Cultivating chi

Cultivating chi is an important principle of Taoism. Even though we can name and describe the various types of chi and what they do, chi can never be fully understood simply by thinking about it. Chi only becomes a tangible force when you begin to cultivate it.

Cultivate is a particularly appropriate word because, like living things, chi must be nourished and encouraged to develop. And by cultivating chi, we not only come to understand it, we also improve our health.

The Chinese have developed techniques of cultivating chi through exercises called chi kung, which means the practice or art of cultivating chi. But other cultures have also devised systems of exercises to nurture chi.