Working Out, Working Within [Paperback]

Jerry Lynch (Author), Chungliang Al Huang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 1999

Zen meets The Zone in this guide to combining physical fitness with spiritual awakening. During physical training, we can experience something deeper than just the burn of working out. We can achieve spiritual awareness and know that we are alive and healthy. Working Out, Working Within offers readers techniques and suggestions to avoid fixating on winning the game, scoring the goal, or building the perfect body. Instead our workouts can become tools for personal transcendence as we get to know ourselves, test our limits, gather personal strength, and build physical potency. Here's a book that will nourish and exercise the spirit while showing readers what "ultimate" sports and living really are. Index.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Applying such concepts as noninterference, stillness in motion, polarity balancing, transformation, vital force of life (Qi), and windflow grace to sports can not only take your sports performance up a notch, but also improve your quality of life. In Working Out, Working Within a tai chi and Chinese calligraphy master teams up with a sports psychologist to outline a program for inner fitness through sports. They offer stages rather than steps, so in addition to committed practice, the stages entail a gradual process of growth, development, and transformation. Reading Working Out, Working Within is like having an ancient Chinese sage as your fitness coach. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Sports psychologist Lynch has worked extensively with Olympic and world-class athletes; Huang authored Thinking Body, Dancing Mind (Bantam, 1994). This latest book is aimed at athletes at every level, from the recreational beginner to the seasoned competitor. Applying the principles of Taoism to physical training, the authors emphasize that the greatest reward of sport is the inner process itself and that external results such as winning or gaining recognition are mere by-products that come from having met the spiritual challenge. By watching the breath, carefully visualizing outcomes, repeating affirmations, and vigilantly applying insights learned through these techniques, physical training becomes a spiritual journey of joy and discovery.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 263 pages
• Publisher: J.P. Tarcher (April 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874779685
• ISBN-13: 978-0874779684
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful book, with good insights, but a bit oversimplistic, July 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Raleigh, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working Out, Working Within (Hardcover)

I found that a lot of what this book was saying wasn't necessarily Taoism, but just common sense. For instance, the idea that one must be relaxed in order to perform at peak level isn't an exclusively Taoist concept. Much of the early part of the book is filled with this common sense type of instruction, and I was feeling very frustrated and disappointed. However, I found many passages and examples in the book that were quite insightful and thought-provoking. Lynch and Huang do an excellent job of showing how one's athletic life can be metaphorical of one's everyday life, and how one's everyday life need not be mundane. On the whole, I did not like the format of the book -- too instructional and directional, which I found to be a bit insulting after a while. Ultimately, this book wasn't the type of revelatory breakthrough that the title suggests it is, but it does contain enough depth to be a worthwhile read. Being that we live in a day and age when the spirit of play i! s vanishing from sports and athletic activity in general, this is a book that shows us we can retain the spirit of play in competitive sports without compromising our competitive urge. Also, the book does emphasize the fact that physical activity is necessary to our overall well-being, which is another point that is becoming lost in our modern fast-paced style of living.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Excercise and Sports are All About, March 7, 2002

By 

Greg Feirman (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working Out, Working Within (Paperback)

This books is truly outstanding. What it does is to tie sports and excercise into what matters in life: transcending limits, continually growing, becoming everything that you can be, and enjoying the process. The authors argue that you can use your workouts as a means to personal growth and transcendence and that that newfound spiritual power will transfer over into other areas of your life as well. I heartily agree!

The book is about the mind in sports and is applicable to everything in life. It talks about dealing with fear, being compassionate in your "self talk", and the power of beliefs and self concept. The most pervasive concept, however, is the instruction to focus on the process rather than the outcome. The authors continually harp on being in the moment, giving one's best, dealing with inner demons, and just letting the results take care of themselves. What makes you a winner is not the outcome but the effort, perseverance and fortitude that you bring.

This is a book that brings together fitness and excercise with philosophy and personal growth. A great achievement!
...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Formula For A Successful Life, October 13, 2006

By 

Laura Turner "Author, Editor" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working Out, Working Within (Paperback)

Although the book Working Out, Working Within: The Tao of Inner Fitness Through Sports and Exercise by authors Jerry Lynch and Chungliang Al Huang is centered in principles aimed for the athlete, it is a book that helps one navigate not only athletics, but is an essential playbook in the game of life.

In it, they define their formula for a successful life. And, trust me on this one, it's not what you may think.

To begin The Way then, it is important to first define what authors Lynch and Al Huang describe as the "physical life." According to them: The physical life is "a sacred path of self-discovery and meditative time to be with yourself." If this sounds like the path you'd like to take - read on!

The Tao teaches us that in many cases to "lose" or to be unsuccessful in any "wordly" endeavor is to make strides ahead. According to Taoists - to detach from outcomes and results is the most important thing one can do in this lifetime. To them, success means we must meditate on our insecurities in effort to find inner peace and then - as authors Lynch and Al Huang say: "learn to yield, flow and blend with external forces through non-resistance." Perhaps I'm mistaken, but the most difficult task for us mere mortals, is learning humility by letting go of the ego associated with "worldly" progress.

How to have external victory in the Taoist sense? In effort to have "inner success" which is the ultimate Taoist quest, is to remember that there is less need for external victory. They believe, when we let go of our own need to win, there is less tension, less anxiety and stress and with a reduction of these pressures we can then achieve the best external result. I tend to agree with them.

Here's why summarized in one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Success in this life therefore is the luminous reflection of all inner victories you experience... through physical activity it is coming to terms with your inner most self and how it impacts your entire world as you feel it deep within your soul."

In this author's opinion, we could all do worse than to view our "physical path" from a broader scope. Yes, I do believe most humans need a reminder that the true challenge is to work "within," and we could all benefit by doing so. Moreover, Taoists believe, the rewards we experience as a result of our physical life are meant to be personal and private - they are a mere by-products of the greater challenge: to live authentically.

When I fall off my path of spiritual thinking and Taoist action (which I do on a daily basis, I promise you), I continue to revisit The Tao of Inner Fitness. In conclusion, I share with you this quote that has remained faithfully beside me since it's first reading:

"Playing like a winner regardless of outcome is a sure path to winning for a lifetime."