Flesh & blood: qi in the exterior

By Michael Ellis

As a shiatsu practitioner believing that palpation should be our modality’s special subject, I have sought to understand the exterior of the body through the lens of Chinese medical physiology. What is a qi problem—how does one feel that? What is a blood problem—how to distinguish that? And what is the best therapy for a given patient? If manual therapy, what type? If internal medicine, which herbs?