Customer Reviews

Understanding Qigong: Embryonic Breathing

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

UNDERSTANDING QIGONG DVD 3

EMBRYONIC BREATHING

YMAA PRODUCTION * DR. YANG, JWING-MING * "UNDERSTANDING QIGONG DVD3" * WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY DR. YANG, JWING-MING * EDITING AND DVD AUTHORING BY MEDIAMANIC * PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY DR. YANG, JWING-MING AND DAVID SILVER

With this new addition of Understanding Qigong Pt. 3, I have been blown away again by the quality of material that is being presented. I'm also starting to doubt my ability to learn from books. Even though I own every book published by Dr. Yang on Qigong, somehow his presentation on these DVDs is much more effective in presenting the material. After watching this series on Qigong, I ask myself, did I really read the book. I certainly plan to re-read the books after watching the DVDs.

This DVD focuses on Embryonic Breathing, and has the following sections:

Embryonic Breathing
What is Taiji
Upper Level and Lower Level Qi
Yin Yang Body Chart
12 Qi Channels and Eight Vessels
Two Polarities of the Human Body
Mind - Qi - Action
Pumps and Pistons
Grand & Small Heaven & Earth
How an Embryo is formed
Human Qi Network
What is Embryonic Breathing
Purposes of Embryonic Breathing
To find the Spiritual Center
To Synchronize Human Spirit with Natural Spirit
Jump out of the Human Matrix
Spiritual Enlightenment
To Conserve the Qi
To Store the Qi
To Manipulate the Qi
Health and Longevity
Practices
Normal Abdominal Breathing Review
Reversed Abdominal Breathing Review
Spiritual Breathing
Cavity Breathing
Synchronized Cavity Breathing
Embryonic Breathing
Yang Embryonic Breathing
Yin Embryonic Breathing
Applications
To maintain and recondition the physical body
To enhance the Immune System
To slow down the aging process
to comprehend the meaning of life
To reopen the third eye
To return to nature

Dr. Yang, Jwing Ming has collected all of the available writings on Qigong that have been made available since the Cultural Revolution and has made it his goal to translate the material and make it available to the public in a format that can be understood. Too many books on Qigong use very symbolic and abstract terms that are basically incomprehensible to the average reader.

When reading his books or watching his DVDs, the viewer is provided with the translation, which has many abstract terms, as well as a further breakdown into explanations that actually make sense and can be used by anyone seeking to learn the techniques. Besides presenting the material in a usable manner, Dr. Yang poses questions throughout the presentation that encourage the reader/viewer to ponder and question the material in a way that leads to better understanding.

Many times I have seen Dr. Yang present a concept and before I can vocalize my questions, he is already posing them.

Dr. Yang begins the discussion with Taiji theory and its long history, beginning almost four thousand years ago with the I Ching. Without an understanding of the concept of Wuji, Taiji and how they lead to the creation of Yin Yang, a taijiquan practitioner will never reach the higher levels of the art.

Taiji can mean Grand Ultimate, or God, or The Force, if one is a Star Wars fan. Taiji, being the Dao of Nature, creates things from emptiness, that being Wuji. If one views the drawings of Taiji prior to it separating into Yin and Yang, it resembles a spiral, similar to the spiral in DNA. As our human body comes from nature, the energy patterns in the human body copy the energy patterns in nature.
We start the Taiji form by entering Wuji, or emptiness. As the concept of Taiji enters our mind, then it separates into Yin and Yang and we are able to differentiate between substantial and insubstantial.

Unfortunately, I've witnessed many people who will begin their form without understanding or carrying out the transformation from Wuji to Taiji to Yin and Yang.

The mind, as powerful and limitless as it is, can be used for good or evil. Dr. Yang describes how human beings, as they learned to lie, cheat and steal from one another, developed the human matrix. Within this matrix we all wear masks and cover our true intentions and nature. This in turn is one of the factors that led to the loss of the third eye, which helps people to mask their true selves. As we practice Embryonic Breathing and come more into tune with our true selves, we can possibly bring back some of the abilities and benefits available from the third eye.

If you look at the Yin Yang symbol, the upper dot in the Yang side represents the upper brain, or upper dan tien, and the lower dot represents the lower brain, or lower dan tien. Connecting these two brains is the spinal cord (thrusting vessel), which links them together and leads to nourishment. In function, they are one brain and synchronize with one another. The upper brain controls the quality of life and the lower brain controls the quantity of life. As each have the seed of each other, witness the dots in the teardrop shapes in the Yin Yang symbol, they help to balance each other through mutual influence.
There are twelve channels in the body, with six leading to the arms and six to the legs.

By using Embryonic Breathing to build the Qi in the two channels, the Governing and Conception channels, then the 12 channels will be strong and able to distribute energy to the entire body, including the internal organs, which is where one end of each channel is connected.
As Dr. Yang explains, once the material is presented properly, the theory of Embryonic Breathing is simple and the practice of it is straight forward.

Well, I have over thirty pages of notes from watching this DVD, and I feel like I shouldn't write anymore, as it would be nice to save a lot of the goodies on this DVD for when you view it.

Trust me on this, the series on Qigong has so far been absolutely fantastic. I wait with great anticipation for the remaining DVDs of the series to be released.

As I've said many times, the martial arts community owes a great debt to Dr. Yang, Jwing Ming for his tireless efforts to provide usable information to seekers of this knowledge. Combined with David Silver's high level of production in the direction and making of this DVD, they have a winning combination.

Dr. Yang eloquently outlines his understanding of embryonic breathing on this enjoyable DVD. Throughout the course of the video seminar, he simplifies the main concepts and explains how this form of meditation is relevant and useful even today. In the video, Dr. Yang describes how to work into and progress with this form of meditation, what the practitioner can expect, and the benefits/pitfalls of which one should be aware.

After viewing the video, you will have a good idea of what embryonic breathing is all about. This doesn't mean you will be able to do it, but it is a starting point and will help complement what you learn from instruction and hands-on experience. I would highly suggest viewing this video a time or two prior to reading the "Qigong Meditation: Embryonic Breathing" book if you wish to better comprehend and retain the subject matter of the text.

In volume 3 of the "Understanding Qigong" DVD series, renowned Qigong expert Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming continues his fascinating and in depth look at Qigong through a lecture on Embryonic Breathing.

Like the previous volumes, this DVD consists of a lesson on Qigong taught by Dr. Yang standing in front of a white board. The first two DVDs in the series contained two lessons, while this volume has only one. Therefore, the DVD is shorter, but still just as important for the serious Qigong student's study of this ancient Chinese practice. I really believe all serious students of Qigong should watch all the volumes of this series.

The lecture begins with a review of the meaning of Taiji, or Grand Ultimate. He discusses Wuji, Yin, and Yang and the relationship between these concepts and nature. There is also an interesting segment on differences between male and female energies and how embryonic breathing can help a man's energy rather than abstain from sex as suggested by monks in history due to the energy released by a man during sex. During the lecture, Dr. Yang uses the text "A Child is Born" to illustrate some of what he is teaching regarding the conception of life. On his recommendation, I checked the book out from the library and did find it very interesting. Some of this will have some people going, "What's this? I just want some breathing exercises." That is not what this lesson is about. For deeper understanding, it makes sense to understand Qi and life as a whole and the interconnectedness of all the parts. There is also a review of the 8 Vessels and the brain and a discussion on the "third eye." With that said, this lecture does seem to meander to different topics than "breathing," and may need repeated viewing to fully grasp what Dr. Yang is teaching.

All of the discussion about the body and energy is because embryonic breathing is a way to manipulate your body's energy and everything is connected. However, Dr. Yang points out that doing so is much harder than talking about the concepts. Dr. Yang then provides a couple of "tricks" to assist you with directing Qi to the center.

Dr. Yang then discusses embryonic breathing and manipulating Qi depending on the season and environment. In this discussion, he also talks about storing Qi. This is not easy, and you won't just "do it" after viewing this DVD. You will need additional instruction and practice. This program illustrates the possibilities and explains what can be done and "why" more than "how." That's why it is a great compliment to your actual training and practice to better understand the concepts. Dr. Yang finishes the program with a few tips and suggestions for meditation and breathing exercises. The entire program is 100 minutes long and the DVD also contains the standard YMAA extras.

This series is extremely important for the person who wishes to truly understand Qigong practice. The serious student wants to know more than a few movements, and to be told to breath deeply. These DVDs offer deep insight into the practice and Dr. Yang uses scientific data to support his theories from both Eastern and Western perspectives. I think these DVDs are a must for anyone who desires to understand Qigong.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of the Lock On Joint Locking Essentials series.

Only purchase this DVD series if you're truly interested in learning about the theory of qigong. Every DVD is simply amazing. Dr. Yang provides incredibly thorough explanation of the theory and practice of qigong. By far, this is the best set of qigong videos I own.

I am a beginner at learning Qigong and have watched this DVD 2x. I've practiced 'embryonic' breathing off/on (whenever I remember to do it).

I've also watched the first DVD in this series and a lot of background from DVD #1 is included here, which is fine.

My first breathing practice, I performed before watching the entire DVD. I missed the part about don't do this in the winter (inhale longer than exhale) and got the chills. I finished the DVD and thought, that warning should have been mentioned earlier.

It's been 2 months since I've started the practice and I seriously can ID my family, friends & coworkers' intentions and thoughts. I can't be sure if this is hallucinations or if my 3rd eye has open. I also don't feel anger when negative thoughts are forward to me; I feel that they are not important.

DH told me that I have become very forgetful since starting yoga and 'breathing' exercises. The forgetfulness was also a warning in DVD #1.

It is hard to put into words but if you wanna learn you need to get this dvd after you have seen the first 2 cause if you dont watch the first ones you will be lost excellent teacher he is

Despite all the 5 Star reviews, this DVD is not for beginners of QiGong, unless you want a lot of history. If you are looking for a DVD with QiGong excersizes for everyday, this is not it.