Qigong: Cultivating body, breath & mind

This is a book about qigong – a time-tested practice that blends skilful movement, mindful absorption and deep, slow breathing. While firmly rooted in the Chinese tradition, I hope that it will also serve as a manual for exploring the wider world of mindful movement. My aim is to make this transformative practice better known. I have attempted to explain where it comes from, the philosophies behind it and the growing body of scientific research that illuminates it. I have drawn from my fifty-year experience of working in the field of Chinese medicine, my decades of qigong practice and my study of yangsheng — the 2,500 year old Nourishment of Life tradition. For those interested in learning more, my book Live Well Live Long: Teachings from the Chinese Nourishment of Life Tradition can be read as a companion to this one. Because trying to learn qigong from illustrations and written instructions is challenging, I have included links throughout this book to dozens of demonstration videos.