Qi

Question 1

Western medicine accepts the concept of _____________ (a cell organelle) as a creator of energy to the human body, which is similar to Qi in Eastern medicine.

Answer 1

Mitochondria! The energizer bunnies, batteries, or engines of the cell!

*Keep note that in the human body 2 or more cells are tissue, 2 or more tissues are an organ, and 2 or more organs are an organ system.

Question 2

Qi is yin or yang? What essential substances of the human body are yin and yang?

Answer 2

Qi is yang! Blood and body fluid/jin ye are yin. Qi and jing are yang.

Question 3

Tonifying (strengthening), gathering, and building Qi does what?

Answer 3

Encourages, supports, and nurtures life or remaining alive!

Question 4

If Qi scatters and separates, what does that do?

Answer 4

Existence can come to an end. There is no energy or life force and death can result!

Question 5

What essential substance is considered the most important of all?

Answer 5

Qi! It is our life energy or force for all living things!

Question 6

True or false, and why?

Air is an essential substance.

Answer 6

False! Because air is a component to the creation of Qi.

During respiration, air inhaled gets the invisible combined with the golden liquid to raise Qi.

Question 7

How does Qi affect the organs?

Answer 7

Qi invigorates and keeps the organs working.

Question 8

How does Qi affect the rest of the essential substances?

Answer 8

Qi circulates blood, jing, and jin ye (body fluid).

Question 9

*Name the 2 kinds of Qi that Qi can be categorized as.

Answer 9

Essential (pre-heavenly) Qi or genetics and acquired (post-heavenly) Qi coming from nature, food, and air.

Question 10

Daily, aim to just utilize what category of Qi?

Answer 10

Acquired (post-heavenly) Qi!

Question 11

During Disease, what category of Qi do we utilize, and why?

Answer 11

Essential (pre-heavenly) Qi!

Because acquired qi (post-heavenly) is depleted from chronic illness, prolonged overwork, or undernourishment, and then essential Qi (pre-heavenly) is the reserve we have no choice but to draw upon as a result.

Question 12

How do you keep essential (pre-heavenly) Qi (genetics) strong?

Answer 12

Acquired Qi combines with, supplements, and nourishes our essential Qi to keep it strong.

*Remember that acquired qi comes from good diet and clean air.

Question 13

Where is essential Qi stored in the body?

Answer 13

Kidney. According to TCM, kidney = the “root of our essence” because essential Qi (pre-heavenly) is stored there.

Question 14

What 3 things create the life force of humankind?

Answer 14

*Air inhaled and *food consumed transformed into acquired Qi by the *zang fu (lung and spleen).

Acquired Qi combined with essential Qi to create the complete life force of each human.

Question 15

Describe how to eat to raise Qi?

Answer 15

Seasonally and locally to consume stronger Qi. We absorb the energy of the food we consume.

Question 16

How do humans, animals, plants, and water get Qi?

Answer 16

Their genetic line and the environment they develop within.

Question 17

What directions represent the movement of Qi energy in a human?

Answer 17

Qi travels in 4 directions at the same time throughout the human body - collectively called “the Qi dynamic”.
Ascending: lower jiao to upper jiao.
Descending: upper jiao to lower jiao.
Exiting: deep (center/interior) to superficial (skin surface).
Entering: exterior to interior.

Question 18

4 disorders of Qi:

Answer 18

Qi stagnation, rebellious qi, sinking qi, and qi exhaustion.

Question 19

6 functions of Qi:

Answer 19

Propelling, defending, warming, nourishing, transforming, controlling.

Question 20

*4 classifications of Qi:

Answer 20

Primordial, pectoral, nutritive, and defensive Qi.

Question 21

*Describe primordial (yuan) Qi.

Answer 21

Yuan Qi.
Also called Innate Qi because it is produced by both pre-heavenly and post-heavenly essence.
Is the most fundamental and important Qi level.
Is the yang of the body, the motivating life force.
Is directly related to lifestyle and diet habits.
Is stored in the kidney and distributed around the body via the San Jiao.

Activates, stimulates, and promotes all bodily functions - growth, development, and reproduction.

Therefore deficiency of Primordial Qi due to inadequate inherited Qi, prolonged disease, or inappropriate lifestyle will lead to widespread deficiency.

Primordial Qi contains and controls both yin and yang

Question 22

*Describe pectoral (sea of Qi) Qi.

Answer 22

Pectoral Qi is the energy accumulated and acquired by the function of the thorax. Therefore the thorax is considered the Sea of Qi.
Natural fresh air + acquired essence from food.
Pectoral Qi accumulates in the thorax, and ascends up to fill the heart and lungs, and descends through the san jiao to permeate the rest of the body.
It joins Primordial Qi to nourish that supply around acupuncture point STM 30.

Flows through the respiratory tract to nourish the lungs, voice & respiration.
Permeates heart and vessels to promote circulation of blood.
This therefore also affects the body temperature, the movement, and nourishment of the limbs, as well as the senses.

Question 23

*Describe nutritive (ying) Qi.

Answer 23

Ying Qi.
Is an important aspect of blood - is the qi of the blood.
Is the qi necessary to nourish yin. Also called nutritive - yin.
Necessary to generate and enrich blood.
Is the purest part of the essence derived from food.
Is the extracted vitamins and minerals necessary for the functioning of all organs, meridians & tissue.
Deficiency of nutritive qi will lead to blood xu.

Question 24

*Describe defensive (wei) Qi.

Answer 24

Wei Qi
Our immune system = our physical defense against the invasion of an eternal pathogen.
Circulates outside the vessels, on the skin and muscle layer, moving inward towards the thorax & abdomen.
Belongs to yang.
Derived from food essence and has a quick and strong action.
Protects the external body and guards against the invasion of external pathogens.
Flows through the organs, muscles, skin & hair to warm and bring strength & nourishment to.
Regulates opening & closing of the pores according to physiological activity.
It regulates sweating and release of body fluids, and temperature.
Is also extracted from food essence but is the most active and Yang part of it, whereas nutritive qi is the yin part.
When defensive qi & nutritive qi combine = coordinated physiological function.

Question 25

What Qi flow directions are exhalation and inhalation taking place within?

Answer 25

Exhale: ascending (diaphragm) and exiting.
Inhale: descending (diaphragm) and entering.

Question 26

What Qi flow directions are related to each zang fu?

Answer 26

Spleen and liver: like ascending direction.
Stomach: favours descending direction.

Question 27

What parts of the body act together to circulate and spread qi flow?

Answer 27

Zang fu, meridians, and orifices.

Question 28

If qi flow is disrupted, what is the result in the human body?

Answer 28

Disorder of qi dynamic in organs, tissues, and orifices. Result = disease there.

Question 29

Describe qi stagnation.

Answer 29

Free flow of qi is interrupted and it isn’t distributed around the body evenly.

This leads to pockets of deficiency and pockets of accumulation.

Question 30

Describe rebellious qi.

Answer 30

Hyper ascending or descending of qi which should naturally go in the opposite direction.

Stomach Qi should naturally go down and when it rebels it presents as nausea, reflux or vomiting

Question 31

Describe qi sinking.

Answer 31

When qi is unable to rise and plummets to our depths.

A very deficient state.

Question 32

Describe qi exhaustion.

Answer 32

Failure of qi to accumulate enough to rise up.

Question 33

*Describe the 6 qi functions or actions (propelling, defending, warming, nourishing, transforming, controlling).

Answer 33

Propelling - because qi is the life force and vitality of the body, and
is constantly in fluid motion, it can invigorate growth and promote
the production of other essential substances. Therefore deficiency of
qi will result in widespread deficiency throughout the body.

Defending - qi is our immune system and guards against disease
caused by external pathogens. When qi is strong we resist disease
well and invading pathogens are unable to penetrate the body.

Warming - qi produces the warmth necessary to maintain homeostatic balance, which ensures physiological function continues. As qi is the energy it also provides the warmth essential for movement. Consider qi to be like water - the colder it gets the slower the water flows until it eventually stagnates. This warming function is why qi is considered yang.

Nourishing - qi nourishes the body in 3 ways: it nourishes the surface through defensive qi to keep our body surface strong and minimize external invasion;
because it brings movement to the body qi nourished by transporting nutrients around; nutritive qi is essential for the production of blood through which the whole body is nourished.

Transforming - qi promotes the production of other essential substances through correct conversion
(transformation & transportation) of food and fluids. Therefore deficiency of qi very quickly becomes a widespread deficiency.

Controlling - qi controls the movement of essential substances within the body. It controls the circulation and
containment of blood (clinical picture of deficiency = heavy periods, threatened miscarriage, hemorrhaging,
varicose veins); controls excretion of body fluid through sweat, saliva & urine (clinical picture of deficiency =
incontinence, polyuria, diarrhea, slobbering, excess sweating); it controls essence through regulating the emission of sperm. Sperm is considered reproductive essence - an aspect of jing, and excess emission will lead to deficiency of jing. So by controlling the seminal emission, qi is also protecting jing.