Escape Restraint

Escape Restraint is ideal for those who experience digestive upset triggered by stress — including bloating, belching, acid reflux, heartburn, or fullness in the chest and upper abdomen. It can also support women with cyclical bloating, breast tenderness, or irritability tied to PMS.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this symptom pattern is often due to liver Qi stagnation affecting the stomach and spleen, leading to food stagnation, dampness, and internal heat. Escape Restraint relieves this pattern by unblocking constrained Qi, improving digestion, and harmonizing emotional and physical tension.

Escape Restraint is a modern take on the classical formula Yue Ju Wan, crafted to resolve multiple types of stagnation — Qi, blood, food, dampness, and heat. Cyperus (xiang fu) moves constrained liver Qi to ease emotional stress and digestive irregularity. Cang-zhu atractylodes and fermented barley reduce dampness and improve digestion.

Ligusticum promotes circulation to relieve bloating and abdominal fullness, while gardenia clears internal heat, reducing acid reflux and inflammation. Together, these herbs harmonize the digestive and emotional systems, especially when discomfort is exacerbated by stress, irritability, or cyclical hormonal patterns.

Reach for Escape Restraint when you feel tension or distention in the upper abdomen or chest, especially if it's accompanied by belching, nausea, or heartburn related to stress or premenstrual shifts. It’s particularly suited for individuals with signs of liver overacting on the digestive system. Take between meals for best results.

Quiet Digestion
For bloating, food stagnation, and sluggish gut motility

Shu Gan
For stronger liver Qi movement and emotional frustration

Calm Spirit
To address irritability, worry, or emotional constraint impacting digestion