UNDERSTANDING QI

Yin and Yang: 

 To truly understand qi it is important to understand Yin-Yang.

Yin is that portion of qi that is passive, moist and dark; it is the physical side of the universe.

Yang is delicate, ethereal.  It is active, dry and hot.

Yin and yang do not exist outside of each other, and must be kept balanced in order to create good emotions and health.

Maintaining Balance of Qi

As with yin-yang, qi needs to balance in order to maintain good health, both physical and emotional.

Curing an imbalance of qi is the basis of healing practices in Traditional Chinese Medicine, such as shiatsu and acupuncture.

Qi Deficiency: Lack of sleep, food, fresh air, exercise, lack of mental stimulation, social interactions and affection or love.

Excess Qi: Too much Qi can affect the body even more so than too little.  This can occur due to excessive exercise, overeating, stress, anxiety or negative emotions.

An advanced diagram showing the relationship between qi and the diurnal cycle.

To avoid this imbalance it is important to be aware of  your qi and nurture it.

There are four types of qi within the human body:

• Parental Qi: Inherited from our parents at conception. Parental qi is stored in our kidneys.
• Pectoral Qi: Produced by breathing. Pectoral qi is stored in the chest area.
• Nutritional Qi: From eating food, nutritional qi is responsible for bringing nutrition to all parts of the body.
• Defensive Qi: Responsible for keeping immune systems healthy, and protecting the body from illness. Defensive qi is the yang of nutritional qi, meaning that it is also derived from eating nutritious food.

Shiatsu & Anma

Shiatsu bodywork was made popular in the twentieth century by Tokujiro Namikoshi (1905–2000), and was derived from the ancient Japanese massage modality called anma, a Japanese style of massage which was developed in 1320 by Akashi Kan Ichi.  

Anma was popularised in the seventeenth century by acupuncturist Sugiyama Waichi.  Since then, massage in Japan had been strongly associated with the blind.

Sugiyama, blind himself, established a number of medical schools specifically for the blind.

During the Meiji period from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. the arrival of Western medicine reduced anma’s popularity.

Many of its techniques were subsumed into Shiatsu and Western massage practices, although research into anma for medical purposes continues at Tokyo Kyoiku University.

Anma is still practiced alongside Shiatsu in Japan, with practitioners being certified by the health board of their local prefecture.

Shiatsu and Helen Keller

During the Occupation of Japan by the Allies after World War II, traditional medicine practices were banned (along with other aspects of traditional Japanese culture) by General MacArthur.

The ban prevented many of Japan’s blind community from earning a living practising traditional medicine, including Shiatsu.

Enter Helen Keller, the blind-deaf activist for human rights, who was already popular and loved by Japanese people even before the war, and she visited Japan to experience the devastation in Hiroshima.

When traditional medical was banned in 1948, the blind Shiatsu practitioners reached out to Keller and appealed to her for help.

Helen Keller contacted President Truman directly, and he eventually removed the ban on practising traditional medical in Japan, thereby allowing the blind Shiatsu practitioners to earn a living again.