An excellent book that I highly recommend is "A Complete Guide to Chi-Gung" by Daniel Reid. As you noticed, the spelling is different "chi-gung" vs. "qigong", but the meaning is the same.
In this book, Daniel Reid provides the following list: (I am quoting excerpts from the Types of Human Energy Chapter.)
- Yuan-chi (primordial energy). This is the prenatal energy with which every human being is born. This potential yuan-chi is limited, so the faster we use it up due to poor diet, frequent illness, chronic stress and 'fast living', the shorter our lifespan and weaker our immune response becomes. Yuan-chi is sometimes referred to as Water energy and an important foundation for sustaining health and attaining longevity. Its conservation and tonification are fundamental principles in qigong practice.
- Jen-chi (true energy). This is the postnatal energy derived from digestion, respiration, and the other bodily functions. Also known as Fire energy, it begins to supply the system with energy the moment the baby has its umbilical cord cut and draws its first breath of air. True energy is produced in the blood when the nutrient energies refined from food digestion meet in the blood stream with atmospheric energies extracted from air by the lungs. Qigong improves the body's capacity to produce True energy, thus helps conserve precious stores of yuan-chi by enhancing the body's supplies of jen-chi. True energy takes two forms: nourishing energy and guardian energy.
- Ying-chi (nourishing energy). Ying-chi is the fuel of metabolism and other vital functions of the organs and cells, and it travels within the blood vessels and the energy meridians, which distribute it to every organ, gland, tissue and cell of the body, providing the basic nourishment and energy that activates the entire system. Its potency depends upon the quality of food and water consumed, the purity of air one breathes, and the efficiency of the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems. Qigong gives a powerful boost to all of these functions, insuring adequate supplies of this energy to the whole system.
- Wei-chi (guardian energy). Guardian energy is distributed evenly throughout the surface of the body, in the subcutaneous tissue of the skin and around the exterior surface, where it forms a protective shell of energy that resists invasion by aberrant external energies from the environment, such as extremes of weather, radiation and negative energies from other people.
- Dzang and fu chi (solid and hollow organ energy). These are the energies associated with the 'solid' Yin organs (dzang) and the 'hollow' Yang organs (fu), each pair of which is governed by one of the Five Elemental Energies. The vital organ-energies of the solid and hollow organs respond to external sources of the Five Elemental energies drawn from nature through food, water, air, weather factors, colors and herbs, as well as internal factors such as emotions, thoughts, hormones and metabolic processes. Qigong practice insures the mutual balance which is a primary indicator of health.
- Jing-chi (essential energy). This is the potent type of energy derived from the purest, most potent forms of essence in the body. When this is happening, the jing-chi energy suffuses the entire body with a potent vitality that enhances immunity, promotes mental clarity, increases stamina and prolongs life.
- Ling-ch (spiritual energy). This is the subtlest and most highly refined of all energies in the human system. This type of highly refined energy enhances spiritual awareness, improves all cerebral functions, and constitutes the basic fuel for the highest level of spiritual work.
Daniel Reid is a bestselling author and a leading expert on eastern philosophy and medicine. He has written numerous books and magazine articles on various aspects of Asian self-health and self-healing practices, and has established an international reputation for the practical efficacy of his traditional approach to modern health problems.
You can find more info at: http://www.danreid.org/
Enjoy!
