Love Your Liver

In this week’s blog, Love Your Liver, I’ll continue with the Spirit of Organs series to talk about one of the most important organs to keep in balance to reach optimal health, the liver. You’ll learn this vital organ’s physical, emotional, ancestral and energetic aspects with ways to identify, heal and support your liver on all levels of being. Experience a guided meditation to build a mind-body-spirit connection with your liver and the systems it supports.

Your liver is one of your life force energy batteries supplying energy and supporting hundreds of vital functions in the body. Its main function is to filter the blood, aid in digestion, maintain healthy blood sugar and store vitamins and minerals. Located just under the rib cage on the right side, this organ is extremely resilient as it protects your body from harmful toxins we come into contact with on a daily basis. It also helps turn fats into energy that is needed throughout the body.

It takes a lot to shut down the liver like the hepatitis virus, cancer, obesity or extreme alcohol consumption. The liver is such a powerhouse organ it can take a licking and keep on ticking. But like anything, the more hits it takes, the weaker and weaker it becomes over time. If liver function is depleted, it can result in allergies, skin issues, fatigue, migraines, bloating, gallstones, adrenal stress and diabetes.

Alcohol, fatty foods and drugs (pharmaceutical and recreational) all put extra stress on the liver which leads to chronic inflammation or fatty deposits in the liver that limit its function. This is often called fatty liver, and research is showing that underneath the majority of ailments, fatty liver can be found. So supporting good liver function is a great way to help support recovery and build resilience!

Eating a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts are great liver supporters as they help adjust the detoxification process to minimize harmful compounds the liver needs to deal with.

Research has shown that eating a plant-based diet can reverse liver disease by improving antioxidant intake and gut microbiome beneficial to liver enzymes. Within six months one study showed liver enzymes returning to normal in patients diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease who had adopted a plant-based diet free from meat, eggs, and cheese.

Limiting alcohol, medication and drug consumption is also essential in maintaining a healthy liver. Moderation is key here, and if these substances are part of your daily or weekly routine then make sure you give your liver some love on a regular basis using some of the approaches I’ll cover here.

Stress is also a key contributor to liver depletion which should be considered when reaching for a drink to counter stress. Instead, consider a brisk walk in nature or a plant-based meal to support your body in processing stress. Using herbal remedies like milk thistle, nettle or dandelion is a lovely way to help support normal liver function.

I’m a huge fan of castor oil packs on the liver as a de-stress protocol that not only supports the liver but also helps induce relaxation and sleep. To do this, cut a piece of cloth (I use an old tea towel) to about the size of your hand. Soak it in castor oil and place it on the abdomen over the liver which is just under the rib cage on the right side. Cover it will a non-absorbant material like plastic wrap since it will stain your clothing. Place a hot water bottle over the pack and sit back and relax for 20 – 30 minutes. Remove the pack and store it in an airtight container so you can reuse the pack several times. Repeat this 1 – 3 times per week depending on how much support your liver needs. For example, if you overindulge in a fatty meal, use the castor oil pack for a few days after to support your liver and all it’s functions.

Supporting the liver on a physical basis is a great start to lightening its load. For deeper reaching and longer lasting change it is important to also take care of the spirit of the liver through supporting related elements in the emotional, energetic and ancestral bodies as well.

From the energetic body perspective. The liver is located in the solar plexus chakra which is associated with self-empowerment and boundaries. The solar plexus is also where we store emotional overwhelm when we can’t deal with it at the moment. It is also the energy centre where we take in energy from others, consciously or not.

Supporting the energetic home of the liver, working to clear disturbances in the solar plexus and work towards achieving setting healthy boundaries with self and others, remaining empowered in every situation and being in touch with our truth to express our will and what we’re meant to do in life will also help keep your liver happy, supported and well. If you struggle with any of these things, these can be a good place to focus your personal growth intentions: counselling, sound healing, chakra balancing and strengthening your communication skills for setting clear boundaries and drama-free interactions.

The liver is associated with the elemental of wood. The wood element is great for helping us stay motivated to do what is needed to achieve our goals. It has a yin and yang element to it, which must be in balance for harmony to be present in the energy body. The yang aspect of wood is the seedling pushing through the earth towards the sun as well as the strength to grow tall in its trunk. The yin aspect of wood allows for flexibility to bend in the wind without breaking. Seeking a balance between strength and flexibility is a great way to balance this energetic elemental associated with the liver.

From the emotional body perspective, the liver is associated with anger. When the liver becomes stagnant or weak, anger and irritability are the emotions that will become elevated. Taking anger as a sign that your liver needs some support is a great way to become aware of your emotions and respond with self-love to counter these heightened emotions.

Fear is always underneath anger, so asking yourself what you are most afraid of when you are angry, is a great way to have deeper awareness and compassion for what’s really going on. Understanding, confronting and transmuting your fear is an essential step on the personal growth path to find greater safety which allows for self-empowerment to be available in every situation.

When I’m treating the emotional body, I am always looking for a younger age of being where an emotional imprint is that causes the trigger into overwhelming emotional states. Fear is associated with imprints in childhood from the first 5 or so years of life. Anger is the pressure release for fear, so when we can establish greater embodiment of truth, safety, unconditional love and support this will get you a long way towards reducing anger whose energy depletes the life force energy of the liver.

Ancestrally, the liver is associated with the masculine energy of the father. Identifying and releasing ancestral entanglements that run through the paternal line will help relieve the stress ancestral entanglements can have on your family soul, which depletes your spirit. Also, if anyone in the past generations was an alcoholic or had any form of liver disease, this ancestral loyalty can show up in descendants having the same health issues. For liver conditions that are genetically driven, releasing the ancestral entanglements using, for example, the Movements of the Family Soul approach I’ve developed within the Hellinger Family constellation frame can work miracles!

Now sit back and relax as I take you through a guided meditation to activate your mind-body spirit connection with the liver to bring forward greater love, appreciation, harmony and balance to this vital and powerful organ.

You may also listen to this meditation in the companion Healing Codes Podcast given at the end of this article.

Take a deep breath as you settle in for this healing meditation.
As you inhale, welcome in life force energy and as you exhale release any tension, thoughts or unsettled energy.
Breathe in peace and harmony and exhale stress and constriction.
On your next inhale, breath into the belly allowing the life force energy of the breath to find its way to your liver. As the diaphragm moves your lungs in expansion and contraction feel this movement massage your liver which sits just under the diaphragm and ribs on the on the right side of your body.
With each massagin inhale and exhale, sense your liver being supported and caressed with love so that it smiles.
Now, smile from your liver. Mirror this smile with a genuine smile on your face as you sense your liver smiling with love, support and the healing intention for harmony and balance.
Smile from your liver to all parts of your body.
Notice any sensations you feel as you do this. Smiling from your liver is a great way to activate positive energy there that will support its function of detoxification, metabolism and blood sugar.
As you continue to Be with your smiling liver, bring you awareness to your paternal ancestral line. See all the men in your ancestral lineage, from mother and father’s line standing before you in your mind’s eye.
Smile from your liver to theirs and receive the smile from them. Bow the head slightly if you need to in order to acknowledge these men who came before you with full honour and respect.
Allow the bow to release any ancestral entanglements you might be unconsciously caught up in to release the burden you carry for others, now.
Raise your head skywards to connect with your life force energies more fully, to fill the place where the burden was released.
Breathe this life-force energy into your solar plexus chakra seeing its beautiful bright yellow color as we ask for any areas of disturbance in this energy center to be released now.
Breathe into the belly and as you do feel the healthy energy of the solar plexus build in intensity as you welcome it into your liver.
Allow your liver to accept self-empowerment with a smile of gratitude as the frequency of energy of your liver moves into the healthy and harmonious frequencies of being.
Stay here for a few breaths as you allow your physical, energetic and ancestral bodies to integrate health and healing for your liver and all the organ systems it interacts with.
Now drop into your heart, as your liver keeps smiling and basking in the healthy energy of the solar plexus chakra together with full life force energy.
Sense the support of your ancestor behind you, especially the masculine energies.
As you feel the support and balance externally and internally allow your awareness to come to the first 5 years of your life, when you were determining your core beliefs about the world being a safe and harmonious place.
Bring in the ruby red healing light of the root chakra to fill this place on your timeline and heal any old imprints that are ready to be released, now. As you do so notice yourself dropping more fully and deeply into embodying yourself from top to bottom. Know that you are safe, supported and loved.
Sense this in your entire being as the smile in your liver is supported by every masculine member of the family soul, a full clear and open root chakra, an empowered and harmonious solar plexus chakra and a balanced emotional body.
Bring your awareness back to your liver and smile once more from your liver as you feel this smile spread to your other organs, blood, muscle cells and every molecule that makes you you.
Hold an intention to support and love your liver as you feel deep gratitude for its important function that keeps you free from toxins and regulated with harmony and bliss, which is your true nature of being.
Relax here as long as you’d like, and when you’re ready begin to move your fingers and toes and bring gentle movements into your body temple.
Bring your awareness fully back to the here and now as you appreciate your liver for the powerful source of energy it is.