which material to start with?

[gigel]

hello all,

which material to start with? I bet this isn't an easy question to answer, there are so many books and dvds to start with.

I am 42 years old in fairly good shape (working out about 4 days a week) and I'd like to start incorporating qigong/tai chi in my routine.

I prefer to do it home on my own, not easy to find a instructor near by that I could fit in my schedule.

I've been reading a few books and internet articles to get a sense on how tp get started but I am not confident that I could choose the right one.

I am grateful for your advise.

Best,

Gigel

[joeblast]

If you're going for books, check out Dr Yang's Root of Qigong and Embryonic Breathing books. I've had awesome results in meditation just using the EB technique.
Something like taijiquan will be tough on your own because its practically a necessity having outside input on correction of form.

[gigel]

Thanks for your reply joblast.

I was hoping I'll get a bit more guidance in this forum. There is so much out there to choose from (Dr. Yang, Michael Winn, Mantak Chia etc.) that one must rely on other students' experience to make a (close to) right decision.

Tonight I am gonna stop by the book store to get Root of Qigong book.

thanks again

[lilman]

If you want a good starting reference for Taiji for HEALTH (the reason I say for health is what Joeblast mentioned earlier) then I would suggest getting the DVD Tai Chi Chuan, 24 & 48 postures by Master (at the time, now Grandmaster) Liang Shouyu. You may also want to check out his show where he shows the same form broke down movement by movement in detail, along with some Qigong exercise. His website is www.shouyuliang.com and the show used to be on a chan called Lime, which was discontinued and is only online. I believe their website is www.lime.com but my comp is too slow to check that out for you at this time... dial up.. But its a short form, and its quick and easy to learn. GREAT for beginners, and the DVD is put together very well.

[joeblast]

You'd also be pretty surprised at what daily 8 Pieces of Brocade will do for you

[Dvivid]

Personally, that's what I think too.

Just follow along with the Eight Brocades DVD for a few months.

http://ymaa.com/publishing/dvd/qigong_DVD/8_simple_qigong_DVD


See how that feels, see what progress you make with your flexibility, and what changes in your energy and general health that you experience.

Then if you find you're the type of practitioner who wants more detailed instruction and theory, move on to the books and more advanced routines, like the Taiji Qigong and/or White Crane Hard and Soft Qigong.

http://ymaa.com/publishing/dvd/qigong

Or just continue on with the Eight Brocades - it may be all you need.