AN EXPLORATION OF THE QI
THE QI AND THEIR VARIOUS EXPRESSIONS IN THE HUMAN BODY

General presentation:

An understanding of QI is central to Chinese philosophy, art, medicine and movement therapies.
The Qi, which are yin as well as yang, represent all that exists in the universe.
But Qi represents also the yang aspect in a pair, for example : essences and qi (jing qi), blood and qi (xue qi), water and qi, flavors and qi ...
According to the time and place its functions are exercised, the Qi takes particular names, which indicate their specificity and their effects: original/source qi (yuan qi), yin/yang qi, true qi (zhen qi), ancestral or gathering qi (zong qi), nutritive qi (ying qi), defensive qi (wei qi), correct qi (zheng qi), evil qi (xie qi) ...
This workshop addresses how the vision and meaning of Qi developed in medicine, and show how the various expression of Qi inside the human body built life at the image of the cosmic life. This include a study of the main Chinese characters involved. Translations from some medical classical texts will be given to the participants.

April 1: An Introduction to the Qi

The theory and the practise of Chinese medicine rely upon the Qi. The Qi what is everything in nature, is also everything in a human being. They give their qualities to any part of an organism, as well as to any moment of time and cycle through which this organism develops its life. each place in space and moment in time is a particular Qi.
This session will focus on the Qi as all that make the human life - body, emotions, mind - through interaction and transformation of Qi.

April 15: Yuan/Original and source Qi 元/原氣

The many expressions of the Qi in a human life comes from one unique source. Any source for a personal life comes also from the same, unique and mysterious origin, beyond any manifestation. In a human being, the original Qi is the rich potential of the building and evolving of all aspects and forms of life, containing the unchangeable data of a being's original nature, as well as the ability to develop it according to the axis of life within oneself.

April 29: Wei/Defensive Qi 衛氣

How and where is the defensive qi produced. What enables it to defend against evil qi and keep the essences within the body preventing the dissemination of what is vital. What are the details and the meaning of it circuit, in the yang during the day, turned toward body movements and senses activity, and in the yin during the night, in relation with the Five zang organs, specially the Kidneys. How this défense qi maintains special relations with organs as the lung or channel as the Taiyang.

May 6: Ying/Nutritive Qi 營氣

How and where is the nutritive qi produced. What is the exact meaning of its character and how it expresses the perpetual rebuilding of life, according to the original model. How to understand the nature of the nutritive Qi, its relations with the blood, the body fluid, the nutriments. What is the meaning of its constant circuits throughout the body. The importance of its coupling with the defence Qi.

May 20: Zong/Ancestral or Gathering Qi 宗氣

What is the meaning of the character « zong » and how it is used in medicine to qualify a kind of Qi. Where is this Qi in the body, in the channels and the pulses. What are the function of this Qi in relation with the sea of Qi in the middle of the chest, with the lung and the respiration, with the beating of the heart. Some exemples of the use of the character zong in medicine are given for a clearer understanding of this concept.

May 27: Zheng/ Correct Qi 正氣

Correct qi are the qi that follow the rules governing the harmonious exchange of yin and yang at all levels. We will expose their links with the various organs and circulations; their relation with the other Qi, specially the true Qi (zhen qi 真氣), and with the heart and the spirit. What are the main models describing how they resist external aggressions from evil qi, as well as internal disorders. How they allow the perfect adaptation and reactions to any circonstances.

June 4: Xie/Evil Qi 邪氣

From the earliest days pathogenic, corrupt, evil qi (xie qi 邪氣) describe qi harmful to health and life, as opposed to subtle qi, rich in essences (jing qi 精氣), full of vitality (jing 精) for maintenance of bodily life and the spirit.
How can a Qi become corrupted, since they always come from the original source that is one and the same as the natural order? What is the difference between a normal atmospheric Qi, necessary for he nurturing of life (as cold or heat), and the same Qi, when harming life? The relation with the moments of time is one of the main factors to discriminate them. The right measure is another one..

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