Qigong Massage to Reduce Blood Pressure

Qigong Massage to Reduce Blood Pressure H

igh blood pressure is a common ailment. Its main symptoms are headache and dizziness. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine theory (TCM), if there is something wrong with the upper part of the body, give treatment first to the lower part of the body. Self massage can be used to reduce the blood pressure by rubbing and kneading the Yongquan acupoints on the sole of the feet. TCM calls massage at this acupoint, “taking away the firewood from under the cauldron” and “conducting the fire back to its origin”. Rubbing the soles helps reduce the liver heat, conduct the blood flow downward and lighten the burden on the head, thus alleviating headache and dizziness. TCM also believes that massaging the head and neck, especially pushing and massaging behind the ears and back of neck helps to direct the downward flow of the blood in the head and weaken the upsurging force of blood, thus refreshing the brain and improving eyesight.

How to do: 1. Rub the soles of the foot with the hands before getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. Keeping yourself warm, rub the soles of your feet 100 times each, for about two minutes. Alternatively, you can rub and knead the right sole with your left heel and rub and knead the left sole with right heel, 100 times each. Then rub the toes with some force, not just back and forth. 2. Massage the head and neck, starting by pushing and massaging the head from the forehead backward to the bottom of the skull behind the head. Then turn the palms up and use the outer sides of the small fingers to push and massage from the ear downward the small of the neck, stimulating the Fengshi acupuncture points. You can do the exercises in either order. You should feel relaxed in both the head and body. It has been shown that the blood pressure is usually reduced by 10-20 mm after these exercises and the benefit will last four to five hours. To consolidate the curative effect, massage the head and neck anytime you wish. page 8 Qi Magazine Mar/Apr 2003