Qi

One of the interesting aspect of Chinese medicine is the concept of “Qi.” This energy has been called everything from vital-life -force to bio-medical energy. There are some allopathic diagnostic machines that can measure the amount of “energy’ that is in a person, but I do not feel that is “Qi;”I understand it to be a quantified measurement of the electro-magnetic force-field of the body. Qi is that and more.

Qi is the dynamic vortex of energy that flows through and around the body. It is the energy of life, an energy that is not measurable at this time by any machine. I hope it never is.

In TCM pain and or disease is the result of the blockage of the flow of qi. The body work, needles and or herbs are utilized to restore the flow of that qi; if the energy flow is restored the body will find its own natural return to health.

Last week I had the pleasure of working on a woman that was experiencing a severe pain in between the little toe and next toe in her right foot. I needled some points on the Gall Bladder meridian then went right to the painful area. When the needle got about ½ a cun into her foot I felt a big “ball” of energy/tension. As I needled this ball of energy I felt it release. After ten minutes or so I took the needles out and then did some tuina on her foot. I saw her a week later and asked for a report. The pain was gone and she was back to running again.

The reason I write about it in here is I could feel the qi as the needle approached it. It was like pushing in on a balloon with a pencil, springy and resilient. When I pulled the needle out it felt like any other point needled. Once the obstruction had been resolved the qi flowed and the area returned to its normal state. No wonder I like this medicine, IT WORKS. Even if Western science does not fully understand it.