Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body: Chi Gung for Lifelong Health (Tao of Energy Enhancement Series) [Paperback]

Bruce Frantzis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tao of Energy Enhancement Series | Publication Date: January 3, 1995

Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body explains the practice of chi gung (qigong), the 3000-year-old self-healing exercise system from China. Originally published in 1993, this book has become a classic that has inspired tens of thousands of Westerners to learn to activate their chi—life-force energy—to improve their health, reduce stress and reverse the effects of aging. This fully revised edition has more than 100 pages of new material, including Longevity Breathing methods; how cross-training in chi gung can enhance other exercises such as yoga, golf and weight training; and nei gung techniques for advanced practitioners. Chi gung exercises utilize a system of energy channels in the body that are similar to an electrical circuit. Frantzis’ thorough knowledge of energy arts and the Chinese language allow him to peel away the secrecy and metaphors. He presents this 300-page edition in easy to understand terms to suit beginners, with enough meaty detail and depth for the advanced martial artist, healer or meditator. Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body includes a comprehensive guide to chi gung theory and a systematic lesson plan with more than 100 illustrations. These low-impact exercises are suitable for almost any age or fitness level. They provide the foundation for learning any other chi practice, such as tai chi, martial arts, meditation or TAO Yoga. Frantzis explains not only how these inner aerobics are done, but why. Going beyond mere body movement, he teaches from the inside out, linking the biomechanics and anatomy of the physical body with the subtleties of chi. This book provides practical methods to help people become balanced, relaxed and joyful. Frantzis trained for more than a decade in China, became a Taoist Lineage Master—quite a rare occurrence—and came back to the West to teach. “My hope is that chi gung and tai chi can become mainstream exercises in the West,” says Frantzis. “We have a major health crisis looming; practicing chi gung or tai chi is one of the most effective ways people can reclaim control of their health and well-being.”

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This extraordinary book, written by one of the West’s greatest living masters, offers nothing less than a course in the miracle of our own energy field. Bruce Frantzis has translated ancient Taoist practices into a modern program that manages to be both highly accessible and transformational, affording us all the opportunity to experience the wonder of the Tao firsthand.” —Lynne McTaggart, author of The Field and What Doctors Don’t Tell You“A must for those who are new to chi gung, those who are already practitioners, and anyone interested in complementary medicine or self-help.” —Angela Hicks, Co-founder of the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine, Reading, England, and author of The Acupuncture Handbook“This remarkable book has become a classic. Mr. Frantzis’ biography alone is worth the price of admission.” —Stephen E. Langer M.D., Berkeley, California, President of the American Nutritional Medical Association and author of Solved: The Riddle of Illness --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Bruce Frantzis is reputed to be the first Westerner to hold authentic lineages in Taoist energy arts. He studied healing, martial arts and meditation with renowned teachers in Asia for 16 years—including training in China for more than a decade. Since 1987, Frantzis has taught chi gung, martial arts, TAO yoga, TAO meditation, and energetic-healing therapies to over 15,000 students in the United States and Europe. His teaching methods are spread by a growing number of certified instructors that he has trained in the United States and Europe.Frantzis is the author of several widely praised books about the power of chi including: Tai Chi: Health for Life; the chi gung books, Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body and the Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung Instruction Manual; and two volumes on the water method of TAO meditation, Relaxing Into Your Being and The Great Stillness. Two CDs, The Tao of Letting Go and Ancient Songs of the Tao, shed valuable insights into the power of TAO Meditation in helping people let go of their deepest emotional blockages and move closer to becoming truly alive, balanced and joyful.When Frantzis moved to China to follow the Taoist path of warrior/healer/priest, he was extensively trained in the chi principles and practices that are the basis of Chinese medicine. From 1974 to 1979, he trained with high-level chi gung tui na (therapeutic energy work) doctors and apprenticed under their tutelage in Chinese medical clinics. He learned to use chi to help heal a wide range of conditions including broken bones, nerve and organ damage, and cancer. He also gained an advanced acupuncture degree. Frantzis used these chi principles and practices to dramatically heal himself: first from a life-threatening form of hepatitis in India and more dramatically from massive spine injuries that he received in a car accident in 1981.Frantzis’ experiences have made him a teacher with a mission: teaching people how the ancient and proven self-healing chi practices can help them achieve health, relaxation, inner peace and longevity. He aims to help avert a major health crisis that threatens to engulf the Western world. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 2nd edition (January 3, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556431643
• ISBN-13: 978-1556431647
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

127 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars highly recommended, April 8, 2002

By 

kaioatey (Awatovi, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body: Chi Gung for Lifelong Health (Tao of Energy Enhancement Series) (Paperback)

In this book, Frantzis Kumar describes techniques which are essential for all energy work as well as a precondition for practicing internal martial arts; that is, he gives detailed instructions on opening the channels that control the flow of chi ("the energy gates"). By following the instructions step-by-step the practitioner learns to generate an uninterrupted flow of chi through the major meridians and dan-tiens. Any dedicated practitioner of aikido, tai-chi, chi-kung, capoeira and other martial arts knows that this is not an easy thing to do - learning to manipulate chi takes years of practice and one has to be lucky to have instructors who are willing to impart this knowledge. Internal energy techniques used to be (and still are) rather secret in China and it is rare to encounter a Chinese master who is willing to teach these to non-Chinese disciples. That's why we're lucky to have this book written by a Westerner for a Western audience.

Kumar starts from the beginning, with techniques designed to dissolve energy "knots". He then describes all the major points on the meridians where stale energy is wont to accumulate and introduces a simple Cloud Hands practice, which is an optimal way to open the shoulder blades and the pelvic girdle (stretch them darn psoas muscles!). He ends with teaching a simple spinal stretch method (which reminds me of Feldenkreis).

The book is filled with helpful hints and admonitions. It is also well written, unlike many other similar manuals which tend to suffer from mistranslations and bad grammer. Written text of course is no substitute for a live teacher, whose help is crucial so that we learn to correct the warped micro-postures and subconscious mis-alignements that tend to plague our steps into the wonderful world of energy work. As a supplement, however, i think Kumar's book is very useful and i recommend it highly.

115 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely useful if used with an open mind, June 17, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body: Chi Gung for Lifelong Health (Tao of Energy Enhancement Series) (Paperback)

I bought this book reluctantly as it sounded, well, a bit new-agey and filled with BS. When everyone's talking Quigong and Taijiquan, etc. what's one more book about our Chi, energy bodies, etc.?

In this case, this is a book that is no-BS, gets down to business, and gets the job done.

Forget new-agey claptrap and people who sound like they've seen too much Dragonball Z. The author's history is presented, a quick guide to Chi and other energy issues, then straight into the exercises. There's no bragging (though the part on the author that was written by someone else gets a tad grandiose), no pointless buzzwords, just instructions on a useful series of exercises for health and well-being.

To add to this delightful book, it has advice any good master would give his students - warnings of what not to do and reminders that self-development is something that takes months to get off the ground. The author fully believes (and perhaps demonstrates) the mystical powers of Quigong, but he admits that one can harm themselves if they're not careful and warns that there's no substitute for hard work.

I'm not even through all of the exercises completely, and I've noticed significant improvements in my health and well-being. As a person with a sceptical nature, I'm convicned this book is 100% worth it.

67 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, March 12, 2003

By 

Massimo Maddaloni "Maddmax1" (Bozeman, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body: Chi Gung for Lifelong Health (Tao of Energy Enhancement Series) (Paperback)

I practice Aikido and over the years I heard an awful lot of meaningless bla-bla about KI. In my opinion the author is able to formalize concepts and convey his knowledge to the reader. Moreover, I began practicing the core exercises that he precisely explains in the book. As far as I can tell, all what he says in this book is true, and I feel the benefits. This apply not only to my back (that was injured a couple of years ago), but also to my Aikido training. I have the clear feeling of currents of energy flowing through my body. I am still a beginner in this field, but I know where I want to go, now.
This book (first printed in 1993 and still ranking 15000 on Amazon) is worth its weight in gold. It's a shame that the author did't follow through his promise of publishing similar books about "Dragon and Tiger", "Joining of Heaven and Hearth", "Bend the Bow and shoot the Arrow", "Spiraling Energy Body" and Gods playing in the Clouds". Instead he has been writing a bunch of mediocre books about clueless mumbo-jumbo Chi Gung ... stuff.
As for the new, expanded 2006 edition, it's certainly worth the few more dollars it costs. Disolving process is better explained and the procedure is more clearly detailed. All the steps of the three swings and the spinal stretch are explained more clearly and with greater details. I am glad I bought this last edition to update the old one.