The Complete Idiot's Guide to T'ai Chi and QiGong Illustrated, 3E

by Douglas, Bill

• ISBN13: 9781592574209
• ISBN10: 1592574203
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Package
• Copyright: 2005-12-06
• Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.

Summary

You're no idiot, of course. You know T'ai Chi and QiGong are traditional Asian martial arts practiced throughout the world. But did you know these exercises are also used as a form of healing one's mind, body, and spirit?

Author Biography

Bill Douglas is the founder of World T'ai Chi and QiGong Day-now celebrated in more than 50 countries-and World Healing Day-recognized by the United Nations World Health Organization

Table of Contents

Part 1: T'ai Chi: Relax into It	2	(56)
Why Practice T'ai Chi?	4	(10)
Exploring the Reasons Behind T'ai Chi's Popularity	5	(4)
T'ai Chi Relaxes the Mind, the Body, and Our Lives	6	(1)
T'ai Chi: Promotes Internal Strength for Young and Old	7	(1)
T'ai Chi: Finally an Exercise That Feels Good!	7	(1)
You Are Perfect---and Perfect for T'ai Chi	8	(1)
T'ai Chi Goes to the Root of Problems	8	(1)
Getting to the Root of T'ai Chi	9	(2)
All-Purpose Medicine	10	(1)
An Ultimate Beauty Treatment	10	(1)
T'ai Chi's Cleansing of the Nervous System Releases Power	10	(1)
A Fountain of Youth	11	(1)
Explaining T'ai Chi: History and Premise	11	(3)
Historical T'ai Chi	12	(1)
Modern T'ai Chi	12	(2)
Let's Get Physical	14	(10)
T'ai Chi Acupuncture Tune-Up	16	(1)
Innercise vs. Outercise	16	(4)
Advantages of Innercise	16	(1)
Problems with Outercise	17	(1)
T'ai Chi Helps You Lose Weight	18	(1)
T'ai Chi Tones Muscles, Too	19	(1)
T'ai Chi Oils the Joints	19	(1)
T'ai Chi Is Like a Day at the Spa---but Without the Bill!	20	(3)
Discover Dan Tien---Your Physical Center	20	(1)
Express Yourself with Dan Tien	21	(1)
Move Effortlessly from the Dan Tien	21	(1)
Stay Loose, Bruiser!	22	(1)
Dan Tien Awareness Improves All Activities	22	(1)
T'ai Chi vs. Yoga	23	(1)
Medical T'ai Chi: The Prescription for the Future	24	(14)
The Health Benefits of T'ai Chi	26	(1)
Mind over Matter	26	(2)
Acupuncture and T'ai Chi	28	(3)
Say ``OOOOHHHHHMMMMMM''---OHMMeter, That Is	29	(1)
Get an Acupuncture Tune-Up	29	(1)
Don't Be Zang Fu-lish	30	(1)
Be Kind to Your Emotions	31	(1)
Increase Flexibility	31	(1)
Western Medicine's Research on T'ai Chi and QiGong	31	(5)
Stress Is the Symptom	31	(1)
Who Ya Gonna Call?	32	(1)
T'ai Chi Is Your Heart's Best Friend	32	(1)
T'ai Chi Reduces Mental Stress	32	(1)
T'ai Chi Lowers Body Stress	33	(1)
A Boost to Your Immune System	33	(1)
How Does T'ai Chi Fight for the Immune System?	34	(1)
DHEA and T'ai Chi, Back Together Again	34	(1)
Aging's Radical, Dude! (Free Radicals, That Is)	34	(1)
Make No Bones About It, T'ai Chi Does Your Body Good	35	(1)
T'ai Chi Does an Incredible Balancing Act!	35	(1)
T'ai Chi Is Dirt Cheap---and Can Be Done on Grass!	35	(1)
T'ai Chi Is Gentle for Arthritis and Your Joints	35	(1)
T'ai Chi Is the Health Care of the Future	36	(1)
T'ai Chi and QiGong's Healing Powers	36	(2)
Expanding Your Mind and Lightening Your Heart	38	(10)
T'ai Chi Calms the Rat Race	39	(2)
Frantic Action vs. Efficiency	40	(1)
T'ai Chi Is Smelling the Roses	40	(1)
Remember to Breathe (Everything Else Takes Care of Itself)	40	(1)
The Power of Effortlessness	41	(2)
The Unbendable Arm	41	(1)
Our Flexibility Is Our Strength	42	(1)
Patterns vs. Chaos	43	(2)
Coaching the Mind Team	43	(1)
Innercise Integrates Outer Relationships	44	(1)
T'ai Chi-Hut-Hut-Break from Old Patterns	44	(1)
T'ai Chi Dispels the Idea of Wrongness	45	(1)
T'ai Chi Is a Model for Life	45	(1)
T'ai Chi Breaks Limits	45	(1)
T'ai Chi Enhances Life	46	(1)
T'ai Chi and QiGong Strengthen the Imagination Muscle	46	(2)
Finding Your Center	48	(10)
T'ai Chi-ing Zen and Now	49	(1)
Fight or Flight---or T'ai Chi	50	(2)
T'ai Chi Bring Caveman to Modern World, Ugh!	51	(1)
T'ai Chi Stops the Fight and Slows the Flight	51	(1)
Adrenaline Withdrawal	51	(1)
A T'ai Chi Master: What's That?	52	(2)
Manifest (Physical) vs. Unmanifest (Energy)	52	(1)
Masters Are No Longer Victims	53	(1)
Master Your Own Self	54	(1)
Luck of the Draw	54	(1)
Gut Feelings: Tuning Your T'ai Chi Antennae	54	(1)
T'ai Chi Can Affect the World Around Us	55	(3)
What You See Is What You Get	56	(1)
T'ai Chi and QiGong Are Inner-Space Suits	56	(2)
Part 2: Suiting Up and Setting Out	58	(40)
Knowing What You Want: Finding the Right T'ai Chi or QiGong Class	60	(8)
Locating a T'ai Chi Venue	61	(2)
Choosing a Class	63	(1)
What Is the Cost?	63	(1)
How Often Should I Go?	64	(1)
Evaluating an Instructor	64	(4)
Instructor Personality	64	(2)
T'ai Chi Styles	66	(2)
Planning Ahead: Where and When to Practice T'ai Chi	68	(10)
Home Practice vs. Class Study	69	(3)
Bookworm T'ai Chi	70	(1)
Video T'ai Chi	71	(1)
The Horary Clock	71	(1)
Outdoor vs. Indoor	72	(1)
Practicing Outdoors	72	(1)
Choosing a Surface	72	(1)
Practicing Indoors	72	(1)
Large Class vs. Private Class	73	(1)
The Pros and Cons of Large Classes	73	(1)
The Pros and Cons of Private Lessons	74	(1)
Time Out for Class and Practice	74	(4)
Life Habits Are Hard to Change	75	(1)
T'ai Chi Is Positively Effortless	75	(1)
Make a Calendar	76	(1)
Social T'ai Chi	76	(2)
Be Prepared: Your First Day of Class	78	(10)
Choosing Your T'ai Chi Wardrobe	79	(1)
Considering External and Internal Hygiene	80	(2)
External Hygiene	80	(1)
Internal Hygiene	80	(1)
T'ai Chi and Massage Therapy	81	(1)
Resistance to Change	81	(1)
``Wrongness'' Is Our Culture's ``Resistance''	81	(1)
Attending Your First Class	82	(3)
How to Address Your Instructor	82	(1)
Class Structure	82	(1)
How Are T'ai Chi Movements Taught?	83	(1)
You Mean There's Homework?	84	(1)
T'ai Chi Etiquette	85	(1)
Knowing Your Martial Terms for T'ai Chi	85	(3)
Punches	85	(1)
Blocking	86	(1)
Kicks	87	(1)
Saddle Up: Horse Stance and Other Terms	88	(10)
T'ai Chi Posture Is Power!	89	(2)
Where Is the Dan Tien?	90	(1)
The Horse Stance and Dan Tien Ride Together Again	90	(1)
The Vertical Axis and You	91	(1)
Everything and the Sinking Qi	91	(2)
Sinking Your Weight	92	(1)
Don't Tear the Rice Paper!	92	(1)
Active Bones Under Soft Muscle	93	(2)
T'ai Chi Is Not Isometrics	93	(1)
Easy Does It	94	(1)
Round Is Cool	95	(1)
Breath Is the Beginning of Everything	95	(3)
Postbirth Breathing	96	(1)
Prebirth Breathing	97	(1)
Part 3: Starting Down the QiGong Path to T'ai Chi	98	(44)
Introducing QiGong	100	(8)
Let's Do Some Heavy Breathing	101	(2)
T'ai Chi vs. QiGong: What's the Difference?	103	(1)
A Brief History of QiGong	104	(1)
Welcome Back to the Future	104	(1)
Is Your Mind Half Full or Half Empty?	104	(1)
Bored? It's QiGong Time!	104	(1)
Mental Healing and QiGong Challenges	105	(1)
Bliss vs. Discomfort	105	(1)
Trying Too Hard to See the Light?	106	(1)
Chi, I'm a Healer?	106	(2)
Sitting QiGong (Jing Gong)	108	(12)
A Word About Energy Medicine and QiGong	109	(1)
Kirlian Photography: Seeing Qi Is Believing	110	(2)
Phantom of the Aura	110	(1)
The T'ai Chi Zone, Do-Do-Do-Do, Do-Do-Do-Do	110	(1)
Mind over Qi	111	(1)
E = MC2 Means You Are Only Energy	112	(1)
Getting Started with Sitting QiGong (Jing Gong)	113	(7)
Moving QiGong (Dong Gong)	120	(10)
Mindful Movement vs. Mindless Exercise	121	(1)
Bone Marrow Cleansing	122	(2)
The Elegance of Mulan Quan	124	(3)
Spread Wings to Fly	124	(1)
Tupu Spinning	125	(1)
Bring Knee to Chest	126	(1)
Zen Walking in the Old Soft Shoe	127	(1)
Carry the Moon	128	(2)
Warm-Up Exercises	130	(12)
Dan Tien Takes Us for a Ride	132	(2)
Breathing Our Way to Center	132	(1)
Let the Dan Tien Do the Driving	132	(2)
Lengthened, Not Stretched	134	(2)
Filling the Sandbags, Sinking the Qi	136	(2)
Moving from the Horse Stance	136	(1)
Sinking the Qi	137	(1)
Deep-Sinking Your Qi	138	(1)
The Chinese Drum's Kaleidoscopic Sensations	138	(1)
Deep-Tissue Cleansing Leaves You Radiant	139	(3)
Flinging Off and Breathing Out Toxins	140	(1)
Elvis Impersonations Cleanse the Soul---Baby!	140	(2)
Part 4: Kuang Ping T'ai Chi: Walk on Life's Lighter Side	142	(70)
Introducing the Kuang Ping Yang Style	144	(6)
The Snake and the Hawk	145	(1)
The Shao-Lin Temple: Where It All Began	146	(1)
From the Temple to the West	146	(1)
T'ai Chi Becomes a Philosophy	147	(1)
Short Forms vs. Long Forms	147	(1)
Why Sixty-Four Movements?	148	(1)
T'ai Chi and Chinese Medicine	149	(1)
Out in Style: Right Style, That Is	150	(62)
Strike Palm to Ask Blessings, #1	154	(1)
Grasp the Bird's Tail, #2	154	(1)
Single Whip, #3	155	(1)
White Crane Cools Its Wings, #4	156	(2)
Brush Knee Twist Step, #5	158	(2)
Apparent Closing, #6	160	(1)
Push Turn and Carry Tiger to Mountain, #7	160	(1)
Spiraling Hands to Focus Mind Toward the Temple to Parry and Punch, #8	161	(2)
Fist Under Elbow, #9	163	(1)
Repulse the Monkey, #10	163	(2)
Stork Covers Its Wing/Sword in Sheath, #11	165	(1)
Slow Palm Slant Flying, #12	165	(1)
Raise Right Hand and Left: Turn and Repeat (Part I), #13	166	(3)
Wave Hand Over Light/Fly Pulling Back, #14	169	(1)
Fan Through the Arms, #15	170	(1)
Green Dragon Rising from the Water, #16	170	(1)
Single Whip (Part II), #17	171	(1)
Wave Hands Like Clouds (x3), #18 (Part I, Linear Style)	172	(2)
Single Whip (Part III), #19	174	(1)
High Pat on Horse/Guarding the Temples, #20	174	(1)
Lower Block/Upper Block, Separation of Right Foot; Lower Block/Upper Block, Separation of Left Foot, #21	175	(2)
Turn and Kick with Sole, #22	177	(1)
Wind Blowing Lotus Leaves (x4), #23	178	(2)
Block Up/Fist Down, #24	180	(1)
Turn and Double Kick, #25	180	(2)
Parry and Punch, #26	182	(1)
Step Back/Lower Block/Upper Block, Kick Front, #27	182	(2)
Lower Block/Upper Block Separation of Right Foot, #28	184	(1)
Parry and Punch, #29	185	(1)
Chop Opponent with Fist (Pivot and Rotate Fist [x3]), #30	185	(3)
Sink to the Earth/Backward Elbow Strike, #31	188	(1)
Single Whip, 3/4 Single Whip (Part IV), #32	189	(1)
Partition of Wild Horse's Mane (x4) and Single Whip, #33	189	(2)
Fair Lady Works at Shuttles, #34	191	(2)
Grasp the Bird's Tail (Part II), #35	193	(1)
Single Whip (Part V), #36	194	(1)
Wave Hands Like Clouds (Part II, Linear Style), #37	194	(1)
Single Whip Down, Return to the Earth (Part I), #38	194	(1)
Golden Cock Stands on One Leg (x4), #39	195	(2)
Repulse the Monkey (x3) (Part II), #40	197	(1)
Movements #40 Through #44	197	(1)
Fan Through the Arm (Backhand Slap), #45	198	(1)
Step Push/Box Opponent's Ears/Cannon Through Sky, #46	198	(2)
Single Whip (Part VI), #47	200	(1)
Wave Hands Like Clouds (Round Style; Part I), #48	200	(1)
Single Whip (Part VII), #49	201	(1)
High Pat on Horse (Part II), #50	201	(1)
Cross Wave of Water Lily Kick (Part I), #51	201	(1)
Parry Up; Downward Strike, #52	202	(1)
Movements #53 Through #56	203	(1)
Step Up to Form Seven Stars, #57	203	(1)
Retreat to Ride the Tiger, #58	204	(1)
Slanting Body/Turn the Moon, #59	204	(2)
Cross Wave of Water Lily (Part II), #60	206	(1)
Stretch Bow to Shoot Tiger, #61	206	(1)
Grasp the Bird's Tail (Right Style), #62	207	(1)
Grasp the Bird's Tail (Left Style), #63	208	(1)
Grand Terminus; Gather Heaven to Earth, #64	209	(3)
Part 5: T'ai Chi's Buffet of Short, Sword, and Fan Styles	212	(26)
Mulan Quan Basic Short Form	214	(6)
Mulan Quan Promotes Elegance and Health	216	(1)
Step East to Lotus	216	(1)
Step in the Eastern Direction	217	(1)
Spread Wings on Lotus	217	(1)
Float Rainbow to Golden Lotus	217	(1)
Floating Rainbow	218	(1)
Sit on Golden Lotus	218	(1)
Ride Wind to Dragon Flying	218	(1)
Ride With Wind and Waves	218	(1)
Dragon Flying Toward Wind	219	(1)
Purple Swan Tilts Its Wings	219	(1)
Mulan Quan Fan Style	220	(6)
Flying Bees Through Leaves	222	(1)
Stretching Cloud to Floating	222	(1)
Stretching Left Foot	222	(1)
Cloud Lotus Floating	223	(1)
Miracle Touching Ocean	223	(1)
Miracle Dragon Lifting Head	223	(1)
Swallow Touching Ocean	224	(1)
Green Willow Twigs Dancing	224	(1)
Green Willow Twigs Swaying	224	(1)
Dancing in Wind	225	(1)
Dun Huang Flying Dance	225	(1)
Mulan Quan Sword Style	226	(6)
Preparation to Eye on Sword	227	(1)
Preparation Stance	228	(1)
Left Foot Half-Step with Eyes on Sword	228	(1)
Forward Step to Low Jab	228	(1)
Forward Step, Holding Sword Under Elbow	228	(1)
Sword Exchange, Turn Body, and Low Jab	229	(1)
Sword Upright to Balance Body	229	(1)
Body Return, Step with Sword Upright	229	(1)
Vertical Sword and Balance Body	229	(1)
Turn Around to Up-Jab	230	(1)
Turn Around, Lower to Sitting Position, Sword Upright	230	(1)
Step Up, Lower to Sitting Position, Sword Up-Jab	230	(1)
Level Sword to Lift Leg	230	(2)
Level Sword, Turn Body, and Lift Knee	230	(1)
Lift Leg, Side Step, Side Chop with Sword	230	(2)
Getting Gently Pushy with Push Hands	232	(6)
The Psychology of Push Hands	235	(1)
Different Forms of Push Hands	236	(1)
Legends of the Masters	236	(2)
Part 6: Life Applications	238	(69)
T'ai Chi as Therapy for Young and Old	240	(18)
T'ai Chi for Kids	241	(2)
Preparing for Athletics and Life	242	(1)
Treating Attention Deficit Disorder	242	(1)
Teaching T'ai Chi to Kids	243	(1)
T'ai Chi for Seniors	243	(1)
T'ai Chi for Women	243	(2)
Halting Bone Loss	244	(1)
Treating Eating Disorders	244	(1)
Preparing for Childbirth	244	(1)
T'ai Chi for Men	245	(1)
T'ai Chi and Sports	245	(2)
Weight Training	245	(1)
Golf	245	(1)
Tennis and Racquetball	246	(1)
Baseball	246	(1)
The ``Hard'' Martial Arts	247	(1)
T'ai Chi as Therapy	247	(11)
Cancer Treatment	247	(1)
Cardiac Rehab and Prevention	247	(1)
Stroke Recovery	248	(1)
Addictions	248	(2)
The Therapeutic Powers of T'ai Chi and QiGong	250	(8)
``Tie'' Chi: Corporate T'ai Chi	258	(4)
The Bottom Line on Stress Costs to Business	259	(2)
Using T'ai Chi as Stress and Pain Relief	259	(1)
Investing in Creative Potential	260	(1)
Helping with Lower Back Problems and Carpal Tunnel	260	(1)
T'ai Chi Is a Natural for the Office	261	(1)
T'ai Chi's Philosophy of Balance and Flow	262	(6)
The Yin Yang of Diet	263	(1)
Chinese Herbs and Teas for Health Conditions	264	(1)
Feng Shui: Architectural T'ai Chi	264	(1)
The I Ching	265	(1)
Rest and Rejuvenation	265	(1)
T'ai Chi Teaches Mindful Living	266	(2)
Do T'ai Chi and Change the World	268	(8)
T'ai Chi and Unemployment	269	(1)
T'ai Chi and the Health-Care Crisis	270	(1)
T'ai Chi in Education	271	(1)
Helping Students Stay Current in a Fast Current!	271	(1)
Studying Health from the Inside Out	272	(1)
Helping Students Avoid Drugs	272	(1)
T'ai Chi and Crime and Law Enforcement	272	(1)
T'ai Chi and Violence	273	(1)
T'ai Chi and the Environment	274	(2)
Celebrating World T'ai Chi and QiGong Day	276	(31)
Unleash the World-Altering Power Within You!	278	(2)
Appendixes
A. The T'ai Chi and QiGong Yellow Pages	280	(19)
B. Suggested Readings	299	(2)
C. My Four-Hour Fully Instructional DVD Program, Plus	301	(6)
Glossary	307	(4)
Index	311