Many people associate energy with the power to do work. We gain energy by eating good, healthy foods and getting enough sleep. But Qi goes much deeper than the energy we use to move our bodies. Qi is your invisible life force. It is the energy that sustains you. We are all born to this Earth with a finite amount of Qi. Once that energy is gone, our time on Earth is over. We die and the shell of our bodies remains, however, our spirit continues on.

It is certainly possible to lose energy. We see this in the healing professions where the practitioner really wants to help the patient. Energy always goes from higher to lower, so the weaker person actually sucks energy from the stronger one. We also see this in our daily lives. Stress consumes us. We stay up late, working on computers and answering emails. We work ourselves too hard with the assumption that our physical bodies will always support us.

Throughout our lives, we use up the precious Qi that was gifted to us at birth. Although we can’t add to this inherited Qi, we can acquire more. Qigong is one pathway toward gaining Qi. Simple energy movements access the body’s invisible, energetic level to move Qi and help it flow smoothly throughout the body. Once your Qi is flowing smoothly, the energetic messages that connect one organ system to the other will be harmonic. As you learn to intuitively understand the ways in which your body communicates with you, your body will return to a state of health and balance.

Qigong is a practice of unconditional love for all of Nature. It’s a deep intuitive understanding that the body is connected on infinite levels to other human beings, to Nature, to the surrounding environment and to the Universe as a whole. Practicing Qigong will grow you and change you, but you need to be committed. To see a change in your health, you must put in the effort. Learn to look at your physical body as a reflection of what is happening deep within. Are you happy, emotionally balanced and physically symptom-free or are your emotions out of whack and your physical body experiencing aches and pains?

Get yourself strong—go deep. Conserve your energy so that you can change more. Don’t waste your energy; you need it to grow spiritually. This spiritual journey is not easy, so look for shortcuts in the process. You don’t need to use your precious energy to heal your body if there’s an herb that can do it for you. Energy is priceless; herbs can be bought. So buy the herbs, fix your problems, and use your energy to fix your soul—to make your spirit grow.

Be smart. Take action; do something for yourself—for your soul. If you change, maybe you can help someone else change later. But have compassion for yourself first. See how this can change you. Understand this first—experience this first. If you don’t have the experience of compassion, it remains just a word. There is no power behind it. Keep a compassion journal. In it, record the many ways you can be compassionate toward yourself. Remember, what you can’t experience for yourself, you cannot share with anyone else. Be peaceful; love yourself.