What is Chi?
Remember a time when you were always healthy, extremely energetic, a time when you had good endurance? When you ran around a lot and didn’t feel tired all the time? When you had good digestion, when you were able to eat anything you wanted? And a time when you had good immunity, when you never felt sick? This was also a time when you had a clear state of mind, when there was no friction or resistance to your movements that made life a struggle.

This was a time when you had an abundance of Chi and you didn’t know it at the time because you were in perfect health and everything was running smoothly. In fact, you don’t notice or feel your Chi until you start to lose it. This is a time when you often feel fatigued. It’s a time when you have difficulty digesting, when you have no appetite for anything, when you can easily get a cold and you’re susceptible to your allergies, anemia, or depression. 

When your body is low on energy, you get symptoms of fatigue or illness. That’s related to the aging process. It’s related to chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, hypertension and stroke. It’s also linked to the exorbitant amount of energy that you expend each day to do work, to be with family and friends, and to live your life. When you have so much energy to burn, it could lead to burnout. Burnout can cause a whole other set of symptoms related to stress.

Chi is connected to your organs.

Chi deficiency is energy lost. Then there’s an imbalance of Chi related to your internal organs. When you have an imbalance of Chi, your organs can go out of whack. For example, let’s say your heart normally beats at 72 beats per minute, but then it starts to beat faster and faster. You may experience a high fever and your other organs get triggered to pulsate more rapidly. The energy level of your internal organ is related to the vigor and the regularity of pulsation that takes place. Each organ has its own vibration and frequency. When one organ changes its vibrations dramatically, it causes a ripple effect throughout the entire system.

The change can be related to an emotion or feeling you have within your body. For example, if you feel fear, then your Chi is going to be scattered. If you feel angry, then your Chi is going to be in stagnation. This is an imbalance of Chi.

So what can you do to free yourself from the physical and mental health issues related to an improper balance of Chi or deficiency of it? There are several things you could do:

1. Take breaks throughout the day and make sure you have a good amount of time for rest and recharge.

2. Block out a good amount of time for sleep and make sure that you don’t take your problems and work with you to bed.

3. Eat a proper diet with the right amount of foods, the correct types of foods. Introduce herbs into your regimen.
   
4. Go for acupuncture. The needles used in acupuncture can bring energy from the atmosphere into your body, giving you an increased level of energy. 

5. Take a massage. With a massage, you’re able to stretch your muscles, joints, tissues, and skin. Stretching enables you to release energy in your body and the energy then can flow freely.

6. Do relaxation activities or forms of mind-body therapy, like Tai Chi or Chi-gong. With these activities, you can balance your Chi in various ways: 

1. Draw the energy down through your body by exhaling. With breathwork, you ground yourself. 
2. Then come into your heart, center yourself and make shapes with your body. 
3. Finally, have an intention for positive energy in your life, through your mind center. This is part of traditional Chinese medicine, and this is a good form of therapy to use to balance your Chi and increase your energy levels.

Now, how do you balance your Chi? 

Let’s do a quick exercise where you’re going to use the palms of your hands.  Rub them together. Follow along with the video for this part:

The palms are going to be an easy way for you to feel Chi. There are a lot of nerve endings in your fingers.

First, feel the physicality behind rubbing your palms. Have the sensation of touch at your fingertips, and feel the rub. Your hands are getting warmer. There’s friction, and you’re generating some heat. 

Then separate the palms so they are several inches apart. Make sure they are facing each other. The centers of the palms are in alignment. Then, stay here for a bit.  Bend the knees, you’re grounded into the earth. 

In a short while, something is happening between your palms. Something is starting to appear and grow in that space. Imagine a ball is being formed with your palms, and you start moving your palms around this ball. Make sure your palms are connected to each other, with the centers facing each other. 

In this exercise, both your physical body and your Chi generate sensations. 

You feel your body as your palms are together – that is very concrete. You feel Chi with your palms separated. There is no touch involved, but you feel lighter. You feel this is real, that Chi is real, as real as bioelectricity. 

Feel the tingling sensation in your fingers. The electrical current has a more subtle feeling than the physical sensations when you were rubbing your palms together.

Let’s stay here for a little bit and understand these sensations. You can feel hot and cold with your hands. You can feel maybe a certain pressure that develops because the blood is rushing to your fingers. Your mind and your intent are right here in your palms. Then, feel the air that is moving around your fingers. Now imagine a glowing ball of light forming between your palms. Feel ever so slightly the tingling sensation in your fingers, which represents the bioelectricity in your body.

Does Chi really work? 

There is lack of scientific evidence when it comes to the existence of Chi, and how traditional Chinese medicine works. Before you go to a TCM doctor, consult with your doctor first about your specific condition because you should get your advice from your primary doctor. 

Then ask yourself: If I can feel Chi right now, how can I direct it so that it can help me to heal? We’ll talk about how energy is the basis for all forms of life, including matter in the universe. For now, understand that animate objects and inanimate objects both have Chi. 

So what internal exercises can you do to balance your Chi? What if you can do Tai Chi and use it to channel energy from the atmosphere into your body so that you can stimulate the body’s natural ability to replenish and avoid energy depletion?
We’ll cover these topics in future blog posts. In the meantime, if you want to watch my free 30-minute training video on Tai Chi breathing, then click this link. Don’t forget to leave a comment below! Looking forward to keeping in touch.