Wei Qi: The Qi of Protection and Synthesis

Wei Qi energy is a specialized type of qi that works to support, and create a protective shield of energy that runs on the surface, as well as the inside of the body and under the skin. The wei qi energy helps to protect us from climate influences, including dryness, dampness, wind heat and cold. It also protects us from other people’s emotions, electromagnetic fields, and physical damage. Along with its role in protection, it has a function in synthesizing information that we interact and interface with in the environment on a day to day basis.

Wei Qi is supported and nourished by the deeper source qi within us as well as the energy that we cultivate from the proper diet and nutriments we take in. The quality of the vital energy of the breath that is processed by the lungs also supports the wei qi. There are many types of qi working to keep the body happy and whole that all relate and work in different dynamics together.

This particular qi has an important role in function of the immune system and sets up the first layer of defense in immune response, creating a natural barrier to invasive factors.Essentially, the wei qi is like an energetic skin or bubble that repels any kind of invasion, that might be impacting the body. In martial arts it is this qi that is cultivated to withstand any kind of impact so the body does not become damaged. The cultivation of the wei qi is achieved through different breath and standing practices known as qi gong and active impact conditioning training that increases the integrity, and span of this energy.

It is important that this qi does not get damaged or disrupted because it keeps the outer protective layer of the body intact so that we don’t have pathogens or harmful environmental factors entering into the body.

It is a good idea to go to sleep before 11pm, and be sound asleep during gallbladder time of 11pm-1am so that this channel has the freedom to do its job of synthesizing the day to help the body store life experiences as wisdom. If we are backlogged on this synthesis process we have a can difficult time learning our lessons and embodying change through our experiences. This is where we start to see our habits and patterns, being repeated and not having the capacity to move on to the next step of our life. This could be due to stress and over activity in the nervous system, making it difficult for us to get into a rest, or healing mode or other deeper belief systems, trauma and psychological resistance to processing our experiences.

If we’re not asleep during this time of the day and we’re up doing things we are bringing new information and new experiences into the body while it is trying to catch up on the other parts of the day, this also can create a backlog affecting the synthesis process. There’s a natural design to the wakeful and restful hours of the sleep that run, based on the circadian rhythm, when we challenge those rhythms, it can create backlogs in the function and the intelligence of our system to process and do its work.

The wei qi is connected to the wood element and also has a dynamic relationship to the lungs or metal element. The lungs are responsible for taking wei qi and sending it through the body fluids, and helping it to process between the areas of the muscle and the skin, creating this protective layer of integration. The liver and gallbladder have the responsibility of dispersing it through body fluids outside of the body. Wood energies do this by initiating the opening and closing of pores, so that the sweat and the energy that is inside the body can permeate and release into the exterior and vice versa.

All of these different functions are vital to immunity and defensive layers of the body, and how the body supports the release of external pathogenic factors and its protection against them. It is the qi that helps the immune system, respond and react accordingly though its boundaries; and as the first level of defense keeping pathogens from penetrating through the deeper aspects of the physical body tissues.

It is important that the foundational energy systems of our body, as well as the fuel that is built from our food, and our breath is stable on a day to day basis, so that the wei qi has the resources it needs to do its job on defending and protecting against exterior insult.

This Qi also gives us a dynamic relationship to how we hold our bodies in space and our physical and energetic awareness of what is around us. It helps us to navigate through space without stumbling or tripping upon different blocks or barriers in our path. And it helps us to sense danger or stay stable during impact or influence. Strongly cultivated wei qi will help us have a deep energetic sensitivity to physical and subtle aspects of our environment and will also help keep us stable and healthy against external invading factors.

It is the energy that is cultivated in this synthesized and protective framework of the outer body we can navigate our space within space. Processes that deeply cultivate the wei qi include bone breathing and drumming, qi gong, external hardening or conditioning drills,
as well as the simple act of being naked, which naturally increases the energetic barrier of the body, as there are no clothes to assist in this process.