Healing the Heart
by Jean Bodeau

 

…the Heart is the ruler of all the organs, the one that controls our life destiny. The life spirit of the Heart is the most critical to keeping us functioning and happy.

 

There are an infinite number of ways for a heart to hurt. In fact, there are probably an infinite number for each person, and also for each animal. If I’ve learned one thing in my life, it is that our hearts are exquisitely sensitive and vulnerable, but also incredibly resilient. We all seek healing, and that seeking leads us on wild and unpredictable journeys. It leads us to religion and spirituality, to wilderness and therapy. On the darker side, it leads us to addictions, dysfunction, sometimes even to suicide. Often – usually - the path to healing takes us down before it takes us up. It may be that the Dark Night of the Soul is a prerequisite to becoming fully human. One thing is certain: no heart beats that hasn’t felt pain.

I started writing this piece out of a deep need to heal my own heart, having come most of the way through a very painful time, but still feeling pain linger on in my heart like a soapy sponge that doesn’t quite rinse out no matter how much fresh water runs through it. At the same time, I felt deep-bone tired. I realized that the truly difficult months had drained my heart, leaving me weary and worn, and that I was in deep need of spiritual renewal. It was then, in the slow aftermath, that heart healing practices seemed to make the greatest difference.

Over the years, I have gathered quite a collection of techniques for working with a saddened or heavy heart. The wisdom of many traditions and cultures touches on healing the heart. Every soul has its own intuition about how best to heal. Yoga, meditation, long walks in the mountains, gardening – the list is endless. I leave a description of the practices for another time, and look first at the energy of the heart, a foundational element in all healing.

Energetics Of The Heart
Many traditions have explored the energetic of the heart, developing ways to open and heal the heart. The Heart is recognized as a major energy center in the body, regardless of the terminology that is applied, be it chakra, energy center, the light within, or something else. The Heart Center is located midway between the nipples, in the chest. It is the location of the heart organ, and the area where many people intuitively feel their heart energy resides. Universally, the Heart is our connection to love and the divine.

In Chinese medicine, the Heart is the ruler of all the organs. It is the one that controls our life destiny, and the life spirit of the Heart is the most critical to keeping us functioning and happy. Organs, in the Chinese medical sense, encompass much more than the flesh itself. Each organ includes the spirit of the organ and the associated meridian, as well. In order to differentiate this larger sense, the name of the organ is typically capitalized. I follow that custom in this article.

Experientially, everyone has felt that when the Heart is open, loved, and loving, the chest area feels warm, spacious, and the whole central core, from belly to third eye, feels relaxed. In contrast, when the Heart is contracted, sad, or heavy, it feels tiny, hard, and isolated from the rest of the body.

According to Chinese medicine, emotions and the health of organs are mutually dependent. Thus, weak Heart energy can cause depression or another heart imbalance, and depression or difficulty with love or relationships can harm the Heart. When healing the Heart, it is helpful to have an understanding of some of the energetic imbalances one might have a history of, or be prone to develop. The main imbalances associated with the Heart, and the interrelated symptoms and causes, are:

Heart Qi Deficiency – Causes/results: Prolonged depression, sadness; boundary violations; abuse; lack of joy in life. Treatment: Use of herbs, acupuncture, Qi tonics; being around fire; having fun.

Heart Yang Deficiency – Similar to Heart Qi deficiency, but more pronounced; lack of mental clarity, apathy, and mental exhaustion. Treatment: As with Heart Qi deficiency, use of herbs, acupuncture, Qi tonics; being around fire; having fun.

Heart Blood Deficiency - Similar to Heart Qi deficiency, but with Yin deficiency. Causes/results: Prolonged depression, sadness, insomnia; poor memory; ungroundedness; lack of joy in life; feelings of vulnerability. Treatment: Use of herbs and acupuncture; more sleep; build Blood with more greens, more meat or fish.

Heart Yin Deficiency – Causes/results: Mania, agitation, anxiety; insomnia; too much stimulation; unstable love relationships; mouth sores; palpitations. Treatment: Slow down, rest; meditation and yoga; herbs and acupuncture.

Heart Qi Stagnation – Causes/results: Denying the Heart; prolonged sadness; blocked or stuck thinking; frustration, especially in relationships. Treatment: Listen to the Heart; have fun; use of herbs and acupuncture.

With a mindful awareness of one’s natural tendencies, it is possible to correct imbalances and to use symptoms as reminders of when it is time to nourish the Heart, body and soul.

Loving-Kindness Meditation
One meditation that is extremely healing for the Heart, is the classic Loving-Kindness (metta) meditation from the Buddhist tradition. The meditation is used to cultivate compassion, love, and equanimity. It is especially helpful for healing self-hatred. In practice, it is directed toward all beings, in turn focusing on four groups – oneself, friendly beings, neutral beings and difficult ones. The meditation goes something like this, though the words are best adapted by each person who practices:

May I be safe from danger. May all beings be safe from danger.
May I have peace of mind. May all beings have peace of mind.
May I have physical peace. May all beings have physical peace.
May I have ease of well being. May all beings have ease of well being.

This meditation and many spiritual practices in general, often end by dedicating the effort to the good of all. The practice of cultivating a compassionate intention can itself be a powerful and healing force in a world deeply in need of peace.

May the merits of this practice benefit all beings and bring peace.

Jean Bodeau is owner of Moonstone Acupuncture and Healing Center. She is currently working on a book of practices to heal the Heart.

Love and Health
by Kaycie Rosen

 

What we see from the science is that our innate assumption about the role of love in health is correct: the acts of giving and receiving love are of vital importance to our health.

Each year in the middle of February, we as a society are seized by a culturally enforced need to display our most ridiculous behavior (no—not the Fur Rondy!).  We attempt to shed our midwinter urges to be hermits and pay homage to those relationships that we treasure most. We are coerced to write elaborate poetry, give each other stale sugar hearts, and attempt to create elaborate situations in which we prove to each other and ourselves how much we love each other.  Whether or not this ritual is performed appropriately for or by us can produce happiness, disappointment, grief, or even sarcasm. Regardless of the flavor, Valentine’s Day tends to elicit strong emotions for most of us.  No matter if it sparks joy, scorn, loneliness, or confusion, Valentine’s causes all of us to reflect on the subject of love. 

 

Why is love so important to us?  From an evolutionary standpoint, love plays an important role in our preservation as a species.  In the June 2005 issue of Neuroendocrinology Letters, doctors Tobias Esch and George B. Stefano write: “This wonderful biological instrument makes procreation and maintenance of organisms and their species a deeply rewarding and pleasurable experience, thus ensuring survival, health, and perpetuation.”  The bond between those in romantic love ensures that babies will be made.  Furthermore, the bond of maternal (and paternal) love provides that those children will survive to reproductive age.  This is a reasonable explanation for why this phenomenon exists on the large scale.  However, is this the whole story?  When we take a closer look, the emotion, state, and act of love seems to have positive effects from a more immediate biological standpoint.

 

What is the connection between love and health?   Most of us feel innately that our emotional state contributes to our vitality in a general sense. In Naturopathic medicine, we know that spiritual and mental health play a critical role in the health of the physical body; that information is as vital in our patient intake as finding out about stuffy sinuses and creaky knees.  Along with other health-care providers, I have intuitively sensed that patients who are more satisfied on the emotional level have a tendency to heal more quickly.  At the same time, it is clear that being in love doesn’t render a person immune to illness, and can often be a source of stress.  So, to find some answers, let’s look at how our bodies react while in times of love and stress.

 

Love is perhaps the most subjective phenomenon we experience; it is, therefore, challenging to make objective observations about its effects. The primary way in which we can measure the effect of love on the human body is through our hormonal and other signaling pathways.  That is, we can measure which chemicals are released on average for people professing love, happiness, and satisfaction.  What has been shown is that those chemicals have the tendency to increase immunity, have protective effects on the heart and blood vessels, and improve the overall sense of physical and emotional wellbeing. 

 

It is important to emphasize the role that emotions play on bodily functions.  Our “master gland” (the hypothalamus) produces the hormones that ultimately control many of our bodily functions. These include body temperature, water balance, the innate nervous system, blood sugar, blood pressure, and fat metabolism, as well as the ovaries, adrenal glands, and thyroid. As part of the brain, the hypothalamus is regulated by many factors, emotion being of high importance.  It is key to note that while we are in a loving state, a number of chemicals—including endorphins, endocannabinoids, endogenous morphine, dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin, and nitric oxide—are released more frequently.  This happens via the limbic system, a part of the brain that is connected with mood and motivation, but also influences the hormonal systems and that part of the nervous system that controls involuntary actions (such as our heartbeat and digestion).

 

In the big picture, the effects of those chemicals listed above can be described as stress-reducing.  Though love can be stressful at the outset, it has been shown over time to decrease stress on the body.  The primary function of oxytocin is to increase smooth muscle contraction (which is important in labor and breastfeeding.) Oxytocin has many other affects, though, including decreasing our response to stress by reducing the release of adrenalin and other stress hormones.  (In the September 2005 issue of Alaska Wellness, we talked about the effects of stress on the body, including decreasing our immunity through overproduction of the hormone cortisol, one of the primary hormones produced during times of stress.) 

 

Endorphins, endocannabinoids, and endogenous morphine are all chemicals that produce signals in our brain to simply make us feel good.  Dopamine has two primary functions: one, as an important precursor to the hormone called norepinephriene, which controls our body’s ability to rest, digest, and repair.  Secondly, it increases circulation from the heart and kidneys. Vasopressin and nitric oxide also help the body regulate blood pressure and circulation.  These are a couple of ways in which love actually benefits the health of the heart.

 

What we see from the science is that our innate assumption about the role of love in health is correct: the acts of giving and receiving love are of vital importance to our health.  The critical tone at the beginning of this article is not a reflection on the holiday per se. Rather, it is commentary on our tendency to lose sight of what is most important.  Instead of trying to live up to an image of what this holiday “should” be, we can utilize Valentine’s in a way that emphasizes what is real and health-promoting in our love relationships. 

 

The beginning of this New Year is a great time to start recognizing everyone we love: our friends and families in addition to our romantic interest. In this way, we can continue to optimize our mental, spiritual, and physical health. Happy Valentine’s Day—in good health!

Dr. Kaycie Rosen practices Naturopathic Family Medicine at Total Health, Inc.  She can be reached at 563-2929.