Taiji Qigong and Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a preventable disease that kills more than 110,000 people in England every year. More than 1.4 million people suffer from angina and 275,000 people have a heart attack annually. CHD is the biggest killer in the country. These are the latest Government statistics on Coronary Heart Disease. Here at the United Kingdom Taiji Qigong Foundation we are committed to spreading the word on how Taiji Qigong can help alleviate and work to prevent Coronary Heart Disease.

In terms of Taiji Qigong the heart is not an independent organ, which fails in isolation from the rest of the body, heart disease then is an effect or result of an imbalance or loss of control occurring elsewhere. Where then does heart disease originate? We would postulate that it is in the brain, where specific vasomotor centres have been isolated which control the rate, intensity and regularity of the coronary impulses. Therefore if someone is suffering from cardiac arrhythmia (uncontrolled, irregular heart beat), angina (pain due to cardiac insufficiency) or a slowly failing heart, we should really say that they have a malfunction in the coronary control centres of the brain, rather than something fundamentally and irreversibly wrong with the heart itself.

The most important factor leading to heart dysfunction is an excessive build up of anxiety and emotional conflict, causing fear and insecurity. If deep feelings of anger, competitiveness, jealousy, aggression, rejection and so on are not vented but are denied expression and suppressed back within the mind, the cardiac impulse becomes unsteady. This occurs when that tension and strain is relayed down to the heart as an excessive level of sympathetic nervous activity. As a result, the heart strains and labours excessively, and heart strain and dysfunction is the end result. Therefore, our mental and emotional metabolism is directly reflected in the performance of our hearts, and this is why in Taiji Qigong we approach the problem here at its roots, whereas medical science, which focuses more upon the heart itself, relies on long term drug therapy to bolster up the failing heart mechanism, with little reference to the underlying causes on the mental and emotional planes.

At the UKTQF we believe it is possible for a cardiac sufferer to recognize and gain control over the anxiety generating mental patterns, which are constantly throwing his own heart mechanisms out of balance. Approaching heart disease in this way, we follow a programme, which has proved effective for cardiac sufferers. Through practice they can begin to recognize and understand their problem more objectively, as confidence in their ability to relax the monkey mind is gained.

The major concept is that of relaxation through the slow movement of Taiji Qigong and healing sounds, which directly aid the parasympathetic system. This concept must be taught and then practised by the person themselves so that they can confidently short circuit the enormous load of anxiety they may be carrying about with them, and enter into a more relaxed state of being.
The Healing Sounds can have a very powerful and direct effect upon the mind because it is appreciated and understood at a purely intuitive, feeling level, without any intellectual analysis, thereby having the effect of instant release of tension which is soothing, relaxing and totally absorbing. Different sounds have different effects on the different organs of the body as well as the heart.

We also make use of the breath and slow movement as a vehicle of relaxation. Our approach is that there is never any question of straining, withholding or resisting the breath. Rather, the practitioner learns to become aware of the spontaneous inflowing and out flowing breath, but makes no effort to control it in any way. No strain in movement nor breathing should be generated, but awareness of one’s body and one’s breath grows gradually. This is found to automatically alter the filling pattern of the lobes of the lungs, and the chambers of the heart, and respiration becomes deeper and more efficient spontaneously. The heart rate slows and the cardio-respiratory efficiency increases automatically. This is a vital step for many anxious cardiac sufferers, firstly because they are often fast, shallow breathers, unconsciously confining the breath to the chest cavity, in parallel with their cardiac anxiety.

At the UKTQF we believe and The World Health Organisation supports the belief that Taiji Qigong practices are very valuable, but of course one has to use common-sense and have some experience. The simple series of slow movement and breathing exercises are beneficial in promoting the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluid to the heart. If practised with relaxed awareness, such simple exercises provide relief for the mind and comfort for the spirit. It is not just a matter of their physical effects. Of course, there should be no strain.
We must remember that heart disease is a general term, which includes many degrees of incapacity. There is a grave concern about the acute infarction situation, but Taiji Qigong has a lot to offer those with long term cardiac disabilities such as angina, drug-controlled heart failure, arrhythmia, scarred Myocardial muscle from a prior infarct. Every case is slightly different, but they often have in common a constant and fearful awareness that the heart is vulnerable, and usually so many precautions and restrictions have been recommended.

Because cardiac health is dependent on mental emotional factors, any blockages need intervention through movement, sound and breathing so that one can go beyond our own fears and limitations.