A source to the knowledge of traditional martial arts, ancient feng-shui, taiji and qigong health-preservation practices.
If a conversation is taking place about the Qi phenomenons and supernatural Elements, a typical person usually believes it is something related to the Eastern supertitious or religions.The word Qi or Ch’i (pronouced chee) in which has been explained in nearly every one of my articles that talks about the practice of Qigong. For every attempt of giving it a proper definition, Qi comes under a different translation or interpretation.
Knowledge of Qi does not limit only to the word itself but has been spanned more than 3000 years old of the oriental civilizations. Qi, also called Vital Energy or Bio-Energy, is a phenomenon that has drawn much attention in the West for the recent years. Acupunture, too, is now commonly known and there is hardly a doctor anywhere who has not spent some time looking into it. However, both of these works bring along doubts. Modern science pronouces the phenomenon of Qi medical and physical investigation.
The original ideogram for Qi in its root should be rendered as “Vapor” in English. It has also been known at “Vital Energy” or “Vitality” in reference to my Qigong fellows. But Qi is very closely associated with breath (though it would be better to say that breath contains Qi). Chinese is not the only Eastern culture that has been aware of Qi, other cultures have given Qi the other names as well: Hindus call it prama, Pacific Islanders refer as mana, the Tibetans rlung (means Wind), Hebrews ruach (wind) and even the ancient Greek called it pneuma (spirit, wind). Qi is similar to how electricity flowing through a metal wire and it can generate heat or work or energy, but in fact none of these energy could identify Qi, or Yin Qi to be specific. (more…)
Unbalanced emotion is the biggest cause of blockages in the body. Chinese Medicine tells us that overexcitement and excessive causes damge to the heart energy.
Anger and anxiety damages the liver energy. Fears damage the kidneys. Sadness and depression damage the lung energy. Too much thinking and mental work damages the stomach and pancreas.
When a person gets angry, for example, the automatic chemical activities of the body cause energy to collect in the liver. If this energy is not removed from the live, a blockage gradually forms and our liver becomes sick. (more…)
The organs on the head are referred to in Traditional Chinese Medicine as the seven apertures or openings. Namely the nostrils, eyes, ears (each with two openings) and the mouth which includes the lips, teeth, tongue, and pharynx. These are important organs to ones life and looks, and the Chinese people have since ancient times evolved ways to keep them fit and to prevent diseases as well as to maintain good looks. Detailed descriptions can found in the Nei Jing, and the Yellow Emperor’s Manual of Internal Medicine, which is the oldest extant Chinese medical book written some two thousand years ago.
Following are some simple ways to keep these organs in good condition.
1. The Nose.
The nose governs respiration. Through the nostrils filthy air is exhaled and fresh air inhaled. It is the common belief that the nostrils should be big enough; for example, a horse with big nostrils has staying power and does not gasp for breath galloping a short distance. This is because the big nostrils facilitate the inhaling of air. The same is true of human beings. Another point is that the nostrils should face downward to avoid taking in dirt directly. (more…)
The Yin Organs. Within Chinese medicine there are five yin organs (wu zang) – plus the pericardium, and six yang organs (liu fu). The wu zang are considered deeper inside the body than the liu fu, and are therefore yin by comparison to the yang organs. This does not mean that the wu zang have no yang functions – in fact they possess both yin and yang functions.
The function of the yin organs is to produce, transform, regulate and store the fundamental substances of the body -jing, qi, shen, xue, and jin ye. It is an understanding of the yin organs, their functions and relationships that forms the core of Chinese medicine.
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