Our body is divided up into areas of yin and yang (balance). So the upper parts of the body are relatively Yin (negative, female, dark, cold), while the lower parts are relatively Yang. (Positive, male, light, warm). The left side of the male body is Yin, while the right is relatively Yang while the reverse is true for women. That is not to say that the negative is at all bad as one would assume in the West, as both Yin and Yang have equal value in Chinese Medicine and must be in a constant state of balance in order for the body to be healthy.
We can have an out of balance state that is not too great, thus giving us a slight headache for instance, something that will usually right itself given enough time for the body to re-balance naturally. Or we can have a greatly out of balance state where we have some dire disease that requires a doctor=s attention or even surgery etc.
It is of the utmost importance that we try to maintain this state of balance both externally and internally in order to have a healthy and long life.
Within every animal there are six balanced pairs of organs and their associated acupuncture meridians or channels. These meridians can be likened to arteries and veins; only meridians carry a life-force called AQi@ (Ch=i) (pronounced >chee=) or Electrical energy. If you move, you must use energy and this energy (Qi) must come from somewhere to cause that action to happen. It is this feature that the Chinese discovered, that enables us to use the movement therapies to great benefit.
The Chinese call the holding area for the Qi, the >Tantien=, an electrical space about 3 inches below the navel in humans and situated upon an acupuncture meridian called the >Jung Mei= (>Mei= being another name for meridian or channel) which is in the centre of the body running from head to sexual organs. This holding area is often also simply called the kidneys. And in Chinese medicine, the kidneys hold a special place of honour because it is the >Kidney Qi= that is the main source of energy in the body.
So the Chinese doctors found that in order for instance to simply lift a hand, Qi was required. And it came from this holding place immediately down to a point on the base of the foot called the >bubbling well= point or Kidney Point No. 1. (Photo No. ) This point is the main point in the body as far as energy is concerned. All energy must firstly go down to the KD 1 point in order to be routed all over the body to allow the various muscles to do any work. The Qi, then, had to move through a channel or meridian to get to the final muscle that had to do this specific work. So for instance if the >work= was to push something using a single palm and you just happen to have your left foot forward and pushing with your right palm, then the Qi would have to be routed through the >Heart= Meridian thus bathing the heart in life-giving Qi. This is also apparent in the Martial/Healing art of Tai Chi (Taijiquan) whereby we make use of this Qi flow directed by certain work. So the group of postures called ‘Brush Knee and Twist Step’ do exactly the above in that you are pushing something with one hand. However, as most things in China are based in some way upon the martial arts, they gave us a martial arts movement to affect this type of healing. So instead of closing a door, for instance, you are attacking someone with one palm while brushing away his initial attack.
The same theory applies to all of the 12 main internal organs and associated meridians.
So if some genius were to then find a way of moving in a certain pattern that would include every movement that would cause the Qi to be routed through ALL of the internal organs, then this would surely be a way to great health!
And this is what they did of course when they discovered firstly Qigong and then later, Tai Chi. In fact, Tai Chi is called a moving Qigong. (See my book published by Carlton Books, London on Basic Tai Chi.)
>Movement= does not have to be an exercise whereby we have to go somewhere or move something physically. It can also mean that we are standing still but using muscle power which of course requires energy. So if we were for instance simply standing still with our legs bend, this would still have the effect of routing the Qi all over the body for healing as the legs would be creating heat and thus needing energy.
