Deus Misereatur

Brain Fitness: The Easy Way of Keeping Your Mind Sharp Through Qigong by Aihan Kuhn My rating: 5 of 5 stars Dr. Aihan Kuhn, director and owner of the Chinese Medicine for Health Clinic in Holliston Massachusetts, president and founder of the non-profit Tai Chi and Qigong Healing Institute, and accomplished author, has added another volume to her bundle of books that pull together Tai Chi, Qigong, and personal wellness. “Brain Fitness: The Easy Way of Keeping Your Mind Sharp Through Qigong” is a 160 page softback manual on the “Whys” and “Hows” of employing qigong for mental health and brain stimulation. It is simply written so that anyone can follow along and benefit from her proposed regimen. Dr. Kuhn’s idea is to “use physical exercises and movements to stimulate the brain and get the brain chemicals activated. By balancing the left and right sides of the brain, upper and lower brain, cross-brain, frontal and back brain through body movements and bringing new information to the br...

Tai Chi in 10 Weeks: A Beginner's Guide by Aihan Kuhn My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you find getting to a Tai Chi class difficult or non-existent in your town, this may be just the guidebook for you. Dr. Aihan Kuhn, instructor in tai chi, qigong and tui na and president of Tai Chi & Qi Gong Healing Institute, has authored an easy to read and simple to follow manual that is crisp, clear and coherent; the 224 glossy pages of “Tai Chi in 10 Weeks: Beginner's Guide”. This work is meant “to help students, instructors, and practitioners understand taiji theory and technique, as well as help them to have a better experience with learning and practicing, both in a group and as individuals” (xiii). “Tai Chi in 10 Weeks” explains, in three chapters, the value of taiji and how it is related to, but differs from, qigong. Dr. Kuhn explains what jing, qi and shen are, and how they work together. She also gives some of the history of taiji and the five styles. The author’s knowledge of...

Yang Tai Chi for Beginners (DVD) Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming YMAA Publication Center, Inc. PO Box 480 Wolfeboro, NH 03894 www.ymaa.com ISBN: 978-1-59439-230-6; February 2012; $29.95 Steady and Sequential: 5 of 5 Stars Tai Chi is spreading through the United States like a dust storm blowing across the Oklahoma plains! I have seen versions of it surface in adult care facilities, libraries, yoga centers, YMCAs, and hospitals. But what is the meaning of Tai Chi, its various purposes, and its benefits? All of those questions, and more, are answered in the 293 minute instructional DVD, “Yang Tai Chi for Beginners,” by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, award-winning martial artist and instructor. Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming walks the learner/viewer through the longer form of Yang style Tai Chi, a form that includes 37 postures and 113 stances. Though the thought of learning 113 stances may sound daunting, the majority of the steps are repeats of the 37 postures being done in several different...

Simplified Tai Chi for Beginners – Learn the 48 Form (DVD) Helen Liang YMAA Publication Center, Inc. PO Box 480 Wolfeboro, NH 03894 www.ymaa.com ISBN: 978-1-59439-289-4; March 2016; $29.95 5 stars of 5 The graceful, flowing, effortless moves in tai chi are beginning to attract American attentions. Schools promising to teach tai chi are cropping up throughout the nation, showing up even in adult living centers. Helen Liang, eldest daughter of Grandmaster Liang, vice-president of the the Shou-Yu Liang Wushu Taiji Qigong Institute in Canada, and cancer survivor, has recently teamed up with Yang’s Martial Arts Association to produce a 180 minute DVD for level 1 students, “Simplified Tai Chi for Beginners: Learn the 48 Form.” In this DVD, Liang introduces this tai chi form, describing how it is mainly drawn from the Yang style, while including steps from Chin, Wu, Hao and Sun. Most Americans are unfamiliar with the Taoist and Buddhist aspects of Kung Fu and Tai...