Why do you want to meditate on your liver?
First of all, now we know as the yogis have always told us “prana follows thought” or in science terms when you think about an area of your body, you have increased blood flow, lymph flow, white blood cells, etc. to that area! Way cool! We can use the power of our mind to help our bodies!
Second reason to meditate on your liver is because it has a heavy job to do, it has to filter everything you put in your mouth — that alone can be taxing to your liver depending on what you put into your mouth … In addition the liver has to detox all the hardest to remove toxins and heavy metals from our body. In today’s world that is a much bigger job than it used to be. We are more bombarded with toxic chemicals, preservatives, pesticides and herbicides, and air born pollution than we have ever been. We need to support the processes of our liver in our daily life.
In addition the liver performs over 600 functions in the body ~ and science is still uncovering more about our liver. Our liver truly earns its name, it keeps us alive.
Here is a liver meditation that takes about 15 minutes if you do the full meditation. I combined my own liver meditation with a liver meditation I learned from Anthony Williams (a medical medium who was on Hay House’s summit).
Start lying supine (on your back)
Hug your knees to your chest for 5 deep slow breaths.
Apanasana – 5x with your breath
Place your hands on your knees
- Inhale straighten arms, knees away from chest
- exhale bend elbows pulling knees toward chest pressing low back and sacrum toward floor, keep chin down, upper back and neck long
Supine Spinal Twisting – 3x each side moving, then hold each side 5-10 breaths
Lying supine, arms extended out at shoulder level resting on floor, Knees over hips and close to abdomen:
- Exhale slowly twist knees up and over toward the left elbow
- Inhale knees to Center
- Exhale slowly twist knees up and over to the right elbow
- inhale to Center
Repeat 3x moving side to side.
On last one each side relax legs, knees, and feet to the floor with your knees up close to your elbow, drop head opposite direction of legs.
RELAX, no tension anywhere 10 – 15 breaths
Repeat other side
Hug knees to chest – rock side to side for a few breaths, then rock and roll forward and back 5-9x – Inhaling as you roll forward, exhaling as you roll back.
Lie Supine (flat on back) and massage your liver. It is on the right upper quadrant of your torso, half under your ribs and half sticking out. Massage gently under your right ribs back and forth for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Lie Supine
- Hug your right knee to your chest for 5 deep breaths (keep left leg extended, resting on floor)
- Rest flat on your back for 5 breaths
- Repeat with your left knee, resting supine before switching back to the right.
- Repeat 3x each leg resting supine in between.
Lying supine, lay both hands over your torso at the level of your liver, you can interlace your fingers over your torso, your right hand and arm should be resting on your liver.
Visualize your liver, see it as an amazing filter that is filtering all the food as it comes off your digestive tract, see it cleaning out toxins and effectively eliminating waste. See it collecting toxins and other heavy metals from tissues in your body — seeking them out and destroying them, using bile to break them up and escort them to your colon for removal from your body.
Have fun with this visualization, see if you can get creative and imagine in your minds eye your liver clearing emotions, anger, grief from your body and mind. What else can you see your liver doing or detoxing?
Now rest, a nice way to rest is with your legs up the wall, in yoga its called Vipartia Karani:
Scoot your hips up against the base board of an empty space of wall or on a door, swing around and put your legs up the wall, then scoot your hips all the way to the wall. Your feet and legs should feel totally supported by the wall and your lower back gently resting on the floor.
Lay your hands over your abdomen and allow your belly to rise and fall with your breath.
Stay here til you feel fully refreshed.
Then slowly get up, shake off a bit and give thanks for the time and space that you got to do this meditation.