Managing Stress with Qigong

[Yuen Biao]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but I wanted to recommend this new book by the very knowledgeable Gordon Faulkner. Gordon is teacher of the Daoist school Chanquanshu.

 

I have studied with Gordon several times over the last 12-14 years and always find his teachings very worthwhile; this book contains elements of Daoyin Yangsheng Gong.

 

Amazon UK link

[Aetherous]

Recently purchased this book. I like the "stress relief" routine...haven't tried the "stress reduction" one yet.

 

REALLY challenging to learn from the book.

 

As reviewers on Amazon have said, having a DVD would be ideal.

 

This is the first qigong I've seen that specifically covers the controlling cycle of the 5 elements (in the stress reduction routine). I'm excited to try that out, and notice the effects of each exercise.

[Mandrake]

Recently purchased this book. I like the "stress relief" routine...haven't tried the "stress reduction" one yet.

 

REALLY challenging to learn from the book.

 

As reviewers on Amazon have said, having a DVD would be ideal.

 

This is the first qigong I've seen that specifically covers the controlling cycle of the 5 elements (in the stress reduction routine). I'm excited to try that out, and notice the effects of each exercise.

 

Scotty,

please submit your experiences when you have tried it out. Have you used other forms of qigong to handle stress and emotions in the past?

 

 

Mandrake

[Aetherous]

I will probably not be practicing these two forms much anymore. It actually stresses me out to practice them!

 

I like the footwork aspect...it's slightly more involved than with other qigong forms. It's inspiring me to create my own forms, based on what I know of the five elements (not much but enough, and I always have deadman's manual to fall back on).

 

I disagree with how the book presents the reasoning behind certain moves (it attempts to describe the effect of each movement near the back of the book). I felt that it was pretty inaccurate!

 

The idea that it presents of liver stagnation and fire, heart fire and phlegm can cause stress...that might be worth looking into. It is nice to see someone explaining why certain movements are being used...gives a lot of good ideas.

 

A person who practices this stuff will gain some benefit for sure, but it's not for me. I don't recommend the book, due to how incredibly challenging it is to learn from.

[Yuen Biao]

A person who practices this stuff will gain some benefit for sure, but it's not for me. I don't recommend the book, due to how incredibly challenging it is to learn from.

 

I've learned the forms first-hand and it is maybe stating the obvious but they are mostly very simple. However, after reading some of this book again yesterday I agree that the way it is explained is slightly cumbersome.