The five laws of qi: settling into the state of life you long for

Have you ever felt as though your mind were a boat pitching on a calm sea? That unnameable sense of insecurity keeps you on guard, and the good things right in front of you slip past. What we really need is not a harbor where the wind never blows, but the strength to keep the heart steady when the storm does arrive.

There is a story in the Zhuangzi that teaches exactly this. An old hunchbacked man catching cicadas moved with such flowing, absorbed concentration that he seemed at one with everything around him. Confucius asked how he did it, and the old man answered modestly: "However many things there are between heaven and earth, my mind is on nothing but the cicada's wing." That steadiness is not willpower held by force. It flows naturally — a state of flow in which mind, body and spirit are one.

To enter that state, we first have to grasp the "three treasures" of the body's energy, the ultimate expression of qi.

Picture yourself as an electric car:

• Jing, essence, is all the material that makes up the body of the car — the battery.
• Shen, spirit, is our consciousness and awareness, a way of being — the driver.
• Qi is the energy that connects the two and shapes the quality of a life — the current.

When the current of qi is unsteady, cutting in and out, the car will not start even though the battery looks charged. It is the tiredness we have all known, when the will is there but the strength is not. And tiredness is a signal that the body is out of balance.

Tiredness is a signal of imbalance, but there is a simple way to work with it. Simply by putting your attention on the breath you can settle the qi in your body, letting the battery charge itself and letting body and mind find an even, natural balance. It also shows us that the answer to a problem is rarely found outside; it is found by adjusting within.

So how do we draw on the energy inside our own body and put it to use?

Learning from nature: the five working laws of qi

Ancient Eastern wisdom offers an answer: the philosophy of the five elements maps neatly onto the way qi works. This blueprint invites us to learn from the constant elements of the natural world, and from them, how to bring the energy of body and mind into tune.

The five working laws of qi

1. The qi of relaxation (water): flow without forcing
Imagine yourself in the sea: the harder you try to control your body, the harder it is to float. Let yourself take on the quality of water — effortless, natural, offering no resistance. That is the essence of the principle of relaxation.

• Out of balance: the body stiff, as though you were carrying an enormous weight, like a rubber band stretched to its limit.
• In daily life: Begin with long, deep breaths and practice ocean wave breathing, described in this article ( Vitamin O2: the secret of breathing, waking up your vitality through science and the study of qi ). Imagine your body as flowing water, gently carrying tension and stray thoughts away with it. A warm bath, the soft sound of running water, or simply drinking more water can all help the body set down its invisible defenses.

2. The qi of resilience (wood): firmness with give
Resilience is the strength trees show, tough and yielding at the same time. Picture bamboo swaying in the wind: it bends, but it does not break easily. It is much the same when we want our relationships and our work to go well — flexibility and give are the key.

• Out of balance: wanting to give up at the first setback, and fearing any change.
• In daily life: cultivate the habit of seeing a challenge as an opportunity, or take a different route home, or learn a new skill — small changes that train your capacity to adapt.

3. The qi of centering (earth): finding your anchor point
Earth stands for stability, for the security of being rooted at the center. It is the starting point for standing in the material world, and the body's anchor point is the dantian. Attention there helps you keep a settled mind and think evenly — principled but not prejudiced — so that other people, events and surroundings pull you off course less easily.

• Out of balance: thoughts in disorder, the mind unsettled, your center of gravity easily lost.
• In daily life: Close your eyes and practice abdominal breathing, anchoring your attention in the dantian below the navel. During the day you might walk barefoot on soil or grass — grounding — or add root vegetables such as sweet potato and potato to your meals, letting your energy settle toward the center of the body.

4. The qi of joy (fire): resonance from within
Joy is the catalyst that creates a connection between body and mind. In anything you do, and with anyone you spend time with, notice this: does it genuinely feel good, does your body feel at ease? Or are you pushing yourself through it out of obligation or fear? Joy is harmony.

• Out of balance: no enthusiasm? No smile, no appetite for anything, a cold and numb feeling.
• In daily life: Create joy on purpose. Go back to the small things that light you up: play a song, or spend time with a friend you can relax around. Wearing something in a bright, warm red, or enjoying a hot drink, can also help lift the fire element within and bring your enthusiasm back.

5. The qi of energy (metal): the power supply of vitality
Metal is associated with the lungs and stands for the quality of our breathing; it is the body's alchemical furnace. Just as the old alchemists refined base metals into gold, we draw fresh air in from the outside world and, through the refining work of the lungs — the furnace — turn the tiny molecules in that air, the base metal, into the body's purest energy, the gold, which flows through us as vitality. This is the energy that carries us back from exhaustion and lets us shine again.

• Out of balance: worn out, yawning one yawn after another, the body feeling as though it has been running on low battery for a long time.
• In daily life: As well as practicing deep breathing deliberately, moderate aerobic exercise gives your lungs a good workout. Adding white foods such as yam and daikon radish to your meals, or wearing silver and clear quartz, are traditional ways of clearing your energy and recharging.

Your own body is the best guide you have

These five laws come from the elements that make up everything in the universe, and they are instincts we are born with. Learning them is like being handed your own set of tuning tools, so that you do not have to look outside yourself every time — you can work with the energy in your own body.

They guide us to find direction in the middle of confusion and strength in the middle of exhaustion, and finally toward a real harmony of body, mind and spirit.

Our first suggestion for supporting the flow of qi: Qi Box holds the sacred words "Buddha" (佛, for the yang) and "Guanyin" (觀音, for the yin) — the qi of taiji, held in your hand. Many users describe it as helping them anchor at the dantian and notice qi moving freely through the body.

If you would like to know more about the mystery of qi:
Start with what qi is, and get to know how energy moves through the language of the body
An Introduction to Sensing Qi: what is qi? Everyday practices for reading how energy moves through the body

Want to try putting qi to work in daily life? This piece has practical exercises
The invisible force has been in your hands all along | Three exercises to find the evidence of your own qi