Contents
In Western medicine, immunity is the body’s defense system against disease-causing organisms. In Chinese medicine, immunity is considered somewhat broader: it is believed that there is a type of energy in the body that protects us from diseases, and in addition, it builds our personal boundaries and moral stability. How to increase the level of this energy?
Chinese medicine is based on the concept of “qi” – life energy. These are forces that circulate in the body, and they are very easy to feel: sometimes the energy overflows, sometimes there are no forces. At the everyday level, we all, one way or another, feel this qi energy in ourselves (we simply call it something else).
Chinese doctors, who have studied this phenomenon for centuries, believe that there are several types of energy in the human body, each with its own function. For example, one of the types of energy – wei qi, the so-called protective energy – helps us protect ourselves from illness and unnecessary emotional experiences. Where does she live and how to upgrade her?
Protective layer
Chinese treatises say that wei qi is an energy that circulates at the surface of the skin and envelops the internal organs. It literally creates a protective layer, forms the boundaries of the body. How to understand that a person has a high level of Wei Qi:
– he rarely gets sick, and if he gets sick, we quickly recover;
– well-moisturized skin, without peeling and irritation; healthy hair, shining eyes;
– a person rarely gets injured: moreover, not only due to a strong physique, but also due to his dexterity and attentiveness;
– normal sweating: not excessive, but not completely absent.
The psychological factor
Among other things, a person with a high level of Wei Qi can also be identified by moral stability. A signal of a lack of protective energy is excessive sensitivity, vulnerability, inability to build personal boundaries. The body ceases to defend itself both on a physical and emotional level – and these two factors form a vicious circle. The more vulnerable a person is, the higher the level of stress, which means the greater the risk of various diseases. With an increase in the level of protective energy, along with the quality of health, emotional stability also grows.
Source of energy
Where does Wei Qi come from? It is believed that we get it from food: the better, healthier food we consume and the better it is digested, the higher the level of protective energy. And pay attention: proper nutrition in itself is not the key to success. It is possible to establish the most healthy diet, but it is important that these healthy foods are fully absorbed. And it depends on the condition of the digestive tract.
For example, we know that raw vegetables and fruits are healthy foods. However, due to stress and ecology, the digestive system of most city dwellers is not able to take the maximum of useful substances from raw foods. This food is not digestible and a healthy diet is of no benefit. Therefore, Chinese doctors consider thermally processed foods to be the most useful: boiled or stewed vegetables, while fruits are baked or in the form of compotes. And only when the digestive system is completely healthy, you can diversify the diet with raw foods.
Exercise to increase the level of wei qi
There are two steps to increasing your Wei Qi energy level:
– building a structure
When a person has a violation of posture, distortions, his back, neck, head regularly hurts – this means that there is muscle strain. It takes energy to maintain these voltages. Therefore, the first step is the relaxation of habitual tensions, the creation of a free, slender posture. This is done with the help of Xingshen qigong. Muscles enter a normal tone, and the energy that kept them in tension is released – goes to meet the needs of the body.
– activation of wei qi
When there is a resource, it is possible, as it were, to call on the energy to work at the border: they say, let’s work here, you are needed here! There is a special exercise for this – patting. Stand barefoot on the floor and start patting yourself – from the periphery to the center: from the feet up the front of the leg, along the back, from the sides. Pass the hands in the same way: from the palms to the center of the body. Belly, back – where you get it. Patting should be light, but confident, “calling”.
In our healing tradition, there are similar procedures: rubbing with a hard towel, whipping with a broom in the bath – these are also techniques for activating wei qi.
In China, it is believed that the key to success is regularity. You won’t go to the bath every day, but patting the body takes only 3-5 minutes and can become quite a pleasant and useful habit for every day.