Chinese Medicine for Energy
Natural Herbs for Energy
Chinese Medicine is About Energy
The word for energy is Qi
Qi, Chi, Ki – They all mean the same thing: vital body energy. Chinese medicine has long understood that a key to good health is the normal flow of sufficient energy. Qi can best be defined by its effects.
Qi, creates motion and heat.
Qi activates. It makes the muscles contract, the heart beat, and the blood flow. Qi regulates, by its flow, every gland and every organ.
Qi flows mainly along the channels. Chinese medicine recognizes 14 major channels or meridians.
It is said that Qi moves the blood, and blood is mother to the qi. If Qi is abundant and flowing, your body is healthy.
Since TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) is all about energy, problems with energy, such as fatigue, are rarely seen as simple. Many physical ailments that don’t include fatigue and, in the West, are not normally associated with energy, like allergies, arthritis, infertility, and headaches, may actually have their roots in insufficient or abhorrent energy patterns. Though this page will list both herbs and herb formulas generally used for weak energy, it is highly recommended that self-diagnosis and self-treatment be avoided, and that skilled professional help be sought for using Chinese herbal medicine. Nonetheless, we offer the following information for educational purposes.
Note that clicking on the links below will generate searches to help you discover more about the availability and use of these herbs and products.
Popular Single Herbs for Energy
Lycii (Go Ji Berry)
Asian Ginseng
American Ginseng
Astragalus
Dang Gui
He Shou Wu
Cordyceps
Schizandra
Some Common Basic Herbal Medicines for Energy
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, these formulas should not be taken while ill with a cold or similar respiratory ailment, as they may prolong the illness. This is thought to occur because the tonic formulas may astringe the exterior of the body. This becomes problematic if the exterior has been previously ‘penetrated’ by an invading pathogen, like a virus. Normally the body is thought to have the ability to expel these pathogens through the pores of the skin, however if the surface has been overly tightened, this expulsion can’t occur and the pathogen may be forced deeper within the body.
BU ZHONG YI QI WAN
JIN GUI SHEN QI WAN
MAI WEI DI HUANG (BA XIAN CHANG SOU WAN)
LIU JUN ZI WAN
ACUPUNCTURE FOR ENERGY
If your eyes could see all of your body's energies, radiant heat energy that emanates from us, magnetic energy that surrounds us, electrical energy that circulates throughout us triggering our muscles and heart, we would look very different than the human forms we customarily recognize as a human being.
Acupuncture, is all about energy. We call it Qi. It recognized the importance of Qi energy to our body's functioning and health. When energy is abundant and flowing normally we are healthy. If energy is insufficient or flowing improperly, we are ill or may become ill.
Acupuncture is said to help regulate and normalize the flow of these energies.
Energy problems such as immune deficiencies, and chronic fatigue syndrome are often treatable and curable with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicines, however these illnesses are complex and do not lend themselves to self-diagnosis or treatment. Working with an experienced practitioner is essential in these cases.