In India, the yogic sages observed ten forms of prana through subjective experience. In China, the Daoists observed thirty-two forms of Chi. Some seers have intuited even more than this number. To our Western sci-entific minds, these claims seem fanciful and unsubstantiated by ob-jective study. Within our bodies we have two main kinds of energy: chemical and electrical. That’s it at least, according to the predominant Western models in vogue currently.
Chemical energy is transmitted via the blood system. Electrical energy is transmitted via the nervous system. These are the two great communication systems we are aware of and can prove exist. Due to their proven existence, many Eastern sages and Western new age pundits have tried to link the blood and nervous systems to the nadis or meridians. Efforts are made to show how the nadis are just another way to describe the nervous system, and the meridians are just another way to describe the blood system. These efforts are not very satisfactory and fail on many counts. Probably the biggest reason they fail is because what we are modeling in the prana/nadi models or the Chi/meridian models are different communication structures entirely.
Our chemical and electrical systems are not the only ways for information to be transmitted within the body!
Recent research has resurrected many nineteenth century theories about electro-magnetic fields, and how they are an integral part of the body’s operation. As we shall discover, there are many other forms of energy being employed by the body to maintain its healthy, normal functioning. Why these forms of communication are just now being given credence is an interesting aside and may help to explain some of the difficulties the Eastern models have faced over the years.
(Next: A History of Energy Research )