When energy becomes stagnant you experience it as pain. Aching knees or lower back, for example, can be due to an injury or overuse which causes a localised inner deficiency that blocks the chi from flowing freely through the meridian in the affected area. But, if the stagnation takes place in your lungs you will experience an overall body ache because your lungs play a part in distributing chi throughout your body.

Generally speaking bodyache comes from ‘cold invasion’, from being exposed to the elements without protection of appropriate clothing. For example being out in cold and windy weather, or in winter dressed in shorts and singlet. Bodyache can also be from your chi being too weak to ward off cold invasion, even if you are dressed appropriately. The ideal prevention strategy is to keep your body protected and cultivate strong chi.

To treat bodyache warm the body to expel the cold, protect your chi when you are out in the elements, and boost your immunity, your inner chi power, to fight off invasion of all types. Take Chinese herbal formulas that boost your lung functions and strengthen your chi. Add lifestyle changes that ‘guard your chi’, such as having a peaceful warm cooked breakfast (your stomach chi provides rebound energy, so in the case of pathogenic invasion you recover really quickly). For more information on making a cozy home for your organs read my book Clock On To Health.