It is very hard to find a good quality useable book on learning Shamanic qi gong. In fact I would probably go so far
as to say that this is the only really good one I have ever found, and I assure you that I have been looking. Whilst there
has been an ever increasing trend towards greater openness and disclosure from qi gong masters over recent years, rather than
the secretive atitude which prevailed for so many centuries before, this has not seemed to extend beyond general health practice
and martial arts qi gong techniques to include the traditional Taoist tradition of shamanic qi gong. Perhaps that is just
because there are so many fewer practitioner of the Taoist shamanic tradition these days, but it is something which I have
often lamented as what little I did read always fascinated me.
In his first book Master Zhongxian Wu goes a long way towards compensating for these long years of data drought.
He has a delightfully poetic writing style, and provides a general introduction to and overview of the philosophy of
shamanic qi gong. One of the most endearing qualities about the whole book, in fact, is the way that he illustrates almost
every single point that he makes using a parable about drinking and appreciating tea.
In addition to the general philosophy, history and so on the second half of the book is entirely practical, and is intended
to give a reader who is completely new to the subject all that they need to begin practicing. There are a surprisingly large
number of exercises which go towards making up the full routine, and plenty of information is given about the specific purpose
and benefits of each exercises. There are also plenty of large colour photographs, but if I were to make a criticism of this
book it would be that the instructions for performing these exercises can be a little vague and hard to follow, and in some
cases can be a little ambiguous, so that you aren't entirely sure that your doing it right.
The Tiger style of shamanic qi gong itself is something that I found really inspiring. The exercises really do focus
your mind on experiencing and cultivating the spirit of the tiger to generate greater vitality, health and awareness, and
to stimulate spiritual growth.
In summary I would say: don't expect this book to be enough on its own, and anticipate problems finding any other quality
reference material, but if you want a highly interesting and enjoyable read, along with some inspiring pracitical exercises
that will bring tangible benefits, I would definitely recommend this book.
You can buy it now from Amazon .com and .co.uk by following these links:
by Master Zhongxian Wu
