Customer Reviews

Qigong Beginning Practice

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received and viewed this two disc set from Amazon. It is a perfect starting point for anyone interested in Quigong and its health benefits.

There are two discs. The first is a set of basic Quigong excercises. Each excercise is its own chapter on the DVD so it is easy to locate a specific exercise. You can then repeat your viewing of each individual exercise instead of having to view the entire set in serial order to get to the exercise you want to learn. It makes it easy to watch each exercise and view it many times so that you can easily learn to do it yourself.

The second disc is an award winning documentary (aired on PBS) about Quiqong. The author, Francesco Garripoli, had a background in Western Medicine. He sold all of his belongings and travelled around China in search of its ancient healing mysteries. He visited such arcane places as the Shao Lin temple in China which is the Taoist origin of Quigong (Kung Fu or White Crane Chi Kung). The interviews are succinct, yet, fascinating. The imagry is an important record of China in transition. The documentation of Quigong, and, its effects on China and the Western World, emphasizes not only its many benefits to society (as an alternative system of health care), but, also the freedom it bestows on individuals wiling to empower themselves with Quiqong to take responsibilities for their own health.

I have practiced Quigong for about five years. I needed this DVD for review as I will soon be instructing beginners. This is not only a great DVD for beginners, it is also a great DVD for those needing review of the basic 18 exercises. It includes Shao Lin self-massage techniques which form a basis for personal health maintenance in Quiqong. It is also an excellent resource tool for instructors as it shows Francesco and Diasy Lee almost flawlessly performing the exercises in a way that makes it easy for beginners to learn.

I will recommend this DVD for my class in lieu of a texbook.

This is one of my favorite exercise videos. Not only is it an effective video for an enjoyable work out, it also works well in portions for a warm-up or cool down to other workouts. I first learned to coordinate breath and movement from this video. I use the self-massage techniques daily (usually in the shower). I also incorporate the exercises taught in the video in my other workouts. The production quality is excellent and the video is shot in the mountains of colorado giving a very pleasant background to view during the workout. Negatives - none.

WOW! This morning my left hand was swollen from carpal tunnel and my middle finger has a tendency to lock. I just did the qigong from start to finish and got on the computer. As I was waiting for the effect to kick in, I noticed that the swelling in my hand was gone, my carpal tunnel was not bothering me at all and the locking finger had been released. This is truly amazing! As I was doing the exercises I was trying to keep an open mind. They just seemed so easy that I was afraid that they wouldn't work. But there is something about the mind body connection that really makes this all worth while. This is the perfect complement to my yoga dvd's and I will use it often. What a great discovery! Thanks!

My Oriental Medicine doctor reccomended that I do QiGong to "build up my chi". I was hopeful but skeptical about the extent to which my chi would be built up. When I first viewed the video Qigong Beginning Practice, I thought that the exercises looked relaxing but not very energizing. But I am compelled to say that after a few days of doing this video in the morning I have begun to see quite a drastic change in my energy level. I already notice that I have more warmth and circulation in my body and I feel ready to jump right out of bed when I wake up in the morning! My husband is impressed at the new increase in my energy and vigour. I also notice that my breathing is becoming fuller and deeper and I feel an overall sense of refreshing vitality. I have practiced yoga for many years and I find it very enjoyable and relaxing, but Qigong is a new gem of my heart. This beginning Qigong DVD is very well put together. Each move is very thoroughly explained and it even tells you which organs of your body the exercise is benefitting (which I really like). The exercises seemed too easy at first, but after a couple times of practice and doing them correctly I noticed it was really working my whole body. The video is very well put together in a high-quality yet relaxing format. It is easy to flip through all of the moves so you can do them in any order you like as the video reccomends. It would be even better if each move was listed in a menu so you could directly go to it from there, but it does not detract from the ease of use. It is even good if you just have a few minutes in the morning to do just a couple moves. I would definitlely reccomend this video to anyone of any age wanting to learn or continue their existing practice of Qigong! Well worth your money; extremely enjoyable and beneficial.

As a beginner, I am so glad I found this DVD. I don't even mind the hour and a half long workout! The movements are easy to understand and follow and Qigong has "kick-started" my body back to health! When I don't have time to practice all 18 movements, I do the short version that is provided at the beginning! Thank you Garrapolis!

I also loved this dvd. It is over 40 min of pure Qi Gong movements that end with a self massage.
The movements are done slowly with a narrator to help guide you. The Asian name of the movement is shown before each one. This dvd has the most amount of different Qi Gong moves that I own.
Unlike Terrance Dunn's Chi Kung five standing meditations which have very little movement, this one does which gives you extra stretching to help open up your energy & since you have to concentrate on following them, you don't get bored as much or allow your mind to wander which is also increases healing.
I felt almost back to normal doing this dvd trying to heal from a very severe allergic reaction to lidocane given 1x in office by a doctor for a simple skin test which sent me to the hospital & nearly killed me.
I own others which I love that have some of the same moves & other ones including "Discovering Chi" with Linda Modero, Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming's "Eight Simple Qigong Exercises For Health - The 8 Pieces of Brocade" with gives a seated & standing movements & a lot of extra info about how energy moves, Dr. Yang's company's VHS "15 minutes to Health" & recently Dr. Paul Lam's "Qigong for Health" which was very short on content with only 5 movements but did work.
This DVD will be a new favorite.
This dvd is narrated by a different voice, their Qi Gong Stres relief they teach as they go is even better at a nice short 22 min that really relaxes you.

This is a very well-produced DVD that offers a solid introduction to the art of qigong. No one video is going to achieve great depth in a complex subject, but having seen a number of qigong videos (many of which have shot-in-the-basement production qualities and very minimal explanations)I would rank this as one of the best, particularly for a new student. The qigong forms presented here offer slow, dynamic stretching, deep gentle breathing, and they are enjoyable and relaxing to perform. The second DVD presents a fascinating documentary on the history of qigong. Well worth the modest cost.

I would have expected this many exercises to be split among three DVDs. And there is a bonus backgrounder -- it's like getting four DVDs for less than the price of one.

This is informative, energizing, relaxing and well-designed. I received all of the exercises I wanted and more.

I would recommend it to anyone.

This is a great DVD,the extra documentary discusses the history and current use of QIGong, with actual footage of the Masters in China. I found the QiGong easy to follow and to work into my personal schedule. It breaks it up into several simple areas and if I don't have time for the complete session I can do the areas I need most.

I am a Reiki Master and I wished to broaden my energy work, this was really useful. I am also struggling to learn accupressure and QiGong in a 100 hr introductory class, this helped learning several of the movements my instructor was also trying to teach. To observe QiGong practised well, reminds me of watching ballet, as it is very graceful, with rounded movements that are enjoyable to watch and practice.

As a nurse I am interested in energy work and exercise that can maintain health, flexibility, balance and strength that complements western medicine. QiGong can be a powerful tool to acheive this. I really enjoy this DVD as it is very well presented. I highly reccomend it!

I am a person that does not like exercise. Since Qigong is good for the immune system, and I heard it was good for asthma, I decided to give it a try. The deep breathing along with gentle stretching was not at all strenuous. I must say my breathing appeared to be better after the exercises. Along with these exercises were different head, face, and leg massages that would trigger accu-pressure points. I found the DVD very relaxing and informative.