Customer Reviews

The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets for Health, Longevity and Enlightenment

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This is the best book i've found so far discussing qigong theory (includes also a great chapter on Qigong history) , Dr. Yang has clearly a profound knowledge on the subject, not only on a theoretical level, since he pratices martial arts and qigong since he was a teenager. To pratice Qigong you must know the what, the why, and the how (the movements and postures are what is "viewable" but that is not the essence of qigong. This book intends to give you that kind of knowledge. The theory of qigong in it's deeper levels it's complex and a bit hard to understand at first, so, do not be surprised if you have to read a second time, or to look for other sources in order to be able to comprehend the theory.
Another positive point is that the author uses the modern Pinyin translation and includes the chinese characters of some words and expressions, which is great for chinese readers, or students of mandarin chinese. Being a physician he also presents a very interesting section with some scientifical hypotheses about Qi, bioelectromagnetic energy and the electromagnetic field in the human body. He presents this hipotheses in a skeptical aproach (not the anedoctical pseudo-scientific thinking we often see in people who "MUST" find a scientifical explanation for their beliefs or pratices. Dr. Yang's not ashamed of assuming his ignorance, and that's one of the best qualities someone can possess.
Keep in mind that this is a book to understand qigong theory, not for buy it and start practicing.
I only focused the positive aspects of this work, because in my opinion it's undoubtely a must have in every Qigong practicioner personal library.

As a small-circle jujitsu student with an interest in dim mak (pointing cavities), I purchased this book based upon Dr Yang’s recommendation as a prelude to his book Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Qigong – The Secrete of Youth. I found it to be a valuable introduction to qigong (energy work), to quote Dr Yang “The main purpose of this book is to lead you to the path of study…” and until I find better literature I am sure I will be referencing this book in the future. If you liked Daniel Reid’s A Complete Guide to Chi-Gung (who by the way wrote one of the forwards to this book) and wanted to find literature that covers this once ancient secrete in more depth, or you are interested in Qigong for martial arts, healing, health, longevity or even enlightenment!!! This is a highly recommended book to help you on your way.

There are some excellent tid bits of information in this book, but it is so repetitious! It could have been a third of its size and yet still contained all the information presented.

That said however, it provides an excellent grounding in the way of Qigong Gong Fu.

i brought this book on the root of chinese Qigong because i wanted to know more about Qigong and also to deepen my knowledge as well and i wanted to know about the chi and shen as well and this book is highly recommended

I am a newly recruited fan of Dr> Yang, Jwing-Ming. I purchased his 5 Animal Sports QiGong DVD and the teaching at the beginning of it is the visual partner to this book...so when I found this in my university's library, I immediately checked it out. It's fantastic. Really informative but clearly laid out. Yes, it takes time to digest the vast amount of information on offer, but then, the practice of QiGong is a lifetime's work, not jut for Christmas. I've bought this book in ebook format so that I have it with me most often...I keep dipping in ad out of it and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in this ancient practice, whether a beginner or an advanced student.