Ever wondered why you always wake up between 1am and 3am?

From an ancient Chinese/'Taoist' perspective, between 1am and 3am is Liver time. It is said that during these hours the function of the related organ is at its peak ie. The Liver is working its hardest during 1am and 3am every night. So during Liver time the middle of the night everything should be resting and the mind should be completely turned off. So why is yours not?!

The Liver is the yin organ of the wood element and each element pertains to a certain part of the cycle of life on large and small scales. For example the season of the wood element is Spring which also heralds the beginning of all life.
Wood can be bent or straightened and is likened to being strong and flexible hence its body tissue is the sinews/tendons. Its emotion is anger and includes feelings of frustration, irritation, and resentment. Its sound is shouting, its colour is green, its taste is sour, its sense organ are the eyes, its climate is the wind and its yang organ is the Gall bladder. The Liver in particular has a very important function of ensuring the smooth flow of qi (energy). This smooth flow of energy affects all parts of the body. As with all things in Chinese medicine there is always a relationship between cause and effect, so for example when the smooth flow of qi is hindered there is dysfunction.

The next thing to note is how we live, everyone is slightly different but in general most people in the western world live like this.

We live in a world where we focus on the 'to do' list. We spend all day rushing from one thing to the next with no interest on our natural state of being. Our energy starts to falter and we don't have enough time to finish what we must. Instead of slowing down we pump ourselves full of sugar, fear and adrenalin and push on, getting as much done as physically possible before we decide to set our head down on the pillow. Physically tired, emotionally exhausted and completely drained.

Now that you are aware of the connections between the time (1am-3am), all of the main correspondences of wood, and how you currently function, we can delve a little deeper into understanding why it is this time you wake up.

From a very basic understanding when the energy of a particular element is not functioning properly you will find that you experience signs and symptoms from that particular element. So for example when we have over indulged in our Liver energy we become frustrated, irritable, and moody, our bodies are inflexible, you may feel very up and then very down, have pain over the sides of our bodies, , have eye problems, feel gasy, hear borborygmos, women may have irregular periods and we may just wake up between 1am and 3am!

If any of these are happening to you the first thing to do is breathe. Then remember these are helpful warning signs suggesting that something needs to change, and if you decide to leave it now just prepare yourself for illness later.An easy second step is to stretch! So often people pump serious iron at the gym or do fitness classes that work you to the bone, but never stretch properly afterwards. Take up a yoga class once a week to start, it works you inside and out and is so good for those muscles and tendons. Long gone are the days where people think that stretching makes your muscles weaker. Check out Alexander Keralin a world famous Greek roman wrestler that could do the splits and a full back arch in his prime of winning 3 olympic gold medals. Here below is a flexible strong man!

If you want more information or more tips contact Health House, or AACMA for a reputable Chinese medicine practitioner in Australia.