Life Cultivation Methods to Promote Qi & Blood Circulation

Smooth Qi and Blood circulation is the key to maintaining our health and anti-ageing. We mentioned in the last post that we will look at methods we can adopt in our daily lives to promote Qi and Blood circulation.

First of all, we need to avoid getting stressed, and when that is difficult, we need to resolve stress in some ways. The liver is the internal organ that ensures the smooth flow of Qi throughout the body. However, emotional stress can easily restrain this coursing activity of the liver. What results is Liver Qi Stagnation, which can then affect the Qi circulation in the entire body. Adopting an optimistic perspective will help to avoid stress and therefore allow Qi and Blood to flow harmoniously. Everybody wants to avoid getting stressed as that is not an enjoyable experience. Since that is easier said than done, we need to adopt ways to undo the stress. Common ways that can be done include exercises and sports, dancing, meditation, listening to lively and cheerful music, socializing with people who are comfortable to us, travelling, or even watching a funny show.

While stress is the most common cause of Liver Qi Stagnation in modern society, a static lifestyle can also lead to Qi Stagnation. Exercise is not only important for resolving Qi Stagnation but also for preventing it. Qi is a representation of energy, vitality, and activity. We need to keep it functioning by letting it move our bodies from time to time. Think of it as a generator that requires starting from time to time to make sure that it runs smoothly when we actually need it. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle also weakens our muscles and their governing organ Spleen. Once the Spleen weakens, it can result in various other pathologies as it is the main organ that produces our Qi, Blood, Yin, and Essence after we are born. It is best to maintain some level of activity all in all to keep our Liver and Spleen healthy.

Blood circulation is usually ensured when there is efficient Qi circulation because Qi moves the Blood. But even when Qi circulation is smooth, Blood circulation can still be unsmooth when Blood is thick with Phlegm. Phlegm can impede Blood circulation because it makes Blood more viscous and difficult to circulate. Often this Phlegm is comparable to cholesterol in our bloodstream. To reduce this cholesterol, we will need to ensure that we do not consume too much animal-based fats but also include plants in our diet as well as maintain our body fat percentage within the normal range. Substituting animal-based fats in our diet with plant-based fats has been associated with a lower risk of heart disease. The term “animal” in this case does not include fish. In fact, highly unsaturated fatty acids that are found in fish oil are very beneficial for our heart and brain health.  

Cold can also slow down the Blood circulation. This is because Cold has a constrictive nature. Blood will coagulate and our blood vessels will constrict in a cold environment. Blood clots can be seen during menses in females with cold abdomens. Therefore, we need to keep our bodies warm with sufficient clothing and sometimes with the help of hot packs to promote Blood circulation. It is especially important to keep our extremities like fingers and toes, joints, and lower abdomen warm. Extremities are the first place where blood vessels will constrict in a cold environment. This is a natural reaction of the body to keep in our warmth as we lose heat from the body when blood circulates to the extremities with a large surface area. At the same time, this vasoconstriction in the peripheries will mean that our extremities will not get effective circulation and that they will soon become cold due to the lack of Yang delivered by Blood. Joints are places where cold can easily attack and invade the body. The lower abdomen is where our Kidney Yang is contained. Keeping this area warm with underclothes and heat pads will maintain and augment the Kidney Yang which is the source of Yang for all other organs. In addition, raising the body temperature by 1℃ will increase the effectiveness of our immune system by 40% while decreasing the activity of cancer cells and because a significant amount of body heat arises from our muscles, we need to practice regular aerobic exercises. 

Foods can also be used to promote Qi and Blood circulation. One such dish is a porridge made of chives or garlic. Chives or garlic (30 – 45g of fresh ones or 10 – 15g of dried ones) and Rice (100g) can be cooked together to make a porridge. Another porridge that can be made is hawthorn berry porridge. Hawthorn berries (30 – 40g of dried ones or 60g of fresh ones) should be first boiled down in a pot then rice (100g) and brown sugar (10g) can be added. If rice is not available, oats can also be used to make a porridge. While rice is the staple food in Asia and replenishes the Qi that is necessary for working, oats are better for cleaning Blood as it can help reduce cholesterol. Red sage roots (Radix Salviae Miltorrhizae) wine can also be consumed to promote Qi and Blood circulation. This can be made by mixing washed and pounded red sage roots (60g) with high-proof alcohol (500ml). The wine is ready after a month of soaking. Small quantities of spirits or wines can benefit Blood circulation and dredge the blood vessels. Other foods that can promote Qi circulation are citron, orange, peels of mandarin/clementine, buckwheat, fennel, garlic, sorghum, sword bean, radish greens/radish leaves and Chinese toon (beef and onion plant). Other foods that are beneficial for promoting the circulation of Blood and resolving Blood Stasis include walnuts, canola (Yu Choy), arrowhead, black soybean, peach, and peanuts.

In the next post, we will cover the properties of goji berry which is extremely relevant to longevity.