Xiao Yao San or Free and Easy Wanderer or Rambling Powder is one of the most commonly prescribed and well-researched Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal formulas. Several of Mend’s blogs have addressed the importance of loving on your Liver either by eating sour and/or green foods or by tending to your emotional health. Consider Xiao Yao San as another tool to support the Liver. There’s a good reason we recommend this beautifully balanced formula at Mend so frequently; it soothes the Liver and supports the Spleen. You may be asking “what in the world does soothing the Liver and supporting Spleen mean exactly and why is it even important?” Let’s get into it!

The Liver

The Liver’s purpose is to ensure that blood, bodily fluids and qi move through the body unencumbered and to support the essential functions for all of the other organ systems. The Huang Di Nei Jing (a classical TCM text) describes the Liver as the General of the army since all the other organs rely on the Liver’s direction for optimal performance. In other words, the Liver has a HUGE impact on our physical and emotional health! 

When the function of the liver isn’t smooth, you can bet that most of the other systems in our body aren’t running smoothly either. One of the primary ways the Liver becomes imbalanced is through life’s stressors. Over time these cumulative stressors deeply impact our body’s health causing stagnation, or lack of smooth flow. Anyone been experiencing chronic stress recently? Xiao Yao San serves to create harmony in the body through a combination of herbs that directly soothes stagnation of the Liver to restore smooth flow. 

The Spleen

The western or anatomical function of the spleen is in the creation of white blood cells, therefore making it an important player in the immune system. Through the lens of TCM, the Spleen sits at the helm of digestion. Through proper digestion the Spleen creates all of the qi, blood and vital substances required by the body. The Liver and Spleen are therefore intimately connected since the Spleen creates these vital substances and the Liver makes sure those substances flow nice and smoothly around the body to all of the other organs. 

What is Xiao Yao San? 

  • Bupleurum (Chai Hu)
  • Dong Quai (Dang Gui)
  • Licorice Root (Zhi Gan Cao)
  • Quick fried ginger root (Pao Jian)
  • White peony root (bai shao)
  • White atractylodes (bai zhu)
  • Poria (fu ling)
  • Peppermint (bo he)

Though all ingredients are safe this formula isn’t recommended for pregnant women or those with kidney or heart disease.

When Should I use Xiao Yao San?

It goes without saying these are incredibly stressful times we’re all living in. We’ve been challenged with assimilating and adapting to not only pandemic life but to news cycles that regularly challenge our hearts and minds. Signs that your body is calling for support with Liver and Spleen function include menstrual issues, bloating, constipation, indigestion, muscle pain, tendon stiffness, eye problems, mood disorders, poor sleep, low motivation and fatigue. Personally, I cycle through using this formula for a course of treatment 2-3 times per year. Please talk with your acupuncturist about how to incorporate this gentle and effective formula in combination with acupuncture treatment to love our Livers and support our Spleens. 

More Resources:

Click here for clinical research on Xiao Yao San in the treatment of depression,

here for research on Xiao Yao San and indigestion,

and here for research on Xiao Yao San and cortisol.

Kim Hennessee, L.Ac., Mend Director of Operations and Acupuncturist
Kim has worked in a variety of healthcare settings over the last decade (including Women’s Health and Pain Management) and has seen how patients benefit from folding acupuncture care into their medical care. She is a natural educator and has worked in-house as well as on a larger, national scale to share the best data on acupuncture’s most effective uses.
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