What is Qi?

I found this article a while back and sorry that I can't find the author, but it is a very good concise explanation of Qi: what it is and how it works.

According to traditional Chinese thought the health of the body is dependent on the strength and the flow of Qi (Vital Energy).

Each human and animal is born with a fixed amount of Jing (Vital Essence) at birth. Jing is spent in the work of living. The Jing is supported and expressed by the movement of Qi throughout the body via a system of channels (also called meridians). Qi is replenished by food and air (oxygen). These channels flow on the surface of the body and also deep within the body connecting all organs and tissues in a vast network. Disease can arise when there is an imbalance or disruption in the flow of Qi through these channels.

Certain areas along the channels that travel the surface of the body provide access to the Qi and allow a trained acupuncturist and tui-na practitioner to affect the flow and quality of Qi in the body. These areas are the acupuncture points. Modern research has shown that these specific points have a higher density of nerve endings, immune-cells, small arterioles and lymphatic vessels than the surrounding tissue. By stimulating these points, sometimes located far from the site of symptoms, the acupuncturist and tui-na practitioner can assist the body's innate ability to heal itself by balancing it's Qi. This balancing is now known to be mediated primarily via beta-endorphins (the body's own pain-relief factor), serotonin (associated with mood), and similar neurotransmitters. Other mechanisms including hormonal factors that reduce inflammation are also involved. The acupuncture or tui-na massage stimulation adjusts blood circulation, relieves muscle spasm, alters hormone levels and the function of organs.

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Follow Me Tai Chi & Qigong - Easy to do, no memorization, may be done standing or seated.
Tuesday evenings 7- 8:15pm
4 Class Session December 1 - 22
(Break for the Holidays and resuming January 5th)

Beaches location

Limited to 5 participants for more personal attention

Call 416 728 2466 to book your spot.
$60 per 4 class session

Why I started studying tai chi 27 Years ago

By Linda Tenenbaum

I loved to dance. I still do. I was attracted to Tai Chi because of it's dancelike movements. So when I started studying it at a local community centre, I fell in love with the gentle circular movements and internal rhythms. I also adored watching my beautiful sifu Valerie Huston, perform and teach us in her elegant way. I admired the athleticism of my teacher Marc Tasse, and tried to make my moves look like his.
It wasn't until many years later, that I actually learned how to do it properly and why it was a self healing internal art.
At first glance it seems to be all arms and hand movements - A sort of slowed down martial arts movie, but later after many years of participating, listening and observing, I now understand how it is all about the core of the body moving, massaging, advancing, retreating and a lot less about the 'prettiness' of the moves.
Still the love of the movement was what kept me interested all these years, and for that I am grateful.
I remember one wet Sunday in the winter when we retreated from our outdoor class, to our teacher's rec room to watch movies of some old tai chi masters, including his father and his teacher from Hong Kong.
I remember being confused as to why they moved so little, so inconspicuously that I really didn't 'get' it.
Our teacher David Lau kept telling us that Tai Chi is an internal art, yet with external moves. and still I couldn't let go of the external perception which was my own benchmark.
One broken leg later, I was forced to turn my practice inward and found the deeper movements of tai chi. Did I really need to break my leg to find this out? Maybe.
I now look at Tai Chi in a totally different way. I work at my moves from the inside, I align myself without physical strength, although the strength is there.
I now understand a bit more of the many pearls of wisdom that I heard but did not understand at the time.
This is why I tell my students, it doesn't matter how beautiful it looks, it's more important how it feels.