Chi

What I love most about language is its living eternal nature, which transcends the strongest boundaries of time and space. Words are, by their intrinsic nature, timely, limiting, and rigid constructs clumsily attempting to express the ineffably eternal. Chi is one of these words.

Chi translates literally as “air,” and figuratively as “material energy,” “life force,” and “energy flow.” Similarly, to Chinese Daoists/Taoists, qi is bioelectromagnetic energy, the vital force that is part of all living beings. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts.

This same primordial life-giving force is known as prana in ancient Hindu philosophy. Though prana rides on the breath as it moves in and out of the body, it is not the breath itself. Many believe that prana originates in the atman (the soul). Prana means “breathing forth,” from the Sanskrit an, meaning “movement” and “to breathe,” and pra, meaning “forth.”

Qi, chi, prana - call it what you want. I call it spirit. Spirit is the fire of truth burning within you, the force animating all living beings. It permeates reality on all levels. The energy motivating you to grow and thrive in the face of challenges beyond fear - this is spirit. It flows in currents in and around the body through channels known as chakras and nadis. How are you investing your spirit?

By Zia Estrella; All Rights Reserved @2019