3 September 2020 - Within traditional Chinese medicine there are a number of terms that we regularly use such as Qi, yin, yang and meridians. Sometimes we use these terms during your consultation. And no, it isn't strange that you have no idea what we are talking about. To make it a bit easier to understand, today we want to tell you a bit more about Qi and meridians. Simply said; Qi is your life energy. Your Qi flows (together with your blood) through your body via meridians. Your Qi feeds your organs with the energy they need to function optimally.

Imagine that these meridians are all different roads in your body. You have 12 major roads from head to toe, and together they form a complete network. These 12 meridians are divided into 6 yin and 6 yang meridians (mirrored in your body). Yin and yang ensure that your Qi can change character to provide every organ with the energy they need. Your Qi needs 24 hours to travel your entire body through these 12 meridians. And that is exactly why one organ is most active for 2 hours a day (see blog Chinese organ clock).

The most important thing is to keep this Qi flow in balance. As long as your Qi can flow smoothly through your body, nothing is wrong, but if there is a blockage on the ‘road’, your energy cannot flow freely and an imbalance occurs and physical and mental complaints can arise.

In Chinese medicine there are also more than 300 acupuncture points (these often lie on the meridians) in your body and by stimulating these points (with a needle), you can correct or balance your Qi in order to counter imbalance and complaints.

image: Meridians Sebastian Rang, Getty Images - Canva