Chi the Energy of Vitality
Chi or qi, pronounced vaguely as ‘chee’, refers to energy of vitality.
Although it exists in non-living things as well, very often we refer it to such energy in living things, especially our body.
It cannot be seen. It can only be felt.
An experienced physician can tell your health by sensing such energy. Even when you are physically sound, if such energy is not properly regulated, your health may go nasty.
Its regulation, therefore, is essential to health.
This can be done through many activities. It is, in fact, what the Tao sports such as meditation, taiji and qigong focus on, although activities such as jogging and swimming can perform the function as well.
It is important to note that such energy is not breathing. As it is often written as ‘气’ in Chinese, the very same word for breathing, some literature uses the archaic word ‘炁’ instead to avoid confusion.
We are surrounded by such energy found in the atmosphere as well.
If you have done taiji, you may have experienced how you are enclosed in a sphere of such energy. Knowing its existence helps us to draw qi from the external sources to enhance the energy in our body. This is what the tao sport qigong does.
Such energy can also be understood as yin-yang energy.
Giving attention to such energy helps us to be in better control of external qi as well.
When people meet, there is such energy among them. The qi energy field among a group of employees during a meeting, for example, could be changed the moment their boss steps in. If the boss understands this, he would probably refrain from interfering with the energy field to encourage more constructive inputs.
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