Qi is life force energy. Pronounced as chee, is the energy which is everywhere whether living or dead.
It is what makes the world go round and what keeps all living beings alive. It is invisible and cannot be touched, but can be felt.
Ancient Chinese philosophy believes that Qi is inherent in everything. The 5 Arts were developed from 3000 – 5000 years ago and nearly all of these incorporate the study of Qi whether to block or unblock it.
- Martial Arts– like Kung Fu, Tai Chi or Qigong all practice the correct movements to get Qi into our bodies. It is the breath that we inhale into our bodies and allow it to settle into our Dan Tian, the Center of our Life force, or energy center. From there we can distribute across the other parts of our body. Qigong is one of the methods that help improve our movements. It is learning how to breathe and move so that we can unblock pathways within our bodies to promote longevity.
- Medicine –Massage, Moxibustion, acupuncture, herbal medicine are all healing methods that the Chinese have invented. It is used to improve the Qi flow through the unblocked meridians in our bodies, so that Qi can flow through blocked pathways. Blocked pathways creates illnesses. Absorbing the Qi from the herbs is a form of healing.
- Destiny – Chinese Astrology like BaZi and Zi Wei Dou Shu are methods used to find out the fate of a person and create balance in their lives so that they can live life smoothly. It uses the 5 elements of Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood to find a person’s path in life.
- Divination – I Ching, Qi Men Dun Jia, Da Liu Ren, Plum Blossom divination are methods used so that answers can be found through the Qi collective in the Universe.
- Physiognomy – Palm reading and Face reading are methods used to find blockages through reading of the palms and the Face in human beings. Feng Shui is the method used to locate energies, negative or positive Qi in a property and then allocate cures to improve the Qi of the property.