This is my first post--I am new to this forum so please forgive me if I go about this incorrectly. My question is simple and exceedingly complex: What is Chi?
I have read countless books about Tai Chi, Chi Gong, and traditional Chinese medicine, so I believe I understand the explanations practitioners are familiar with. But I want an answer that satisfies the strict scientific methodology of the western world.
Can you imagine how powerful Chinese theories about internal energy and health would be if it could be proven to the satisfaction of western science? Entire new medical methodologies could be developed. Our two cultures could find new ground for cooperation, based on humanitarianism, not economics and political posturing. The martial arts community would enjoy a new level of validation that has never before existed....
I am a board certified physician, retired, and I have more familiarity with Tai Chi and Chi cultivation than the average novice. In fact, I was first introduced to the art in Mainland China in 1978 when I traveled there for one month, during a time when travel by Americans was restricted. Through the years I have picked up Tai Chi training and put it down too many times to count. In all honesty, I never had the self-discipline to continue my practice. I would return to practice and focus all my attention to the art for a year at a time, and then find my commitment waver. I think it is safe to say that finding that commitment is half the battle of mastering the art. I should add, though, that every time I begin again I find that I have learned a great deal during that time of contemplation--but I do understand that there is no replacement for daily practice.
To make things more difficult, I have not lived near an advanced practitioner or master, so I had to decide long ago that learning alone was better than not learning at all. All of my time was taken up by my busy practice and family commitments. In saying that, I marvel at all that Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming has accomplished in his lifetime--it seems totally inconceivable to me that one man could do so much. I think it just emphasizes that some humans are more evolved than others...
My main motive for starting this thread is because I believe that many philosophies inherent to Traditional Chinese Medicine could be adapted to augment primary medical care in the US, while China could benefit greatly from our anatomically based surgical practices.
People who post on this forum, and many thousands of Westerners who have adopted various martial art practices, have first hand experience with chi (particularly those practitioners studying internal arts like Hsing I, Tai Chi Chuan, Ba Gua, Chi Gong, and Aikido). But every member of the martial arts community was either open minded enough, or searching for something completely different when they signed up for this experience. They all drank the cool-aid, so to speak--they all took a leap of faith because no bridge exists to unite Western and Eastern thinking about internal energy.
But I am convinced that we will discover explanations for, and proof of, chi energy that will satisfy the criteria of the Westerner scientific community. Imagine how the world will change when that happens! Why not start that discovery process right here.
After that long-winded prelude, here is my theory:
We know that chi flows along the orientation of the long bones, or bone and marrow strengthening would not be possible. We also know that chi is ubiquitous in the natural world, and that certain techniques can be used to cultivate that chi and store it in the Dan Tien. My experience suggests that proper Tai Chi Practice is dependent on PERFECT posture--so perfect that the practitioner is essentially balancing on his bones (his skeletal structure). By utilizing as little skeletal muscle as possible, he is damping all the "noise" that is created by muscle contraction, and in doing so chi is able to flow freely. To me it seems that mastering Tai Chi is all about mastering perfect posture--with that all the benefits will be possible.
John Goleas MD--author of "Searching For Prometheus--Discovering the Soul of American Medicine in the Philosophies of Traditional China."