What Qi Cultivation?
In Chinese Medicine theory aka “Qi Theory” (pronounced Chee), Qi is considered the animating force of life in the human body. Qi is also the animating force of the physical universe. Qi is the foundation of the material structure of our known world. This fundamental principle lies at the heart of our practice. The human body and the universe beyond us are porous. Life force energy is available to us, from both within and out, at all times.
What do we mean when we talk about cultivating Qi? Lets look at the word ‘cultivation’. The dictionary refers to the act of developing a quality or skill, more specifically, the process of refinement. To change something from one form into another. The word is most often associated with agricultural practices, such as “cultivating the soil”. This is a wonderful metaphor for our purpose. The soil we are cultivating is our energy, our life force, and that which animates our physical body in order to refine ourselves internally for the purposes of well-being and living life more fully.
Chinese Medicine as both a science and an art, address health not as a matter of symptoms or lack of symptoms as in the case of western allopathic medicine, but in regards to how Qi is moving (or flowing) through the pathways of the body. That is a bigger topic for another day; this is important because the knowledge of even the most basic concepts of Qi theory give context and understanding for why we practice and what expectations we can hold.
The first mountain we climb when beginning to cultivate and refine our personal energy, is developing our relationship with the breath. The first and last source of life for our physical body and the primary evidence that Qi is very real. Think about it; breath is both a non physical substance and physiological action; yet without it, we cannot live for more than a few minutes. All of the known spiritual texts of humanity make reference to it. The second chapter of Genesis, the first book of the bible states, “and God formed a man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.” The breath contains within it the blueprint of health and wholeness for the human experience.
Learning to breathe may sound ridiculous to some. It may seem simple to many. Neither perspectives are wrong. Our world has long since forgotten the importance of breath, in part due to the mechanistic views of Newtonian physics (as they relate to the human body) and the intellectual proposition of 17th century Mathematician, Rene Decarte who famously stated these fateful words… “I think, therfor I am”. This is a very different perspective than that of Genesis, which clearly states the human being became a living being by being breathed into by a seemingly outside intelligence. In the realm of Qi cultivation, “thinking” does little more than confuse the rest of the body as to what is going on. We are holding the notion that the human body is far more intelligent than the intellect, which frankly, thinks too damn much.
As we walk the journey of energy cultivation, we learn to listen to the breath as a wise counselor of the vast landscape of the body. What is hidden deep within the fluids, connective tissues, bones and blood of the body is found through deepening the connection with the breath. I cannot over emphasize this enough. As a beginner, we will spend years developing this connection and the benefits are too great in number to put into words. What we feel and think about the landscape of the body, when we first begin our journey, will change so dramatically and so uniquely from body to body or soul to soul, that it may be disrespectful to attempt to convey it in words. So I won’t.
Be not discouraged. Those who seek quick gains and large rewards early will be disappointed. Patience is required and those who find it difficult to be patient, may be training more intensively than their nervous systems can handle; this phase will not last long for those who seek and are willing to be humble. The best approach is to set a realistic training schedule and relax around dogma and strict adherence to any one way. The body does not operate in straight lines and neither should we. Better to follow the organic rhythms of the body’s intelligence and the natural order of the universe, which is far superior in its design than the intellect. Trust the process and all will be well.
May the Qi be with you,
Adam Bear