Protective Qi and Nutritive Qi Review

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Protective Qi, or Wei Qi, is the Qi that circulates under the skin and

between the muscles. It's main function is to protect the body from Exterior

Evils. Some of the Qi Tonic herbs like astragalus specifically increase

Protective Qi. Suspect Protective Qi Deficiency if a person is always

catching infections and/or is very weather sensitive.

 

Because the Protective Qi circulates under the skin, the Lungs control

Protective Qi. (In TCM, the skin is considered a part of the Lung system.)

If a person is Lung Qi Deficient, this can lead to a Defensive Qi

Deficiency. The Kidneys are also important when it comes to the amount of

Protective Qi. Protective Qi is transformed from Kidney Yang. If a person

is Kidney Yang Deficient, this can lead to Protective Qi Deficiency. So,

when a person is Defensive Qi Deficient, you not only want to treat this

Deficiency with an herb like astragalus, you want to ask what's going on in

the Lungs and Kidneys. Is there an underlying Lung Qi Deficiency and/or

Kidney Yang Deficiency, or is it just a matter of the person being Qi

Deficient in general?

 

The reason you see the spontaneous sweating during the day in Qi Deficiency,

especially in Protective Qi Deficiency is that the Defensive Qi is too weak

to hold fluids in.

 

Another term for Protective Qi (Wei Qi) is Defensive Qi.

 

Nutritive Qi (Ying Qi) is the Qi that circulates deeper in the body. It

nourishes the internal organs and the body. It flows with Blood in the blood

vessels and also flows in the meridians. According to Maciocia, this is the

Qi " that is activated whenever a needle is inserted in an acupuncture

point. " (Foundations, p. 44)

 

Victoria

 

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