Qi Stagnation TCM Body Constitution

This week, let’s learn more about the fifth type of body constitution – Qi Stagnation (气郁体质).

 

In a healthy person, the Qi flow is smooth and unobstructed.

 

Qi stagnation happens when the Qi can’t flow smoothly throughout the body, most particularly in the liver and heart meridian.

 

One of the most common causes for Qi stagnation is related to one’s emotional and mental state. Our world today is moving at a very fast pace and this causes a high level of stress and anxiety in people’s lives. Over time, this stress affects how Qi flows in the body and can lead to Qi stagnation.

 

Apart from stress, unhealthy eating habits and poor lifestyle choices such as sleeping late also contribute to Qi stagnation in the body.

 

The following symptoms are some of the obvious signs of a person with Qi stagnation body constitution:

 

1. Get nervous or frightened easily – If the same event were to happen to two people (one of Qi stagnation body type and the other of balanced body type), the person with Qi stagnation body type will get anxious or feel fearful more easily than the person with balanced body type.

 

2. Emotionally fragile – People with Qi stagnation body constitution are more emotionally fragile as compared to others. They are also more likely to sigh for no reason. This is because of Qi stagnation in the liver.

 

Eating the right foods and avoiding the wrong foods is the first step towards bringing your body back to a more balanced state.

 

Foods that can benefit people with Qi stagnation body type are those with Qi-regulating properties.

 

Adding these foods to your diet or increasing the intake of these foods will help to improve your body constitution and return your body to a more balanced state.

 

Following are the top 5 recommended foods that will benefit you if you have this body constitution (as a general rule of thumb, please consume all foods in moderation):

 

1. Rose (Chinese Name: 玫瑰花)

2. Kelp (Chinese Name: 海带)

3. Long Yellow Daylily (Chinese Name: 黄花菜)

4. Hawthorn (Chinese Name: 山楂)

5. Tangerine (Chinese Name: 橘子)

 

You can take the free online body constitution test here to determine your body type.