The Healing Promise of Qi: Creating Extraordinary Wellness Through Qigong and Tai Chi

I have a library of yoga and qigong books. I teach yoga and am doing the certification program to teach qigong. This is my favorite of the books I’ve read. It focuses on elevating the spirit through the QG practice, but it’s not so esoteric that you feel that it’s unattainable. The author practices Traditional Chinese Medicine, so he’s knowledgeable about medical QG as well. He includes lots of narrative to make the info reader friendly. Highly recommend if you’re interested in taking your practice to a higher level than just exercise.

Roger Jahnke would never refer to himself as a master, but i respect, appreciate, and *believe* in his sincerity and commitment to the art enough to refer to him as such. i honestly can't say enough about this book. it's the simplest and clearest book i've ever read on the subject (and i have read more than 2 dozen), yet its content is thorough and comprehensive to the point that i now use this as my standard textbook for my qigong students. he put into 1 book what it took me years to gather and distill from numerous teachers and books, and he did a better job of integrating it all into a useable (and changeable) framework. what puts this book over the top for me is his beautiful, almost lyrical, storytelling ability. it really makes the book a pleasurable read, especially in the middle section of the book devoted to the 10 phases of Qi cultivation. reading this book gave me faith in the power and development of qigong right here in this country. i trully believe that one no longer has to travel to china in order to learn and experience the greatest depths of this internal art. it's here now! i've never met Master Jahnke, but i certainly hope to someday. and even if i never do get the opportunity to meet him, i will always consider him one of my best teachers.

I have only recently begun reading about, and practicing, chi gong. I like the practice of chi gong (Qigong) because it is much easier than learning tai chi and just as beneficial. I have a couple of DVDs which show one how to do basic exercises of chi gong and a couple of books. I am practicing almost daily and noticing little changes in myself, mainly being more aware of my breathing. These DVDS and books ones are a bit simple and did not answer some of the questions that came up for me. So I bought Jahnke's book based on reading a bit of it and all the reviews. After reading the first few pages, I turned to Chapter 15 which contains guidelines for practice. Gone were the "rules" like, repeat certain exercises 9 times or, practice at a certain time of day. These could be important for an intermediate or advanced practitioner but not for a beginner. In the beginning, it is enough to do the best you can with each exercise, try to get the breathing right and keep practicing. And there is no such thing as "no pain, no gain." In fact, he stresses NOT to do anything that is at all painful, even mildly so. He also stresses the great variability and styles of chi gong and that you're not committing a crime by doing an exercise "wrong" or differently than someone else does. Now that I'm clearer on the basics, I'm reading the rest of the book and am quite happy with the level of detail - it doesn't seem "bloated" as one reviewer put it. I think that if it's not already, this book is destined to be a classic English language introduction to chi, chi gong and tai chi.

Well written and a good read. While I think he's free-form Qigong is a bit risky unless you got a good teacher, everything else about is clear and accurate. The introductory exercises are ones that should provide a beginner a great feeling of success and get them started on the path of building and moving Qi even if it is gotten totally from just this book. This is a good introductory book. Pictures are clear and directions good. He does a good job of creating a feel for the space things should be done in and the frame of mind for starting one's approach. Since I do not know of any book that is the be all and end all or can take the place of a good teacher -- I don't hesitate to suggest this one to beginners. A good book to have in your library.

Well written and good overview of Qi Gong.

Master Jahnke is has taken a mysterious internal art that has been shrouded in secrecy for thousands of years and distilled it into a common sense applicability to everyday life. I have had the opportunity to learn and grow under the teachings of Dr. Jahnke and have traveled to the area of China, the "Cradle of Daoism" with he and a group of his students to become immersed in the culture and areas where this began eons ago. Now a teacher myself, I often refer to the Healing Promise of Qi to teach my own students in these same practices. For me, this is a "go to" book. Roger is as inspiriting in person as he is in the book, and his love for the practices of Qigong, Taiji and of Chinese culture is evident whether you have the opportunity to meet him in person, or read his words in a book. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to enhance their life, or to heal it.

Excellent, you can get started right away. Good research basis. Simple enough for ANY one to do, no long series of movements to memorize. Good diagrams. Encouraging. You don't have to read the book in order, or even cover to cover to begin. Roger encourages you to take charge of your own health and the Qi Gong/Tai Chi really are easy the way he offers in this book. Improve your balance and strength. The best thing this practice has done for me is stress reduction, positive mood, improved confidence, in an uncomplicated way that has proven beneficial in modern science as well as from sages throughout the ages! It's not rigid, and I super-LOVE the Spontaneous Qi Gong to music!! (esp trance music but have even had fun doing it to Sinatra, funk, jazz, as well as meditative and traditional chines and asian instrumentals!)

this book is off the charts. the spirit, understanding, insight, and consideration of this book is a work of art in its self. the promise comes from comprehensive practice, and this book does well to equip you with some of the more elusive and invaluavle requisite tools to practice your art. not fantastic and airy fairy or limiting at all. this book does well to give you an athetic feel for your practice and is guided, but not contrived. great book if you want to learn to do your chosen art.

Self care commitment

But...more practical, more readable, more enjoyable, and simply a WOW! book. I jot down the 10 Phases of Qi Cultivation & Mastery every day and added in the Mind Affirmations....upon the 3rd reading. Jahnke describes, in DETAIL, and in beautiful prose, along with Chinese calligraphy, what Qi is and how to cultivate it for healing and empowerment of yourself and others. The best book I have read on the subject, and when I say "read," I really mean "am reading" as I turn to it at leaset 3x per week. Learn the 10 phases, and practice them! 1) Discover Qi 2) Gather Qi 3) Circultate Qi 4) Purify Qi 5) Direcdt Qi 6) Conserve Qi 7) Store Qi 8) Transform Qi 9) Dissolve in Qi 10) Transmit Qi Detailed, clear exercises for each phase keep the practice fun. If there were 10 stars, this deserves 11.

Il libro è piuttosto completo sulle varie fasi del qi gong, inoltre fornisce spiegazioni con esempi delle varie tipologie di qi gong esistenti. Speravo fosse più dettagliato per quanto riguarda il processo di respirazione che viene considerato poco (credo dipenda dal tipo di approccio personale dell'autore al qi gong) e vengono menzionati solamente metodi di respirazione senza esplicitarne le motivazioni e gli effetti (positivi e negativi)

Although I am not finished yet, It is a very good book. If you have to buy one to know what Qi is, buy this one. Clear, concise, with cute story from time to time, it is easy to read, explanations clear and well built overall. Love it and can't put it down!

Written in an easy to understand style and with kindness and compassion. I've read quite a few books about Qi but this one feels like the least 'clever' and the most 'honest'.