Qigong: Five Flavors of Qi

Gnowly

The ancient Chinese symbol for Qi is formed of two characters. On top is the character for “nothing” and below is the character for “fire”. This implies that Qi is “no fire.” That means that when the organs are supplied with the proper amount of Qi, they will not be overheated or “on fire”. A better interpretation is that by cooking the post-birth Qi with the fire of the original Qi, one realizes emptiness. We already discussed Qi in general terms. Now we will discuss the nature and function of Qi in the human body and in Qigong training, in the context of the Three Treasures. The quality of your organs and senses depends on heredity: your previous activities generate karma, which creates a process of becoming, leading to a body based on the genome you inherited from your parents. To maintain your organs in a healthy condition and to insure that they function well for a long time, you must have an adequate supply and circulation of Qi. If you don’t, you will become sick. Chinese medicine believes that the Qi and blood are closely related. In fact, it is believed that blood is able to store Qi, and that it helps to transport Qi—air Qi especially—to every cell of the body. Your body is like a factory. Your organs correspond to machines that process raw materials into a finished product. Some of the materials brought into a factory are used to create the energy with which other materials will be converted into finished goods. The raw materials for your body are food, air and perceptions, and the finished product is life. The digestive, circulatory and central nervous systems have supporting anatomy observable as material structures in the body. The circulatory, nervous and Qi systems possess similar configurations within the body, and are distributed pretty much equally throughout the body. There is close correspondence between the circulatory, nervous and lymphatic systems and the Qi channels. This is simply because Qi is the energy needed to keep the physical organs alive and functioning. However, the Qi channels and organs are bioenergetic, non-material and cannot be observed as physical objects. Qi is affected by the quality of air you inhale, the kind of food you eat, your lifestyle, the sense impressions you percieve, your emotional mood and intentions. Food and air are like the fuel or power supply, and their quality also affects your Qi. Your lifestyle is like the way you run the machine, and your personality is like the management of the factory. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gnowly/message