Measuring Body Energy Level Using Xie Chi

As said in the previous post, Chinese medicine uses the idea of Xie Chi to indicate how much body energy a person processes. Xie Chi supplies the body with energy for it to function much like how the power supply in the computer allows the computer to run. Unfortunately, current technology does not have any instrument that can measure how much energy a person has. We cannot calculate the amount of Xie Chi that is present in a person’s body.

Doctors of Chinese medicine generally determine a patient’s body energy level through examination. By looking at the patient’s appearance, hair color and thickness, skin tone, color of the teeth and gum, tongue color, and etc, an experienced doctor can make an educated guess on the Xie Chi condition of the patient. But since this type of examination lacks consistency, diagnosis will vary amongst different doctors.

Although currently we do not have any instrument that can directly measure Xie Chi, but through data gathered from ancient Chinese medicine documents and through years of observation, we have developed a model that can help us categorize various body energy levels. We can use this model to help us understand the causes of various diseases and devise a healing procedure according to these causes.

Five levels of Body Energy

Chinese medicine categorizes body energy into 5 levels. Because of the lack of a number system in ancient times, Chinese medicine uses the system of Yin and Yang, weak and strong to represent the body energy status.

We can compare our body to a battle field with 2 opposing sides. On one side we have the body’s ability to resist illness and on the other side we have the illness’ ability to invade the body. The illness ability will stay unchanged, but the body’s ability to resist illness will change according to the body energy level.

Now I will explain the 5 level of body energy using the above system. Readers can try to match your own body condition to see which level represents your body.

Level 1 - Healthy Level

From Chinese medicine’s perspective, this type of person is balanced in all aspects of his body. The body does not have too much Yin or too much Yang, and that the body is neither weak nor strong. Having a balanced body is the goal of Chinese medicine. The people that are at this energy level have a fit figure, healthy facial complexion, mild temper, and a regular sleeping pattern. The body’s resistance to illness is much higher than the ability for illness to enter the body; hence the person does not get sick often. This type of people is quite rare. Perhaps only practitioners of Chi Kong and Tai-Chi can achieve this body energy level.

Level 2 - Weak Yang Level

The body’s Xie Chi level is lower than healthy level. There are many causes for the decreasing of Xie Chi, such as lack of sleep, late sleeping time, malnutrition and more. At this level the body’s resistance to illness is similar to the illness ability to invade the body. Because the 2 sides are balanced in power, many battles will occur in various parts of the body. The person will experience various symptoms of discomfort as his body combats illness. These symptoms can be frequent colds, fevers, and etc.

Level 3 - Weak Yin Level

The body’s Xie Chi level is even lower than weak yang level. Due to low Xie Chi, the body’s resistance to illness is lower than the illness’ ability to invade the body. The body cannot combat to remove illness but rather it only has the ability to defend itself. At this stage the body uses all of its limited Xie Chi to maintain the major body functions and ignores the minor illness unless the illness is life threatening.

Many people of the working class are in the weak yin level. Many of them feel that their body is in healthy condition as they are rarely ill. These people usually have irregular sleeping patterns and high pressure work schedules.

People that have this level of Xie Chi shares a common trait: They are abnormally energetic during late night. The irregular energy comes from the “Gan Huo” that their bodies stored previously. (For definition of Gan Huo, please see the previous post) Their bodies’ Xie Chi can no longer support their bodies’ daily activities hence they will use the backup energy to maintain their functions. In other words, the people at this energy level are not as healthy as they think, but rather their bodies lack the ability to get ill since their Xie Chi is too low.
The duration that a person can maintain his body in this energy level varies according to the person’s lifestyle. A person that had a well-rested life will have more energy stored than a person that had a busy life. Generally speaking, children that grown up in the countryside will have more energy stored than the children that grown up in the cities. This is because the children that live in the countryside usually sleeps earlier and have a more stable lifestyle compare to the children of the cities.

Level 4 – Weak Yin and Yang Level

If the person that is in the weak Yin level continues to deplete his energy, when he uses up all of the backup energy, his body will reach the weak Yin and Yang level. At this stage the person the body’s energy will be at the minimum safety threshold. The person will feel constant fatigue during the day as his Xie Chi decreases to the minimum. At this point the body will try to obtain energy from the muscle and other areas of the body.

Level 5 – Xie Chi Exhaustion Level

If the person’s Xie Chi level continues to decrease from the Yin and Yang level, the person’s Xie Chi will drop beneath the safety threshold and reach the Xie Chi Exhaustion level. At this stage the body will attempt to extract energy in anyway they could as the body approaches total collapse. The energy extracted in the form of Gan Huo will cause the patient to have insomnia and making it difficult for the patient to sleep and replenishes Xie Chi. As the patient’s Xie Chi drops even lower, his Gan Huo will increase and his sleep will decrease, this malignant cycle will continue until the body collapses.

The patients of this Xie Chi level will develop some serious diseases as their bodies lose their normal functions. The diseases can be various cancers, kidney failure, stroke, and etc. Since various organs suffer from the lack of Xie Chi, there is a good chance that several organs will develop diseases simultaneously. From Chinese medicine’s perspective, it is not the first diseased organ causing other organs to malfunction; it is rather that all the organs are at the brink of malfunction due to the lack of Xie Chi.