Qi translates as “air” and figuratively as “material energy”, “life force”, or “energy flow”. Qi is the central underlying principle in Chinese traditional medicine and in Chinese martial arts. The practice of cultivating and balancing qi is called qigong.
Put simply, chi (qi) is that which gives life. In terms of the body, chi is that which differentiates a corpse from a live human being. To use a Biblical reference, it is that which God breathed into the dust to produce Adam. Chi is also the basis of acupuncture.
A strong life force makes a human being totally alive, alert and present while a weak force results in sluggishness and fatigue. You can increase and develop your chi to overcome illness, become more vibrant and enhance mental capacity.
The concept of a life force is found in most of the ancient cultures of the world. In India, it is called prana; in China, chi; in Japan, ki; for Native Americans, the Great Spirit. For all these cultures and others as well, the idea of life force is or was central to their forms of medicine and healing.
Both Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture are based on balancing and enhancing chi to bring the body into a state of health.
Building Chi in the Body
Energy can be increased in a human being. Consequently, the development of chi can make an ill person robust or a weak person vibrant. More chi can enhance mental capacity too.
The concept of chi also extends beyond the physical body, to the subtle energies that activate all human functions, including emotions and thought. Unbalanced chi causes your emotions to become agitated and distressed. Balanced chi causes your emotions to become smooth and more satisfying.
From the perspective of thought, when your mental chi becomes more refined it enhances your creativity at all levels–art, business, relationships, child rearing, etc.
Spiritual chi makes it more possible for us to personally enter into higher states of consciousness, which lie at the heart of religious experience.
Qigong, tai chi and other forms of Taoist martial and healing arts, help you to develop subtle chi-energy, not as an idea but rather lead you to directly feel and experience what this is in your body.
Chi Circulation
To maintain pain-free, optimal health, chi or energy should circulate throughout your entire body, without disruption, in a smooth, powerful fashion.
The classic Chinese medical phrase is teng jr bu tong. If the circulation of your chi is blocked (bu tong), you have pain and disease (teng). Conversely, if your chi or life force energy in your acupuncture meridian lines if fully connected and circulating without blockages (tong), you have neither pain nor disease (bu tong) – tong jr bu teng.
Making your chi tong i is the most basic goal of Chinese medicine and most apparent with tai chi, qigong, and acupuncture. Balancing out and connecting your chi so that it has no blockages will both get rid of the pain of disease and make you feel a whole lot better.
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