The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets of Health, Longevity, & Enlightenment |
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| Title: | The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets of Health, Longevity, & Enlightenment |
| Author: | Yang Jwing-Ming |
| Publisher: | YMAA Publication Center |
| Type: | Book / Paperback |
| Publication Date: | 25 September, 1997 |
| ISBN / ISBN-13: | 1886969507 / 9781886969506 |
| List Price: | $29.95 |
| You Save: | $10.18 |
| Amazon Price: | $19.77 |
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Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
Qigong training can improve your health, cure illness, and help you overcome the stress of daily living. Qigong is the study of Qi, or vital energy, that circulates in the human body, and it has been practiced by the Chinese for thousands of years. Qigong is a unique and comprehensive approach to health and longevity, and can be trained by anyone. Get the most from your practice by understanding the principles and foundation of this ancient science.
Dr. Yang teaches sitting and standing meditation, demonstrates massage techniques, and explores the Qi pathways in your body. He explains correct breathing methods, shares secrets for quieting the mind, and discusses how to increase your body's Qi supply. In addition, he also explains important concepts such as the Three Treasures and regulating the body, breath, and mind. Whatever style you practice, you'll find the keys to successful training in the Root of Chinese Qigong.
* Improve your health with Qi (vital energy) training.
* Relieve stress with simple breathing techniques.
* Learn the secrets that will advance your practice.
* Discover the foundations of Chinese medicine.
* Eliminate tension with soothing relaxation exercises.
* Includes more than sixty detailed photos and illustrations.
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Customer Reviews:
• My First Qigong Book
04 November, 2009
Good introduction to Qigong with history, general terms and basic concepts, but not enough detail on how you really get started and practice exercises.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Somewhat Useful
07 March, 2010
This intro tome to the art is a product of the golden age of Chi Kung (see Qigong Fever: Body, Science, and Utopia in China). It's the result of a buying spree by the author on a visit home to Taiwan, during which he snatched up every Chi Kung document he could find -- and in those days, before the Falun Gong crackdown, that was probably a *lot*.
Yang's determination to cross-reference and characterize every single method he has read about is creditable, but as he freely admits, he certainly has not practiced every single thing he is describing. What you are getting here is a digest of written material. The initial attitude is great, speaking of tradition with the highest respect but also granting the need to test it and acknowledge it wrong if necessary, and insisting the reader not take the book as infallible.
I learned from the pool of info -- terminological clarifications, subtle distinctions in breathing and work with the emotional mind, things of that kind. But I didn't learn as much as I had expected. The material is repetitive. It's mostly pretty basic stuff, but since it's presented neither simply enough nor coherently enough to practice from, I would not recommend it for a beginner. Conversely, if you are experienced in Chi Kung this will mostly be stuff you already know.
Despite the initial "I'm not the final authority" attitude, there are endless exhortations with the words 'must' and 'should' about correct practice scattered everywhere; I don't always agree with them, nor with the order of work Yang lays out which he seems to regard as unshakably correct. Some warnings are useful, but the exhaustive list given here verges on the pedantic.
Yang is good on interactions of Yi/intent with Xin/emotion, the various distinctions between forms of Jing and Qi, the relation of Shen to Ling -- things like that. Some of the definitions are overly rigid for my taste. Like so many writers of this period, Yang loves Western physics and medical physiology, but knows nothing of psychology (let alone things like art). "The gallbladder is responsible for decision-making" is more his mode. There's much speculation about the human magnetic field without evidence (as he admits) which he hopes could point to a 'physics of chi', but serious mental topics such as chi deviation and emotional regulation are considered entirely from the traditional "train your ape and this too shall pass" point of view. I found him a trifle Buddhist here for my taste, as he often considers emotion an infallible source of evil.
Very properly, Yang wishes to point up the history of Chi Kung. His retailing isn't bad although scholars of Taoism might object to the ideas that exiting the wheel of dharma was the goal of all Chinese religious Chi Kung, that Taoism was an entirely scholarly phenomenon prior to the arrival of Buddhism, or that Taoists all believe in reincarnation. The information is again a little rigid and one-dimensional for a volume of scholarly research, but not straightforward practice material either. A visual summary of the 12 meridians and 8 vessels rounds out the presentation.
Cultivators looking for additional perspective on their practice will find stuff here, but this isn't a good beginner's book. It's a product of its time. I still intend to check out the work Yang has done on the orbit and tendon/marrow traditions, and respect him as a researcher, but this work was a little less enlightening and all-embracing than I'd hoped a really big, juicy Chi Kung Encyclopedia might be.
- Amazon Customer Review
• It Is Easy To Understand
05 May, 2008
I got a copy just in time for my Qigong classes. It is easy to understand, the language is very clear, the information is valuable. Most of the books witten by Chinese authors and translated to English ou Spanish or Portuguese look like they are hiding details and valuable information. That is not the case with this book. I am very satisfied with it and now I want to buy other books from the same author. If you starting a new life with Qigong, this is the right book.
- Amazon Customer Review
• A Great Book On The Background Of Qigong
21 September, 2008
I found this book to be a great read. Interesting background on Qigong, it's history, an explanation of the "why" of Qigong, and just a general overview of Qigong. It does not explain specifically any Qigong exercises, just gives you a broad picture so would be helpful in starting ones journey into Qigong. A great starting off point but look to other books for actual exercises and practices.
- Amazon Customer Review
• An Absolute Must Read
22 April, 2009
This book was my very first introduction to Qi Gong several years ago. The material herein was made clear even to a complete novice such as myself. The plethora of information presented is clearly defined, and explained in the context of both wai dan (external) and nei dan (internal) cultivation.
Whether you are a complete beginner or someone already familiar with the material, this book will enhance your wealth of Qi Gong knowlege greatly.
- Amazon Customer Review
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