HERBALCONSULTS

Qi – Vital Energy

In the view of the Chinese all forms of life are animated by an essential life-force or vital energy called qi (it also means "air" and "breath"). Qi isinvisible, tasteless, formless and odorless, and it permeates the entire universe. It is transferable and transmutable, digestion extracts qi from food and drink, breathing extracts it from the air. When meeting in the bloodstream these two forms of qi transmute to form human-qi. This is the vital energy which circulates throughout the body through the vital connections of meridians. Health and lifespan are determined by the quality, quantity, and balance of the qi.

Evil-qi which causes disease and the pure-qi of mountain mists which promotes health and prolongs life are the two extremes of many kinds of qi.

A natural and harmonious balance among the vital energies within the body on one hand and between the body and the external environment on the other is the key to maintaining optimum health. Thus the seasons are important as well and must be considered in the diet and medication - in winter for example the body needs extra warming foods to balance the excess cold outside.

The food and drink we consume and the air we breathe are the most important concerning qi. This is the reason why Taoists emphasize the great importance of diet and breathing exercises in their system of health and longevity. The condition of the vital organs which absorb qi influences the quality and quantity of qi.

Combinations of proper diet, exercise, breathing, and hygiene can usually correct qi-deficient ailments. The Chinese physician applies curative herbal medications only when a problem has become so serious that it impairs the functions of vital organs. Those organs and glands are stimulated more directly and more powerfully by these herbal medications since the qi extracted from them goes straight to the organ it has been prescribed for. There it acts to restore the natural functions of diseased organ, by redressing the imbalances of vital energy.

The functions of the vital organs can be influenced by breathing and qi gong exercises; diet and herbal medicine which increase the quantity and improve the quality of qi. The qi extracted from food and the qi extracted from the air convert to human-qi, which takes the two forms of nourishing-qi and protecting-qi. These naturalist Chinese views of medicine some 2,000 years ago correspond to the observations of Western medicine of the 19th and early 20th century regarding bacteriology and the body's resistance as well as the circulation.

Besides qi, the most important bodily Humor, there are three others: blood (xue), vital essence (jing) and fluid (jin). Blood and nourishing-qi are formed together from the most refined products of digestion. They nourish the body by circulating through the system. Qi controls the movement of blood and can itself be controlled with breathing exercises. All the bodily humors are closely linked and deficiencies and imbalances in one have adverse effects on the others. Qi is the most vital and only one that is not entirely depended on food and drink since the lungs extract it from the air. Because the other humors entirely depend on the quality of the food and drink we consume, it is not hard to understand why the proper diet is so important to the Chinese.