Jing
– the Essence of the physical body. It is the sum of the physical processes in the body ( blood, bile, etc..) . It is also literally the physical energy available to you when performing physical acts. This energy comes from food and air, and is transformed into calories and oxygen to be consumed during physical activity.
Oxygen comes in through the lungs, and is then carried by the blood to nourish the organs and muscles. Breathe deep, and your body will be a beacon of health and vitality!
No.
The
truth is that, yes, the organs and muscles need oxygen (amongst other
things), but the veins and arteries do not reach many of those organs,
fibers and muscle bundles. The body instead relies on movement to create
a pumping action which helps push a thin nutritious soup to the areas
not served by the network of veins.
If there is not enough movement in some areas, the tissue within it is starved of nutrition and can whither. This is most obvious in bed sores developed by those on extended bed rest: areas under pressure (and therefore not being fed) die and rot. The same thing ( on a much smaller scale) can happen in areas that are left immobile, or seized up.
Tai Chi is generally a great way to move and to open up joints where pinching of tissue can occur, which blocks flow. At the very least, walking needs to be part of a daily routine of health care. Walk, move the arms around, and generally get the blood flowing, literally.
Qi
– the energy body. The flow of emotions, information and energy that travels across the body and mind. Qi is the energy of life, the connection between the material and spiritual world.
“Energy of Life” is a nebulous way to think about Qi, and yet that is the definition. It is a weird concept for modern Westerners, though the idea of a “vitality”, a “breath of life” which animates the living word is not simply Eastern. the Classical philosophers of Greece and Rome had the same ideas, and indeed the Bible itself conveys this. It is, after all, the divine breath that transforms mud into the first human.
So the issue is really one of perspective. The modern Western scientific mindset rests on the practice of separating and isolating the elements of life, in order to measure and control them. The concept of Qi invites us to see the whole, the system, the interconnection between the elements.
On
your next relaxing walk ( which I’m sure you are taking since I keep
babbling about it), let your attention broaden so that it encompasses as
many elements as possible. Notice how the trees all express a vertical
(some would say phallic) upward energy. How they are shaped by wind. How
the same wind moves the clouds. How the clouds nourish the trees with
their rain.
Trees, wind, clouds, rain, soil…all are elements within a grander, more complex system, a system which breathes, which changes as the components of the system change, almost as if it was… a living system. A living body. And what links the pats of this body is…Qi.
And you are part of it.
Shen
– the Spirit body. The mind, the consciousness and the soul. All are nourished by the body.
Here is a quick question: where in your body is your wisdom?
We can say that we have a “gut feeling”, or that we “shoulder a burden”, or “bellyache” about things, or that someone is a “pain in the ass!” We carry emotions in our bodies.
In traditional Chinese medicine, psychological problems are sometimes seen as imbalances of energies within the body. A stagnant Qi in the lungs will cause an emotional response, and if left untreated will develop into a psychological condition.
But conversely, parts of the body are also containers of emotional wisdom, strength , will, etc..
It
is a strange experiment to do, but also very much worth it: experience
yourself as a committee of beings, instead of a single self locked in
the cage of your skull.
Think
of a past event, something important but not triggering of trauma, and
sit with the emotions that were present. Where were they manifesting?
And when you moved through this event and resolved it, how did you do
it? Was it a conscious, logical process, or did an intuition arise, a
gut feeling manifest?
Notice how your sense of self, even your thinking self, moves throughout the body as need arises. Simply note it when you can.
Where is your wisdom?