Working With Chi

Whether you call it chi as the Chinese do, ki like the Japanese or prana, as yogis do, most Eastern philosophies have a word to describe the invisible energy they believe is fundamental to our existence.

According to Madonna Gauding, chi is 'the breath of life that animates everything on this planet. It is the essence or soul of all things, and the energy that causes activity and change throughout the universe.'

Her new book describes how to work with this chi to improve and enhance your health and wellbeing.

It's a very readable guide, packed with advice on the food and the exercises that can harness this chi, and filled with glossy photos of real-looking people and the natural world around us.

The text is broken into digestible chunks, the language is accessible, and simple diagrams help pinpoint exactly what she is talking about.

Gauding understands that her readers are likely to be combining Eastern philosophies with Western living. She places chi in its historical context and explains how it fits into Taoist beliefs.

She talks about how traditional Chinese doctors treat both physical and emotional conditions and how two people suffering the exact same physical symptoms will be treated differently because the Chinese approach is holistic, rather than generic.

She points out that the Western world has its own invisible forces too - electricity, x-rays, radioactive and subatomic particles; and that the accupoints, the gateways of chi along the meridians, have stronger electrical potential than surrounding tissue.

Food for thought
The most interesting chapters, for me, are those on diet. Much of the advice we've heard before - eat organic, buy local and so on.

However, she has some interesting insight on the way Chinese people view food: 'In the Western world, foods are evaluated for their protein, calorie, carbohydrate and vitamin and mineral content,' she writes.

'In the Chinese and Taoist view, foods are considered according to their thermal energies, flavours and effects on specific organs and the body."

She advises us to avoid refined foods - including low fat dairy products - because they have been stripped of their goodness. She suggests that our desire to overeat could in part be down to missing chi and nutrients in 'the chemically laden, refined, denatured and genetically modified foods we eat'.

She adds, 'We unconsciously overeat in a futile attempt to absorb the chi that will never be there.'

The tip of the iceberg
The book is ultimately a starting point. It explains thoughtfully the concepts of chi, the five element system of healing - the Chinese believe that the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) govern our physical, emotional and spiritual reality - and how our diet can impact on this.

It also details simple stretching movements and exercises to help the chi's flow in certain areas of the body. However, while the diagrams of the different meridian points are easy to understand, it's difficult for a beginner to know whether they are hitting the right spot, and you wonder whether you'd end up doing yourself harm by massaging the wrong place.

This is great as an introduction and could inspire you to make some interesting changes in your life. But you'll soon discover that to get anything worthwhile out of it, you'll need to investigate further.

Working With Chi: Practical ways to harness healing energy by Madonna Gauding is published by Octopus Books £12.99

A word about our reviewer:

Cathryn Scott is a freelance journalist based in Cardiff, with a special interest in writing about yoga, eco fashion and beauty. She has practised yoga for eight years, drawing on traditions including Sivananda, Iyengar, Ashtanga and Yin. She is currently on a three-year British Wheel of Yoga teacher training diploma and can be emailed at: cathrynscott@hotmail.com