The Ying Qi Cycle By William Morris, DAOM, PhD, LAc Editor's note: This article is from an upcoming book, Neoclassical Pulse Diagnosis. It is the result of clinical application of classical passages. "When one is joyous, then the qi is in harmony and the mind is unimpeded. The nutritive qi and the protective qi pass freely," states Qi Bo in The Yellow Emperor's Classic. This article examines a method of diagnosing and treating the flow of the nutritive qi that is commonly used in Europe and America. Ying Qi Ying qi is translated as "construction qi" by Wiseman2 and "camp qi" by Unschuld.1 The definitions of nutrient qi and protective qi find root in military metaphors and could be likened to the U.S. The circulation of ying qi takes place throughout the day, remaining approximately two hours in each vessel. The two fire radicals in the upper portion of the character ying suggest not only a campfire, but also the fire of the sun, with the line below suggesting a rooftop. Figure 1: The Nan Jing pulse system.
Oprah & Deepak 21-Day Meditation Challenge - Perfect Health What Is Qi (Chi)? What Is Qi (Chi)? Central to Taoist world-view and practice is qi (chi). Qi is life-force -- that which animates the forms of the world. In China, the understanding of qi is inherent in the very language. Many Different Kinds of Qi Practitioners of Chinese Medicine and qigong have identified many different kinds of qi. Balanced & Free-Flowing Qi = Health The fundamental insight of qigong and Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and herbal medicine) is that balanced and free-flowing qi results in health; while stagnant or imbalanced qi leads to disease. Feeling the Qi The capacity to perceive the flow of qi directly -- to actually see or feel it -- is something that can be cultivated through training in qigong or acupuncture. We might be in the habit of perceiving our world in terms of solid shapes and forms. Recommended reading: Orr, Katherine. Of Related Interest:
Mindfulness: Montreal Practice - Mindspace Clinic Mindfulness is an emerging mental health practice that cultivates a calm, clear, and open way of relating to present moment experience. Ultimately, the concept of mindfulness dates back thousands of years to ancient Buddhist teachings. The word itself is an English translation of the Pali word ‘Sati’ which roughly means awake or alert. Thanks in large part to the pioneering work of Jon Kabat-Zinn from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, a modern, western, secular version of mindfulness was introduced into mainstream health care. Research on mindfulness exploded in the 1990s and 2000s, particularly with the expansion of the field of neuroscience and the availability of brain imaging technology. The mindfulness programming offered at MindSpace is modeled after the programming at the Stress Reduction Clinic at UMMS.
Qi Etymology[edit] The etymological explanation for the form of the qi logogram (or chi) in the traditional form 氣 is "steam (气) rising from rice (米) as it cooks". The earliest way of writing qi consisted of three wavy lines, used to represent one's breath seen on a cold day. A later version, 气, identical to the present-day simplified character, is a stylized version of those same three lines. For some reason, early writers of Chinese found it desirable to substitute for 气 a cognate character that originally meant to feed other people in a social context such as providing food for guests.[citation needed] Appropriately, that character combined the three-line qi character with the character for rice. Definition[edit] References to concepts analogous to the qi taken to be the life-process or flow of energy that sustains living beings are found in many belief systems, especially in Asia. The ancient Chinese described it as "life force". Pronunciation[edit] Philosophical roots[edit]
Nourishing the Liver It’s Spring Down Under. The Sun returns. Time for rebirth. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring time is when the ‘Chi’ is in the Liver Meridian more than any other time of year. The Liver energy is considered the General, the director of energy, the leader of all the meridians, the instigator, the birth. Spring is here. Our Liver energy is responsible for the free flow of energy which is needed to clear away accumulations and project us into Summer. Symptoms such as: * Yin is the principle related to the feminine, nourishing, moistening, cooling energies of the body. You may notice these symptoms appearing or worsening during Spring. How do we deal with these symptoms? The Liver is trying to do it’s job but in order to do so it needs, you guessed it, Nourishment. Most of these symptoms are expressions of liver Yin deficiency so nourishing the Yin would be the best way to bring balance. How do you Nourish the Liver? Practically every cuisine has liver specialties. But isn’t Liver Dangerous?
Chi and the Martial Arts by Rich Robson Almost everybody has heard that martial arts practice is good for improving one's health. Indeed, in most ads promoting a martial arts studio, health is given as the reason right after self-defense for studying the martial arts. While all of that is true, there is an area of health benefits, more powerful than those mentioned above, that is virtually unknown by the non-martial artist and, unfortunately, too often little understood by martial art instructors themselves! While the study of chi has been part of Oriental culture for thousands of years, it was unknown in the West until only a few years ago when Nixon opened the doors to China in the 1970s. It is axiomatic that the human body requires energy, or chi, to run efficiently. When it comes to human chi, there are two basic types of chi: pre-birth chi and post-birth chi. However, the chi produced by the metabolic process is not that which actually makes a person "alive."
Qigong Qigong, qi gong, chi kung, or chi gung (simplified Chinese: 气功; traditional Chinese: 氣功; pinyin: qìgōng; Wade–Giles: chi gong; literally: "Life Energy Cultivation") is type of spiritual practice intended to "align" body, breath, and mind for health, meditation, and martial arts training. With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi) or what has been translated as "life energy".[1] According to Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian philosophy, respectively, qigong allows access to higher realms of awareness, awakens one's "true nature", and helps develop human potential.[2] Qigong practice typically involves moving meditation, coordinating slow flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing, and calm meditative state of mind. Over the centuries, a diverse spectrum of qigong forms developed in different segments of Chinese society. Etymology[edit] Main articles: Qi and Gongfu History and origins[edit]