Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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283 of 298 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Needle In the Haystack, September 13, 2003
By A Customer
Don't judge a book by a hokey title. This is the real thing. The exercises work, and fast. I found myself coughing and (hopefully) cleansing my lungs after the first time trying the book's basic breathing exercise. I started adding the physical movements. The effect is more profound than that of any other system I've tried. It's hard to describe. Yoga leaves me feeling strong and calm. Tai chi leaves me feeling centered and powerful and grounded. Seamm-Jasani leaves me feeling healthy but also incredibly clear-headed, as if my ability to see into situations and things has been markedly improved, my anxiety relieved, my ability to get things done dramatically enhanced. I also strongly recommend The Five Tibetans. Bottom line: this book is worthwhile, to say the least. It's authentic, highly effective, and fascinating. The explanations are clear and the movements are graduated so the early ones are particularly gentle (but supply quite a workout) and suitable for just about anyone, of any age or gender. I particularly recommend this book for people who are elderly or frail and looking for a system to help restore them to health.
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317 of 337 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uniquely effective system, February 2, 2004
I ordered the Seamm Jasani book from simple curiosity. After one session of trying just the first few exercises, I knew I'd found "a pearl of great price". The energy washed over me in warm and gentle, yet powerful, waves, as though some kind of gate were unlocked. It felt so good. It has liberated something in me and I cannot thank this author enough. I have extensive experience in energy and movement systems (including nei gong/qi gong, Zen meditation, kundalini meditation, taijiquan, baguazhang, xingyiquan, various forms of Yoga, etc. After pondering the differences and similarities in movement among all of them, I have concluded that this one (Seamm Jasani) may be the original "root" system, from which the others derived various fragments over time. It seems to me that those other adopters then modified their fragments of this material for their own special purposes and created the various better-known systems. It's all a bit mysterious, but I can't argue with results. I've always been searching for a system that delivers the most "Bang" (pure energy) for the absolute least "Buck" (time investment, training process, special equipment, physical prerequisites, etc.) By this cost/benefit metric, Seamm Jasani takes "Win, Place, and Show" over any system or method known to me.
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216 of 236 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worthwhile in Spite of the Hype, December 9, 2005
I've done various exercise systems over the years and I'd say this one is far beyond all others in terms of giving a workout to the fingers and wrists, major sources of stress in the computer age. It is also a very methodical system, going step by step; for example, one exercise involves the legs, the next adds arm movements, and then another integrates breathing and visualization.
It seems to me that there are several key questions when trying to learn exercises from a book:
1. Are the exercises beneficial?
2. Are they explained clearly enough thru static images and words?
3. Are they presented in a way that encourages the learner to continue practicing them regularly?
I just completed the 12-week program in the Chart of Pedagogy and enthusiastically answer YES to all three questions. The system provides a thorough workout, carefully and compassionately filled with reminders not to push oneself. I found the reminders helpful because my initial stance was nowhere nearly as wide as that shown in the cover photo, but it increased as time went on. I should mention here that I'm over 50 years old.
The book has only a few minor flaws:
a. typo on page 68 (exercise 28 was already introduced in Week 3, so Week 4 should refer to exercise 35 instead)
b. exercise 11 on page 98 would be clearer if the arrow arc on the left side was swapped with the one on the right side
c. exercise 33 on page 126 has impossible arrows, which would make sense if the left and right ones were switched.
But the exercises constitute only about 100 pages of this 200-page book. If it focused exclusively on them, I'd rate it a 4 plus.
Before reaching the experiential part, the reader must wade thru more than 60 pages of background info, including an Introduction in which Asanaro portrays himself as a rebellious Prometheus who decided to teach against the advice of his guide. There is also the hype about Eternal Youth and the Art being 10,000 years old, as well as repetition of the urban legend that humans only use 10% of our brains. All this theory and preparation is chatty, but smooth narrative flow is not sufficient evidence of truth.
I suppose that having a school of meditation compels a teacher to explain how the exercises fit into broader goals, but Asanaro comes across as merely teasing: first hinting about advanced practices, then saying "That part of the art is secret and can't be taught through books." Then why mention it? In my opinion, keeping the book focused on the exercises would have been a clearer and cleaner approach, exuding the confident recognition that those who want more info will ask for it.
By the way, has anyone noticed a strong correlation in the feedback from fellow customers regarding whether a review is "helpful"? It seems that a review that gives this book 4 or 5 stars will get 90% "helpful" votes but any review that gives the book less than 4 stars gets under 50% "helpful" votes and is rebutted in a subsequent review. If someone feels disturbed by the few critical remarks I've made here, perhaps he or she should read my review of Halevi's book School of the Soul.
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