These are excerpts from various talks I’ve given over the years. Pick through the information and formulate some good analogies that you can use to tell your patients what it is you do and what you will do for them.

Then, feel free to let me know what you may already tell them and what you think of this information!

QUESTION: How many have heard the word Qi?

There is no one word in the English language that truly captures the essence of what Qi is.

The best way I have to describe it is by calling it Vital Energy. It’s the energy that animates every living thing.

Here’s a good analogy: Imagine a person (in my clinic I hold up a plastic meridian model and use that as the visual) that has lived to be 105 years old. They are upright and seem somewhat vitalized. Their body parts are functioning normally, for the most part. One day they pass peacefully on from natural causes. Inside of him, he still has all of his organs, blood, cells, etc., but there is something missing.

QUESTION: What do you think that is?

A spark, yes the spark that animates every part of his being, our being!

That spark is what we call Qi. The spark of life!

From the tallest tree, to the smallest cell, Qi is the Vital Energy that enlivens your entire being.

It’s an unseen energy that supports our body’s ability to function properly. It provides nourishment for every cell, tissue, muscle, organ and gland.

Our body uses Qi to accomplish everyday activities. Each organ and meridian pathway needs to be fed and filled with an ample supply of Qi in order to function optimally.

And it’s the quality, quantity and strength of Qi can be seen in your physical, mental and emotional health.

Qi has various physiological functions:

• Activates & animates
• Transforms & transports
• Warms the body
• Protects & defends
• Contains & retains

Health is maintained as long as each of us has a sufficient supply that freely travels throughout the body in order to provide proper nourishment.

Now that you understand what Qi is, how we get it, and what we use it for, let me ask you this…

QUESTION: Do you think it just sits there? How do you think it moves?

Over the past few thousand years, the Chinese have mapped out a series of pathways in the body and have called this the Meridian network. I like to call it our internal river of life!

Imagine little rivers of Qi running inside of your body. Meridians are a network of invisible pathways that distribute Qi to every cell, tissue, organ, gland and system within your body. They are long internal rivers, with many branches, that travel throughout your entire body, connecting cells, tissues, muscles and organs.

Qi is carried along these internal rivers, providing nourishment and sustenance for all of our life processes.

Qi is the invisible flowing current, moving around your body, energizing, nourishing and supporting every cell, tissue, muscle, organ and gland.

Your meridian system is extremely detailed and similar in complexity to the blood and nervous system.

I mentioned earlier that health is achieved as long as both Yin and Yang are in balance. It is also achieved when we have a free flow of Qi traveling throughout the entire body. When there is a blockage in the meridians, the supply of Qi that is required to properly nourish and support the cells, tissues, muscles, organs and glands becomes restricted.

I’ll use the simple analogy of watering a plant.

• Just like plant in your garden, the body needs adequate sun, nutrients, and water to grow and function.
• Imagine a blocked and constricted garden hose, that is unable to provide an adequate supply of water to the plant.
• Without water, the plant will be unable to grow, blossom and thrive. It will wilt, deform and decay.

QUESTION: Then what do you think happens?

You got it! You folks are really catching on. Illness, pain and disease!

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Blockage of Qi = imbalance which leads to pain, illness, and disease.

When the Qi becomes disrupted, stuck or weakened, our body will not receive adequate nourishment of the life force, and over time poor health and disease can occur.

We have already established that Qi flows in a certain and specific way throughout the body.

QUESTION: Now, what if I were to block off Qi “upstream”, what do you think will happen “downstream” in the body?

Right! Something downstream will be affected.

What do you think the symptoms of having blocked Qi would look like?

fatigue, listless, low energy, low creativity, depression, pain, irritability, etc….

So illness and disease according to the medical theories of Acupuncture and Chinese medicine stem from Qi either becoming:

• Stuck or blocked- what kind of symptoms do you think will appear?  Bloating, pain, fullness, throbbing.

And it can also be due to:

• Deficient – what kind of symptoms do you think will appear? Depression, blurry vision, shortness of breath, fatigue, pale complexion, lack of energy, unmotivated.
• Collapsed – what kind of symptoms do you think will appear? Lassitude, dizziness, prolapsed, distending sensations.

QUESTION: What do you think  would happen if you had an abundant amount of flowing Qi?

Life feels good, happy, grounded, creative, bounce back from illness and pain easily, etc..

You’ll blossom and grow!

The difference between the proper quantity, quality and movement of Qi throughout our bodies, compared to an imbalance of it, can be dramatic. Resulting in various signs and symptoms.

Here’s a little mantra for you – Free flow and proper balance of Qi = healthy body, mind and spirit.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. The good thing is that as an acupuncturist my job is to detect and correct where Qi has become stuck, deficient or out-of-balance.

The bad news is is that you folks make my job easy because so many things cause a blockage and/or imbalance of Qi.