Chinese Medical Book

Qi

Qi - frequently translated as "energy flow" or "life force", flows through the meridians and keeps our bodily functions in movement. The dimension of qi is difficult to understand - because everything is qi. Taoism says that the human being is born from the qi of heaven and earth.

There are numerous acupuncture points on the meridians through which the flow of the life force can be influenced. From the Chinese point of view, illnesses occur when the harmonious flow of qi is disturbed. Acupuncture is based on the theory of meridians, which serve as channels for the flow of the qi and penetrate the body like a network.

The sources of our energy production have a prenatal and postnatal origin. The prenatal qi, also known as Jing, represents our genes resp. our physiological constitution. The postnatal qi is created by our nutrition and by the air we breathe. The organ functions of the spleen and stomach are responsible for the processing of nutrition, they are regarded as the root of the postnatal essence. The source energy (Yuan Qi) of the kidney is also very important as this energy supplies all organs, esp. spleen and stomach, with its heating force.