Disharmonies of Qi in the body

In the Chinese cultural tradition no distinction is made between matter and energy, so [Qi] could be understood as matter on the verge of becoming energy, or energy at the point of materializing -- although traditionally the approach is functional and concerned with what it does. Its functions include: acting as a source of all movement in the body, as well as accompanying it; protecting the body; acting as the source of harmonious transformation in the body; governing retention of the body's substances and organs; warming the body. In Japanese, [Qi] is called [ki] and in yoga it is called [prana]. Wilhelm Reich called it 'orgone energy'; Russian experiments with life force, called 'bioplasma', led to the development of Kirlian photography which makes the energy field of living organisms visible.

Just as the Earth is comprised of land, ocean and atmosphere, so the body is organized as [Blood], [Moisture] and [Qi]. [Blood] governs tissue, the material form of the body. [Moisture] governs the internal environment, the body's inner ocean. [Qi] governs the shape and activity of the body and its process of forming and organizing itself. [Qi] is the motive force that establishes respiration. This enables the [Qi] of the air to enter the body. The essentce of food is also a form of [Qi]. When the [Qi] of food and the [Qi] of air enter the body, they become one entity known as "pure" or 'righteous" [Qi]. [Air Qi] represents the immaterial motivating aspect of [Qi] and [Food Qi] the material or constructing aspect.

[Qi] has many aspects; good health depends on the presence and action of five [Qi] which are associated with different parts and functions of the body: [Organ Qi] ( [zang-fu-zhi-Qi]), [Meridian] [Qi] ( [Jing-luo-zhi-Qi]), nutritive [Qi] ( [yong-Qi]), protective (defensive) [Qi] ( [wei-Qi]) and ancestral [Qi] ([Qi] of the chest ([zong-Qi]) or essential energy). Both nutritive [Qi] and protective [Qi] are transformations of ancestral [Qi]. The guardians of ancestral [Qi] (or congenital [Qi]) are the [Kidney]. Patterns of [Qi] disharmony are therefore very numerous. There are two major patterns of disharmony associated with [Qi]: deficient [Qi] (affecting the whole body, as in the case of lethargy) and stagnant [Qi] (as in the case of aches and pains).

Every [Organ] has its own [Qi]. If this [Qi] is deficient or stagnant, this can result in disharmonies of the [Organ]. Deficient [Lung] [Qi] may predispose a person to catching colds, for example. Meridian [Qi] is [Qi] moving along the [Meridians] throughout the body. Blockages can result in deficient [Qi] to the [Organs] and symptoms of stagnant [Qi]. Nutritive [Qi] moves the [Blood] through the [Blood Vessels] to nourish the body. Protective [Qi] is what combats external pernicious influences, such as weather, pathogenic organisms or pollutants, and corresponding somewhat in western medicine to the immune system. [Qi] of the chest, or ancestral [Qi], moves the breath, the [Lung] and the [Heart].