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.”
Bruce Frantzis is a Taoist Lineage Master with more than 40 years experience in Eastern healing systems. He is the first known Westerner to hold authentic lineages in qigong, bagua, tai chi, hsing-i and Taoist meditation.
Bruce trained for over a decade in China and also has extensive experience in Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, yoga, Kundalini, energy healing therapies and Taoist Fire and Water traditions of Taoism. Fluent in Chinese and Japanese, he has drawn on 16 years of intensive study in Asia to develop a systematic approach to teaching Taoist energy arts.
In 1981, Frantzis was accepted as one of only two disciples of the late Taoist Sage Liu Hung Chieh. Prior to becoming a Taoist Lineage Master, Liu had been declared enlightened by the Tien Tai School of Chinese Buddhism. For several years, Frantzis studied bagua, tai chi, hsing-i, qigong and Taoist meditation daily with Liu in Beijing.
In 1986, Liu formally passed his lineage to Frantzis, empowering him to teach bagua, tai chi and hsing-i, as well as Lao Tse's Water method of Taoist meditation--a practice which had been virtually unavailable to Westerners. Frantzis created the Energy Arts System Frantzis based on teachings from the Water method of Taoist meditation, described by Lao Tse in the Tao Te Ching over 2,500 years ago. This sophisticated tradition has been transmitted for millennia from teacher to disciple in an unbroken lineage to the Taoist sage Liu Hung Chieh and from him to Frantzis.
Twenty years of prior training provided a foundation to prepare Frantzis for Liu's teachings. At the age of twelve, Frantzis began his comprehensive study of martial arts, healing therapies and meditation. He earned black belts in judo, karate, jujitsu and aikido by the age of eighteen. To pursue advanced training, he moved to Japan, where he trained for two years with Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido. He then went to China and studied Taoist energy arts for 11 years. Frantzis also spent two years in India studying advanced yoga and Tantric practices.
Frantzis studied acupuncture and worked as a qigong therapist and tui na bodyworker (energy healing) in medical clinics in China. Frantzis has studied with some of the greatest masters of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China including Kenichi Sawai and Han Hsing Yuan (I Chuan); Wang Shu Jin and Hung I Hsiang (bagua and hsing-i); Yang Cheng Fu's eldest son Yang Shao Jung, T. T. Liang, Lin Du Ying and Feng Zhi Qiang (Yang and Chen style tai chi).
After the death of Liu Hung Chieh in 1986, Frantzis journeyed back to the United States. He offers workshops and instructor trainings in North American and Europe. Frantzis has personally certified more than 400 instructors worldwide. He has lectured at Oxford University in England and served as an advisor to Harvard University's Qi Research Group.
Frantzis has developed a practical, comprehensive system of programs that can enable people of all ages and fitness levels to increase their core energy and attain vibrant health.
