Best Restorative Yoga Poses
Other techniques that stimulate the Stomach and Spleen:
Singing
Have you heard that singing is good for digestion? According to Oriental medicine, singing stimulates Qi and blood while also calming the mind. Therefore, activities like going out to karaoke after dinner or even singing in the shower are a recommended practice, especially in late summer.
Massage the Legs
1. Sit either on the floor or on a comfortable chair and start to gently squeeze the inside of one of your lower legs. Work up from the ankle to the knee. The inside of the leg contains the spleen, kidney and liver channels. The inside of the leg is considered to be yin and triggers a relaxed and sometimes sleepy state.
2. After you have worked on the inside of the legs, move your attention to the outside of the legs. Bend one knee up and start to pummel (loose fist thumping) the outside of the lower leg. Work up from above the ankle to around the knee. After a good pummeling, use your palm and thumb to squeeze the muscles on the outside of the leg. The outside of the leg contains the stomach and gallbladder channels and is considered to be more stimulating and energizing due to it being a yang part of the body.
Best Restorative Yoga Poses Photo Gallery
Mindful Eating and Prayers for Eating
Practicing mindful eating can be one of the most powerful practices to nourish and support the stomach and spleen while also training the mind. Mindful eating involves eating slowly, with full awareness and without distraction. Also, including a little prayer, as a way to give thanks to Mother Earth and as a way to purify the food, is an age-old practice that many spiritual and religious traditions still practice. The following example of a mindfulness food prayer comes from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, from his book Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life.
The Five Contemplations
1. This food is the gift of the whole universe: The earth, the sky, numerous living beings and much hard, loving work.
2. May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive it.
3. May we recognize and transform our unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed, and learn to eat with moderation.
4. May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering of living beings, preserve our planet and reverse the process of global warming.
5. We accept this food so that we may nurture our sisterhood and brotherhood, strengthen our community, and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings.
