed up detoxification. I find it useful to add in 3 day fasting day at least every other New Moon. The idea is to drink as much water and herbal teas as you can. The best herbs for fasting are fennel, nettle, mint, and dandelion (to mention a few). Boil water and leave it to stand for a few minutes. Then take out a jug or even better a thermos flask and place a small sieve over the opening. Add 2 teaspoons of your dried herb into the sieve and slowly pour the almost boiling water through the sieve into the flask. This makes the best detox tea, flavoursome, but not too strong.
Cooked food is easier to digest than raw food. Therefore abstain from fruit juices and eat vegetable soups and compotes instead (cooked apple, pear, apricot). The way to make a good compote is to peel the fruit, cut it into cubes and just boil it with a tiny amount of water and a smitten of cinnamon. It takes only minutes to prepare. I always add a dash of lemon juice to keep it fresh and it helps to reduce the body’s acidity level.
Try to add a ‘Liquid Fast Weekend’ (always during a Waning Moon phase or the closer to the New Moon the better!) a few times a year. Here is the symbol to look out for!
If you receive our monthly LWTM newsletter, we usually send out detox and fasting guides in early spring. If you want to receive this newsletter, please click the link at the bottom – it is free to join the LWTM community.
Overhaul your diet:
This is of course something you hear every day. But it is true. Hippocrates already told us “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
But by ‘food’ he meant fresh, seasonal vegetables and fruit, good oils, fresh fish and meat, and eggs (if you eat it). Try to limit your intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates. Instead opt for complex carbohydrates, like wholesome bread, quinoa, organic cracked wheat with vegetables, etc. Limit your intake of fizzy, sugary drinks, commercial sweets, and bakery goods. If you like deserts and cookies, try to make them yourself with wholesome ingredients.
For the occasional ‘sweet craving, have a ripe banana, mango slices, or a piece of good-quality dark chocolate.
Liver detox
Once or twice a year, ideally, during the time of a Waning or New Moon, undertake a liver detox program. This can be combined with the fasting weekend.
Get a milk thistle extract (best in drop forms) and follow the instructions. Milk thistle can help rebuild healthy liver cells and help the liver repair itself, This could be a useful addition after a festive period with too much alcohol and unhealthy food. But even if you live and eat very healthily, opting for a preventative liver cleanse twice a year, is a good way to keep your liver in good shape.
If you are a coffee lover you will be pleased to know that 2 coffees per day help the liver detox, as will green tea and turmeric tea.
But what is definitely advisable when you do the Liquid Fast Weekend, rest 30 minutes before lunchtime and put a wet flannel on the right side of your belly (just under the ribcage). This is where you find the liver. Add a hot water bottle on top and wrap a big towel over you, so the water bottle stays in place and rest for 30 minutes until the hot water bottle gets cool. The liver loves a warm and damp environment. Tip: If you use this method use it up to 3 pm and not later as you may find it hard to go to sleep.
Dandelion
This yellow flowering plant is commonly viewed as a garden pest, particularly spoiling the lawn. But it has tons of health benefits taken as a tea or even using the blossom and leaves in a salad. Make a big flask of Dandelion tea (as instructed above) to help with your liver detox. It is also very useful for the bladder. The French call it – pis en lie – (wet the bed). You can draw your own conclusions.
More information on this subject will be added in due course
