Qi = Biology, Not Belief

Before you write it off as spiritual fluff, let’s break down what Qi really is — and why modern medicine is catching up.

-Annalisa Brown, L.Ac

I’m going back to basics — because if we’re going to talk about Chinese medicine, we need to speak the same language.

I’m honestly tired of translating the poor way this medicine gets explained in English. No wonder people think it’s weird.

It sounds mystical, vague, or downright unscientific.

But that’s not because the medicine is flawed — it’s because the translation is.

Chinese (and most East Asian languages) don’t work like English. They’re conceptual, contextual, and relational. Not one-to-one. And when you try to cram that into rigid Western language systems, a lot gets lost.

So let’s start with the most misunderstood concept of all: Qi.

You’ve heard of it, right?

Most people imagine it as some invisible life force floating through incense smoke. But here’s the truth:

Qi literally means: gas.

Not energy. Not spirit. Just… gas.*

Air. Breath. Vapor.

It’s not magic. It’s matter. Subtle matter — in motion.

Qi is movement inside your body. It’s the transmission between systems. It’s the quiet buzz of biological activity that keeps you alive.

Think of:

• Your heartbeat, controlled by electrical signals

• Blood vessels releasing nitric oxide to relax

• Fascia acting like a fiberoptic network for bio-signaling

• Breathing patterns that change your brainwaves

Western science has names for all of this:

Gasotransmitters. Mechanotransduction. Bioelectric signaling.

Chinese medicine has one word: Qi.

That’s because Qi isn’t a thing. It’s a function — a way of describing movement, flow, and communication inside the body.

So when you hear someone say “Qi is blocked,” they’re not talking about a broken aura.

They’re saying: your body isn’t communicating properly.

And acupuncture? It’s not some esoteric ritual. It’s a tool to get the signal flowing again — to reconnect systems that have gone quiet or misaligned.

If that clicked, you’re already seeing Qi differently.

*there is more to it which involves our spirits, or inner selves but for the purpose of this post and the medical applications, I'm putting that aside for now.