June 14, 2007 by Domenic Thomas, M.S.O.M., L.Ac.
What is qi? I use this word from time to time during acupuncture sessions and patients will ask me what it means. Any given language will have words that don’t translate easily into other languages. How does one translate exactly the word "chutzpah" into English? Or "ennui"? Or "macho"?
We tend to leave certain words in their original language and adopt them unchanged into our own rather than water them down and strip them of all their connotations - their unique "flavor". But Chinese language, culture and history are quite foreign to most Americans. "Qi" is difficult to translate, but in the interest of bridging our two cultures it’s worth a try.
The most literal translation of "Qi" is "air" or "mist". This very narrow translation gives us a clue as to how elusive qi is. It’s definitely real, and has definite effects, but it is not visible. It is often translated as "energy", but it is more than just kinetic energy. Qi is not exactly physical, but it verges on the physical.
One could say qi is energy on the verge of becoming matter. This sounds rather vague, but qi as it manifests in the human body is very specific in its behavior. In fact, the best way to describe qi is in terms of how it functions.
The easiest way to understand qi in the human body is to consider the differences between a human being and a rock. Humans move. We generate heat. We take in air and food in order to move and generate heat.
Even if we do not consciously choose to move, countless processes in our body continue on. From the pumping of the blood, to the faint electro-chemical impulses which indicate that we are thinking, to the millions of metabolic processes that keep us in balance.
All these things are functions of qi. Qi can therefore be considered as the life force which animates our bodies. In the west we have the concept of the "breath of life", which connects well with the literal meaning of qi, "air".
For obvious reasons, western medicine has a problem with the concept of "qi". If we can’t measure it with a lab test or capture it with an image, is it real? It’s a bit of a quandary for western medicine because the overwhelming and ever accumulating evidence is that acupuncture works. There are muddled attempts to invoke various "endorphins" or nerve impulses.
