Direction of Qi (energy) movement

We all have good days and bad days.  Some days we are feeling great and our energy is up, while other days we are feeling a little down and so is our energy.

There’s also a concept of energy or “Qi” (pronounced “chee”) in Chinese medicine, and the direction of this Qi is one aspect that can influence our overall health and how we feel.   You may be surprised that this Qi is associated with different organs in the body, and the good Qi flow could be either up or down, as well as outward in other directions (unlike our feeling that we would always want going up). 

Let’s take a few examples.  The direction of Qi for the Lungs is downward.  As we inhale, we are nourishing our bodies and also the organs below our Lungs.   If the direction of our Qi in the Lungs goes upward (called a counter flow) for some reasons, we could experience coughing, sneezing or a difficulty catching our breath.

The direction of Qi for the Stomach is meant to go downward too, and a counter flow here could have us experience some hiccups, nausea, heartburn, vomiting and/or even irritability.

Our Liver is an interesting organ, as the Qi of the Liver has to flow smoothly outwardly in all different directions.  This means that the Liver has a big impact on the other organs of our body and on our overall health.  Furthermore, the Qi of the Liver can be easily influenced by certain emotions, such as anger, irritability, resentment and frustration.

There are a number of things that impact our Qi, and one of them can be what we eat.  For example, too much of hot and spicy food could cause a counter flow of the Stomach Qi (going upwards instead of downwards) and could cause us to experience hiccups.

In acupuncture, we focus on harmonizing all types of Qi by selecting & needling certain points that get Qi flowing in the right direction in order to improve our overall health and bring the body and mind into harmony.

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