Revolution is generally considered something external, explosive. In this book, Bruce Frantzis, renowned chi master and author, challenges readers to embark on an inner revolution to reclaim joy and happiness in life, reverse the effects of aging and release their stress and negative emotions.
Chi adepts can consciously feel and work with all the acupuncture meridians, internal organs and other structures in their own bodies. Yet these are skills that most Westerners would consider to be something out of science fiction and absolutely impossible to achieve in real life. Drawing on forty years of training in ancient Chinese practices, Frantzis provides readers with new and startling insights about how life-force energy—chi—can help them achieve enduring health and wellbeing. “The smooth, balanced flow of your life-force energy is the single most important determinant to your health, vitality and happiness,” he says.
Instead of the “no pain, no gain,” mantra of our over-caffeinated, stressed out culture, Frantzis gives readers energetic fitness exercises that comprise the unique Chi Rev Workout™. These transformative exercises teach readers to activate and strengthen their chi and to relax their nervous systems. “The more you relax, the more health, stamina and strength you will have,” says Frantzis.
Frantzis reveals how once closely guarded and ancient secrets of chi are the power behind:
—Spirituality, prayer and meditation.
—Acupuncture and the potent self-healing methods of chi gung (qigong) and Taoist yoga.
—Enhanced sexual vitality and intimate relationships.
—Internal martial arts, such as tai chi.
—Divination methods of the I Ching.
Chi flows like a river through you, following the path of least resistance. When the flow of chi is free, open and unbound, it flows toward positive, life-nurturing forces…. much the same way as a free-flowing river nourishes all life within it and the plants and animals that are fed by it…. When your energy is blocked or trapped, however, it acts much like a river where water backs up and stops flowing, accumulating sludge and gunk…. Its location in the body then becomes susceptible to stress, illness and disease, both physical and mental…Practicing the art of letting go and releasing any buildup of stuck chi, is the principle taught by Taoists for thousands of years and….is the enduring principle behind traditional Chinese medicine. (Chapter 2, Creating Your Own Inner Revolution)
The Chi Revolution asks you to get out of your head and into your body. In many people, the capacity to go from an external orientation of life to an internal one is severely blocked. Others…are waking up to the fact that no amount of external validation–material assets, status, affirmation of others–has ever done much to foster inner peace for more than a few fleeting moments. Tuning in to your inner world will not necessary give you the instant gratification that the external world constantly promises. It is a process of becoming whole again, rather than a jumble of disconnected parts without any rhythm or harmony in relation to ourselves and those around us. (Chapter 2, Creating Your Own Inner Revolution)
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Myth # 8: Relaxation is about zoning out and escaping Fact: Relaxation is about tuning into your body and letting go
Few Westerners have ever experienced deep relaxation. Because they feel stressed most of the time, they are psychologically unprepared for the fact that relaxation can become a norm in life rather than an aberration. It is even more difficult for people to realize that the more relaxed they are, the more energy, stamina, awareness, clarity and strength they will have.
Energetic fitness enables the progressive release of tension and anxiety so that it becomes a living reality. It involves turning in to your body and letting go of all your physical, emotional, mental, karmic, psychic and spiritual tension. Letting go means releasing chi blockages. Ultimately it means relaxing the nervous system so chi can strongly flow. Relaxation allows love, happiness and compassion to flourish.
(Chapter 6: Twelve Myths of Health and Fitness)
Dedication vii Acknowledgments ix Foreword by Angela Hicks xi
Section One: The Power of Chi to Transform Your Life
Chapter 1: Awakening Your Life-Force Energy 3
Chapter 2: Creating Your Inner Revolution 11
Chapter 3: Making Your Body Conscious 19
Chapter 4: Self-Healing with Chi 29
Chapter 5: Overcoming Your Angels and Demons 37
Chapter 6: Twelve Myths of Health and Fitness 49
Chapter 7: Energetic Fitness: A New Paradigm for Longevity 59
Section Two: Diving Inward and Beyond
Chapter 8: The Chi in Tai Chi and Chi Gung 69
Chapter 9: The Secret Power of Internal Martial Arts 81
Chapter 10: TAO Yoga and the Man in the Suitcase 87
Chapter 11: The TAO of Sex 93
Chapter 12: Exploring Your Inner World with Prayer and Meditation 103
Chapter 13: The I Ching: The Mother Lode of the Chi Revolution 117
Chapter 14: The Law of Return: Accessing Your Karma with Chi 129
Section Three: The Chi Rev Workout
Chapter 15: Five Energy Exercises for Life 141
Chapter 16: Longevity Breathing 149
Chapter 17: Chi Scanning 159
Chapter 18: Chi Balancing 165
Chapter 19: Heart Opening 181
Chapter 20: Freeing Trapped Chi 193
Chapter 21: Nothing Left to Do But to Do It 203
Appendix Taoism: A Living Tradition 213
The Frantzis Energy Arts System 215
The Living Taoism Collection 221
Bibliography 225
Anonymous
Posted January 29, 2008
This book taught me a lot about how a very ancient and revered spiritual tradition is still manifested in pragmatic, every-day life for millions of people all over the planet. The link to bettering your life on virtually every level is getting in touch with the energy 'chi' inside you and getting it to flow cleanly and smoothly. You can choose any number of methods. You want to get really healthy? Do tai chi or chi gung 'qigong'. Want to learn to relax into your stretching? Try Tao yoga. Want to quell some of your fears and manage your anger without prozac? Try breathing and meditating. Want to learn a martial art? Hard to beat the internal martial arts of tai chi, ba gua and hsing-i. And the really, really wonderful thing about any of the Taoist energy practices 'and I can say this because I have done many of them for over ten years' is that they aren¿t static. You never stop learning from them. They are, as the book says, ¿The gift that keeps on giving.¿ The revolutionary challenge is to take the inspiration that this book can give you, learn one or more of the Taoist energy practices and make them part of your daily life. Then the revolution starts becoming an evolution inside you that tips your life towards joy and freedom.
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Posted January 29, 2008
This is the only book I have ever read which is a good complete introduction to energy practices. Frantzis has done a good job of simplifying all of this material to make it accessible to everyone while also transmitting enough information that the book has something to offer for everyone (whether you've been doing chi gung your entire life or just learned what breathing is yesterday).
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 29, 2008
I've read the Author's other books, and they are very thorough and detailed 'which I think is a result of his position in the lineage' on their subject matter. The unfortunate thing about that approach is that many of the topics discussed are so deep, full understanding the material requires a lot of practice and work 'although to be fair I've only somewhat gotten to that point and it's had a profound impact on my own practice'. Chi Rev is a nice contrast to these other titles because it's much easier on the reader, and provides many thought provoking or useful little tidbits. There's an inevitable trade off between the amount of detail you can give to a complex subject and the range of topics that can be covered. This book represents the other half of the spectrum, and gives a larger overview of all things related to Qi. I found the book quite rewarding since it put a lot of the work I've been doing for a decade into a much broader context I never saw myself. At the same time, I think it would be just as rewarding to a beginner, as it has quite a few techniques presented in a much simpler fashion. It's fairly difficult to write a guidebook which can be just as valuable to completely different audiences, but that was done here, so my prediction is that this book will end up being quite popular. Only time will tell though. In conclusion, if you're able to successfully digest the material in this book, I'd recommend moving onto the Author's other books, that's where the real fun starts! *My only real gripe about the book is that I don't like the cover, but at least in this case I'm very grateful I don't judge books by their cover.
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Posted February 3, 2008
For an overall introduction to the possibilities offered by chi gung, Bruce Frantzis' newest book is the best of the best. It's the most user-friendly of his books yet. He provides an excellent context so you understand what he means by chi, and how delving into the world of chi can improve your life and enable you to take responsibility for your health. Then he gives clear directions for 5 energy exercises that will give you immediate results. So you get both from this book: first the words, the explanation about why you would want to develop your chi, and then practices that actually give your body the experience he's been talking about. I've been doing Frantzis's Energy Gates exercises for a few years now, and was excited that this new book teaches three exercises from the Dragon and Tiger set, which are new to me. The exercises are simple but powerful, and I was surprised that doing even the very first step revealed structural imbalances that I hadn't noticed¿while simultaneously providing an avenue to correct them! Doing the exercises for just a couple weeks has already improved my ability to feel the energy in my other practices. I got so excited about this that I ordered Frantzis' new Dragon and Tiger Teaching Manual so I can learn the rest of the exercises. That's the greatest thing to me, that everything you learn from The Chi Revolution is remarkably useful as it is, and, if you get excited by your progress, you can go more deeply into any of the practices through Frantzis's other books and training programs.
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Posted January 29, 2008
Bruce Frantzis is a martial artist and meditation teacher who has studied several religions and cultures. Whereas most authors, psychologists, fitness gurus, etc. are reinventing the wheel, preaching this autonomous system or that for benefits that are totally unrealistic (and we know it!), he suggests readers keep it simple and forget programs. He offers that we look to what has been known for millennia about things like graceful aging, good sex, getting in shape, healthy relationships, etc. if we want to wake up to a new life and be happy. As he puts it: 'When you don't feel good, your life sucks.' Easy read with fascinating subjects like karma and the I Ching to help put the mundane into perspective -- I especially liked chapters 12-14.
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Overview
Revolution is generally considered something external, explosive. In this book, Bruce Frantzis, renowned chi master and author, challenges readers to embark on an inner revolution to reclaim joy and happiness in life, reverse the effects of aging and release their stress and negative emotions.
Chi adepts can consciously feel and work with all the acupuncture meridians, internal organs and other structures in their own bodies. Yet these are skills that most Westerners would ...