What is Qi?

Qi (ch’i) is a very important fundamental concept of Traditional Chinese Medicine. While literally, “qi” is translated to mean “air,” “breath,” or “gas,” it’s true meaning goes deeper.  Qi refers to the energy found flowing within and around us.  In our human bodies, it is believed that Qi’s flow keeps us healthy and happy. While the flow of Qi in our bodies does much more, following are three important atributes of Qi: it helps to activate growth within our bodies, it has a warming action which keeps our bodies’ temperatures appropriate, and finally it has defending actions inside our bodies. When our Qi is imbalanced, we might not feel good, we might be sick, or we might just feel a bit off.  Stagnated Qi–Qi that needs to be moved around within our bodies– may be helped with massage or acupuncture. The meditative breathing practice that keeps Qi balanced is called Qigong (ch’i kung). Balance found with in structures is called Feng Shui (fung SHWAY). Mainly according to traditional Chinese culture, it’s important for our Qi to remain balanced in our bodies and around our surroundings.