Inside each of us is a magic greater than anything conceived by human imagination — our life force energy.
I was recently questioned about the validity of Qi and the energetic body – it wasn’t the first time and certainly will not be the last. Notwithstanding, I spent a fair amount of time contemplating how, in 2020, there remains such mystery around the topics of energy and energy-based modalities that support greater wellbeing, including Qigong, acupressure, Reiki, Healing Touch and acupuncture (to name just a few of the many energy modalities that span across cultures and the globe).
Googling the terms “Qigong” or “acupuncture” results in hundreds of unique articles, opinion pieces and scientific publications. The National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health was launched in 1998 and has sanctioned scores of investigators to study complementary and integrative medicine. With pages outlining definitions, descriptions and publications on a variety of energy-based modalities, including energy healing, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qigong, NCCIH supports 68 FTEs and has an annual budget of $146.473 million (2019).
From a contemporary perspective, Oprah published an article on energy medicine back in 2006, and remember when the prominent heart surgeon, Dr. Oz, boldly stated – “the next big frontier in medicine is energy medicine?” Fast forward 15 years and top healthcare organizations have clinics designated to offering integrative services + energy-based modalities, including Cleveland Clinic, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Duke and many, many more.
But what exactly is this elusive entity?
Life force energy is known by many names — in India it is called prana, in Hebrew ruach and in Chinese Medicine, Qi. Given my training is rooted in Chinese medicine, I use Qi and energy interchangeably.
Qi is the animating power or energy of all living things. As children, many of us investigated the animating force of creatures in nature – whether a freshly sprouted seedling in the garden, an insect navigating across the yard or a baby bird beneath its nesting tree. The season of Spring is ripe with opportunity to explore natural Qi, as its presence is so palpable when nature is waking from hibernation!
Qi is the invisible, immaterial substance that propagates life and animates our bodies. The notion that life is ruled by invisible forces, is not unique to energy or Qi. Gravity is an invisible force. We are bound by the laws of gravity and its magnetic energy. Photosynthesis is the invisible force used by plants to harness energy from sunlight and transform it into life force energy. The wind is also an invisible force – one that cannot be seen, but can certainly be sensed! When the wind blows, we do not witness it directly but instead experience it as it touches our skin and enlivens the trees and leaves. Qi is the same. We do not see it directly, but experience it as it animates everything in our bodies from heartbeat to physical movement to thoughts and emotions.
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build windmills.”
Qi is the difference between the living and the deceased. When someone dies, their Qi is released. Their body weighs the same, has the same organs and muscles, but is no longer filled with life, energy, animation. Qi is our aliveness. It is the energy behind our hearts, the light in our minds, the sparkle in our eyes, the movement in our bodies.
40% of Americans say they wake up 1-3 times/week feeling poorly rested. An additional 38% say they're poorly rested >4 days/week.
https://today.yougov.com
As “lack of energy” expands from fictional idea to a recognized health disorder, greater attention to our animating force or energy system is warranted. Fifty years ago, chronic fatigue syndrome was virtually unheard-of. Today, a growing number of individuals are being identified as having chronic fatigue syndrome, an illness that includes profound fatigue lasting >6 months, cognitive impairment and total exhaustion after even minor exertion. The Institute of Medicine now estimates between 836,000 and 2.5 million Americans suffer from this syndrome, which is in addition to the subset of the population who reported significant fatigue at least four days/week, a massive 38% of American adults.
Within traditional Chinese medicine, the greater the energy or Qi circulating in the body, the healthier we feel. Abundant energy is experienced when organs are functioning optimally, flexibility is felt in the muscles and joints and emotions are balanced, being both experienced and released. When there is a loss of internal energy, we experience increasing levels of fatigue, tension, slowed metabolism and our ability to easily navigate emotions decreases – all signs of depletion, signaling the need to replenish internal energy.
Quantum physics describes energy as the nature of the universe, but even physicists cannot fully define energy. We can allude to it, we can experience it, we are beginning to be able to measure it, but for some, energy sits just beyond our greatest mental conceptualization. Instinctively we know the more energy or Qi we have, the better we feel. Nature pulses with energy. Abundant Qi is not something we need to create or even understand – it is always there, with a desire to flow, to express itself through creativity and abundance. In the end, do we truly need to know exactlywhat Qi is? Just as we are not required to be a rocket scientist to appreciate the full impact of gravity, nor do we need to a cardiologist, with full understanding of cardiac function, to experience the benefits of exercise.
Qigong helps us tap into the abundant energy that is all around and to cultivate Qi from within. When energy is internally cultivated and allowed to freely flow, our internal reserve becomes self-sustaining. Unlike a cup of coffee or other chemical stimulants, cultivated energy comes directly from the source and enhances internal balance, strength and vitality. By cultivating internal energy, we can more easily enjoy the world without chasing after the next external “pick me up.”
There are many effective strategies to help mitigate the effects of stress: meditation, yoga, reading, spending time in nature and journaling. Another approach, which is not as well-known in the Midwest, is balancing your body’s energy system.
