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