Customer Reviews

Chi Kung for Health and Vitality: A Practical Approach to the Art of Energy

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is excellent for both novices and experts alike. Not only does Sifu Wong discuss (and clearly explain) Chi Kung sets, he delves into the history of this aicent Chinese art. The best thing about this book, however, is this: Sifu Wong does not lie to the reader! He clearly states that one cannot become a Chi Kung master (or even a good practitioner) simply by reading his book. One must study with a genuine Chi Kung master to fully benifit from Chi Kung training. However, this does not mean one cannot learn a great deal from this book. Even if a person were to practice these sets as a "gentle exercise," rather than true Chi Kung, he would still receive many great benifits from his daily practice (this I know from personal experience). I would reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in Chi Kung practice.

I disagree with the assessment made by 'Carlos'. I would not rate this book as among the top Chi Gong books but it is sufficiently detailed to give you an idea of Chi Gong and how to breath, perform the exercises, etc. There is little that is 'cultish' about this book. In fact, Mr. Wong de-emphasizes any spiritual aspects of Chi Gong and invites the reader to appreciate the physical benefits of Chi Gong. That said, it is still best to learn and practice Chi Gong with a qualified instructor and in a group. My experience has been that the instructor's energy aids tremendously in advancing the student in this practice. It is interesting to read about Chi Gong, good to practice it and better to have guidance from a teacher in person.

Kit's book is a very good starting point for someone getting into internal arts. He does a good job of presenting the basic exercises (really, the ones that do the most are really basic and that might be why they work) for Qigong while giving a good overview of the "why's".

Well worth the price and something that can be readily loaned out to people who are "just notice you have some zafu's lying around" and want to talk about Qigong...It appears after reading this book they usually seek out a teacher and start practicing.

I had purchased this book based on an Amazon.com user's recommendation. I'm quite glad I did.

Most books on chi (by whatever name) tend to make one of two errors. One error, found most commonly in new-age or modern "magick" books, is a failure to distinguish between imagination and real chi flow. The reader is told to imagine golden or white light entering one's body and filling it with divine goodness, or to imagine the chakras glowing or moving in some way. Some even claim that imagination is how we see with the ajna chakra ("third eye"). If you've ever had real experiences with chi or chakras, you'll know that this is nonsense.

The second error, found most commonly in martial arts and yoga practices, is the assumption that particular physical motions alone will generate chi flow and strengthen one's health. While physical motions can help, from the perspective of chi flow the whole reason it works is that one's mind is engaged in the process of telling one's body to move along those pathways. The biochemical processes that result in building muscle tissue, strengthening bones, and reinforcing the heart work only because there is a strong flow of communication going on between the areas that are worked and the central nervous system. If that communication flow is strong enough, you won't get sore after exercising. Soreness, like inflamation, is actually an indication of retardation in the healing process due to weak communication pathways in the body. (Anyone who is interested in learning more about the science behind this should read The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life along with the theory behind chiropractic care, readily found via Google.)

Sifu Wong manages to avoid both of these errors quite well. Right from the beginning, he emphasizes the importance of the mind in chi kung training. He describes, rather well in my opinion, how to use one's mind during each of the exercises. He sometimes refers to imagining chi moving in various ways, but he places more importance on the gentleness of the thought which, in my opinion, is a reasonably good way of avoiding the error of imagination replacing real experience. He also explains the long-term effects of these exercises in a way that I can tell comes from a seasoned master teacher.

He also lays out an excellent overview of chi kung styles. He explains the differences between various practices that call themselves "chi kung" (or "qigong"), which really helped me to organize my thinking about this multifaceted family of disciplines. That may or may not matter to someone who is just trying to get health benefits from chi exercises, but for cerebral types like me it's really a wonderful resource.

I have just one complaint about this book. Although the pictures convey the gist of the movements, they aren't really detailed enough. I had to search for some videos of Sifu Wong's style on YouTube in order to figure out the rhythm of his movements and how quickly they should be done. I had to play with some of the movements quite a bit in order to figure out how they were supposed to work, and I don't think I could have done that if I hadn't already developed sensitivity to the feeling of chi flow. More pictures, or perhaps an accompanying CD-ROM or short DVD with demonstrations, would have helped immensely.

However, I still consider this to be one of the best books on chi I have read. Anyone interested in getting a reasonably good overview of chi kung and having an excellent regime for enhancing health should start with this book, in my opinion. Even with the pictures being a bit difficult to follow at times, what a novice can get out of it is definitely worth it.

Just be sure to follow his advice!

This book has adequate illustrations, and fairly easy to understand.

This book covers both the Physical (Wai Dan) and mental (Nei Dan) aspects of Chi Kung and includes adequate information on the primary meridians.

I do wish the author had included more information on vital points.

Vital points are special areas occuring on the meridians that can be stimulated via massage or accupuncture.

Perhaps the author will write another book for people that are more advanced in Chi Kung sometimes spelled Chi Gung or Qigong (pronounced chee gong)

I only have two negative comments about this book.

1. a bit of the text is disconcerting because English is not the author's first language.

2. The author doesn't teach either the small or large Uiverse, and IMHO I believe this is a minimum.

The small universe is where the practitioner directs chi through the conception, and governing meridians.

The big universe is where the chi kung practitioner directs chi through t! he 12 primary meridians.

I have not read all Chi Kung related books, but of the ones I have read, I would recommend the following in this order.

Chi Gung (L.V. Carnie), Chi Kung for health and vitality (Wong Kiew Kit), and The Chi Kung Way (James MacRitchie)

Unfortunately; there are some Chi Kung related books that I do NOT recommend because they contain inadequate information, or are dangerous .

Feel free to contact me via E-Mail if you have questions or comments about my review.

I found the information interesting,but it's virtually impossible to practice the exercises due to non-specific drawings.The only photograph is on the cover. If you'd like to learn ABOUT Chi-Kung,buy it.If you'd like to learn Chi-Kung,you may be disapointed!

Almost 3 years ago, I had blurred vision in the right eye,from bleeding in retina, related to diabetes. The blood was stagnant, going nowhere. Had done some Qigong before, so had some experience with it. I got Master Kit's book in the mail at the time and, knowing the link in Chinese medicine between the liver and vision, looked in index for liver, and found: "plucking the stars", which I then did, and on waking next day, the eye had cleared about 50%, and the same for the day after! Although a small amount of "debris" has remained in there, which has always been the case any time there's been significant bleeding in it. But thank God it enabled me to escape the surgeon's scalpel (for draining the vitreous). Wasn't sure what rating to give, since I also did one exercise for "inducing Chi", where you get the qi to circulate through the body, causing rocking back and forth, and I followed instructions to the letter, EXCEPT for not doing 5 minutes of brisk walking afterwards. The result is that now any time I stand in a relaxed position, I sway back and forth, with no control over it. Can get quite annoying at times, making it difficult to do the exercises. Wrote to Master Kit on it, but never got reply back. I don't blame him though, must be too busy. Any experienced qigong practicioners out there with any suggestions as to how to alleviate this problem?

Very straighforward. This is the first practical book that I've read (and I've read quite a few) that doesn't imbed the useful with the arcane.

Helpful book to find how to plan our own Qigong program, one which is adapted to our individual needs without sacrificing the spirit and understanding of this life-changing technique.

This book is an excellent introduction to Chi Kung for health. It is easy to follow the instructions for the exercises. I highly recommend this book for people who want an easy and gentle exercise system to improve their health and boost their energy.