Support your spleen and liver with this gentle Qigong exercise

The Stretch of The Month for January is more focused on movement, helping us recover from the sometimes overindulgent festive period. It is a simple yet powerful Qigong exercise designed to support two vital organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine: the spleen & liver. These organs play a key role in digestion, immunity, and overall vitality.

This gentle, rhythmic movement helps to stimulate, squeeze, and encourage optimal function of both the liver and spleen, allowing the body to rebalance and reset.

How to do the Spleen & Liver Qigong Movement

Begin by standing comfortably with your feet hip-width apart.

Allow yourself to settle into a relaxed stance. Start to gently rock your weight from side to side, letting your arms swing naturally. As you shift your weight, allow your torso to twist softly, crossing slightly with each movement.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the left side of the body relates to the spleen, while the right side relates to the liver – this will guide the movement.

When your weight moves to the left, your left (spleen) arm and foot naturally rise. As you shift to the right, your right (liver) arm and foot lift instead. The movement should feel loose, flowing, and rhythmic rather than forced.

Simply allow the body to find its own rhythm. Let the arms swing, let the torso rotate, and keep the movement smooth and relaxed.

As you continue, breathe deeply and naturally, inhaling and exhaling as the body moves. Aim to continue this stretch of the month for around three minutes, maintaining a steady, relaxed flow throughout.

What Are the Benefits of This Qigong Movement?

This stretch of the month helps to support liver and spleen function, encouraging better digestion, circulation, and immune health. The gentle twisting and rocking motion stimulates the organs without strain, making it suitable for most bodies and energy levels.

By calming the nervous system and promoting natural rhythm, this exercise can also help reduce stress – an important factor in liver health within Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Simple, grounding, and restorative, this is an ideal practice to add to your daily routine when you’re feeling depleted, sluggish, or overwhelmed.

To see more exercises and stretches like this, follow us on Instagram and TikTok – and don’t forget to save them to return to whenever your body needs a reset!