Welcome to our Balance and Health series in which we’ll explore the fundamental concept of qi and the practical applications for health, longevity and quality of life. Qi, as an integral aspect of life, is a foundational concept within a Tai Chi or qigong practice. Similarly, within a yoga practice, is the fundamental concept of prana. As components of Traditional Chinese Medicine (also known as TCM), one can experience acupuncture and/or cupping. This can be an introduction to the concept of qi flowing through meridians, or pathways within the body. Through Ayurvedic medicine or yoga practice, one learns about nutrition and doshas, the various body constitutions. There is reference to the concept of prana flowing within the body through energy centers, called chakras, and pathways, called nadis.
But what is qi? What is prana? Practically speaking, how do these concepts relate to health, vitality and improved quality of living?
Prana is a term recognized in yogic and Ayurvedic practices, originating in India thousands of years ago. Ayurvedic medicine defines prana as “the vital life force without which life cannot exist. It is the flow of cellular intelligence that governs cellular communication, sensory perception, motor responses, and all subtle electrical impulses of the body.” 1
The concept of Qi is based on the ancient Chinese initial understanding of natural phenomena. It can be defined as “the energetic medium existing between matter and spirt (also known as Life Force Energy, when pertaining to the physical body).”2
By definition, qi and prana describe vital life force energy. It has been said that this is where consciousness and energy meet. This life force energy is recognized within multiple cultures around the globe. Via a philosophical or spiritual lens, people express awareness and have given names to the creative force that animates and sustains living forms. Viewed through a scientific lens, the focus shifts to measured data and researched theories about energy, electro-magnetic fields, brain wave patterns, chemistry, physics and more.
Through the lens of science and/or cultural perspectives, we find references to currents, movement, signals of communication and forces that sustain life, which cannot be seen without the use of advanced instruments of perception. This array of knowledge and philosophies are descriptions of the fundamentals of life, though each exploration may be using different terms based on subjective or objective experience.
The insightful parable of the “Blind Men Appraising an Elephant,” demonstrates the need for deeper understanding and respect for different perspectives on the same object of examination. In the parable, a group of blind men, with no previous knowledge of an elephant, individually learn about the elephant through touch. Each person feels just one part of the elephant’s body, that is different from the rest. Based on their subjective experience, a conclusion is drawn about what they are touching. For example, when only feeling the hard, smooth, pointy elephant tusk, one might think that the elephant is a spear. When only feeling the wide, rough, sturdy leg, the elephant resembles a tree trunk. The ear like a fan. The tail is a rope, etc.
These subjective experiences seem contradictory. How is a tree trunk the same as a fan, for example? Yet in the parable, we recognize that each component is a true element of the whole, that is, the elephant. This parable demonstrates the nature of subjective, limited reality within the totality of truth.
It seems safe to say that no single sector, whether science, religion, medicine, spirituality, philosophy, or within humanity, as a whole, has a complete understanding of life and the totality of the truth, as it relates to existence and consciousness of being.
There’s much to be understood and wisdom to integrate, regarding the mechanisms and/or essence that supports life. Yet, within personal growth journeys of learning and experiencing, we need to start somewhere.
Join us for part two, as we begin to explore the concept of “life force energy” through the lens of “qi.” Discover how qi relates to personal health, balance, vitality and well-being.
1Dr. Vasant Lad, Textbook of Ayurveda-Fundamental Principles, Vol. 1 (Albuquerque, The Ayurvedic Press, 2002.) 307.
2 Prof. Jerry A. Johnson, Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy-Vol.3, (Pacific Grove: The International Institute of Medical QiGong, 2002), 496.