New Perspective, New Opportunities, Ⅲ
Now that we understand what is meant by “exterior”, let’s dive into this idea of “releasing”, which is speaking of Chi. Chi, pronounced chee, is directly translated as “life force”, but somehow that doesn’t quite describe it.
Chi is a substance, despite the fact that it is something that has yet to be understood and truly identified. Like various tissues of your body, from your organ tissues to connective tissues, to the rubber like tissues of your ligaments and tendons, there are many different types of Chi. Some types of Chi are thin, where others are thick, some sustain you throughout your daily routine, whereas other’s control your literal process of aging.
Chi is always circulating, moving, nourishing, and dispersing-or at least, when it’s healthy it is! Just like an inter-connected system of rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes, such is the way Chi flows in your body. Now, if something flows, well, it can just the same be blocked, damned, stagnate and accumulate.
The idea of “releasing the exterior” brings together both of the ideas of how Chi flows within your body, as well as how your body reacts and integrates with the environment. Pathogens from the environment can try to enter your body, just as “things” within your body may be trapped and trying to get out. These things can be the result of a stagnant organ system process that has generated a lot of energy, and cannot escape your body.
So, in other words, pathogens can get trapped in the skin, as well as in other parts of your body like the chest or “lower jiao” (yet another foreign concept, it essentially means the lower part of your body).