This is a simple, subtle and sensitive introduction to soft and gentle physical practices that are fundamental to Chinese health therapies and martial arts. They can also be fundamental to a contemporary understanding of how to preserve health and well-being when living a modern pressured and chaotic life.
     The accompanying hour long DVD makes it easy to get a quick overview of the exercises, as well as to develop a sense of familiarity by simply following the video leads.
     Having said this, the text provides much nourishment for thought, reflection and practice. After explaining that the characters for qi and gong mean respectively ‘life energy’ and ‘work’ and that there is a cosmic intelligence in the qi, which can be influenced by humans, the text moves promptly to explain that the control of the qi that we aim for is achieved through:
     Specific positions of the body
     Specific successions of movement
     Special breathing control
     Meditative concentration
     Consciously steering and leading the qi by the power of thought (intention)
     A little reflection on these instructions brings home to a receptive reader the power inherent in the book, as it gently guides attention to long neglected areas of human physical, mental and spiritual potential.
     The Chinese sense of an intimate connection between heaven, earth and humans also pervades the naming and description of the simple exercises that make up the routine outlined. One is never far from being reminded of the energies to be found in an unspoilt natural environment used as a setting for well-chosen regular physical routines.
     Towards its conclusion the book includes guidance on the importance of disciplined regularity, to the effect that:
     “If you can only spare ten minutes of your time in the morning or during the day, this short form will still enable you to fuel up on energy very efficiently.”
     In an effortless, unaffected and direct manner Shaolin Qi Gong: Energy in Motion both instructs on the fundamentals of one of the world’s great physical therapies but also introduces the reader to practices that fulfil the promise of giving an understanding of ‘energy in motion’.
     The book is composed of two parts, an introductory ‘What is Shaolin Qi Gong?’ and a more substantial part comprising ‘The Exercises’.
     The introductory part has excellent passages linking the eternal lightness of being to an understanding of heaven, earth and human, and explaining succinctly yin and yang and the three dantians.
     The exercises are presented under headings like ‘The Discovery of Slowness’, ‘The Opening and Awakening of the Body’, ‘Breathing’, ‘Everyday Exercises’ and ‘Evening Exercises’, which rarely waste the opportunity to instruct the reader in the purpose of each routine. In this manner the book and the practice of the exercises reinforce one another in taking the initiate into new areas of physical activity, conscious awareness and spiritual sensitivity.
     One of the exercises is dedicated to Shi Xinggui Qigong. This contains, amongst much else, the following:
     “The Shaolin Power Exercises form one of the most effective series of exercises for filling up the body’s reserves of qi. The form in which they have been presented here is only a first step. They build the foundations for many other Shaolin Qigong techniques, and in their advanced form, they are also practiced before martial arts exercises. When you can go through them perfectly, you will be able to build up enormous energy potential in a small amount of time.”
     Noteworthy here are the subtle psychological incentives. There is the promise in respect of the body’s reserves of qi, the caution that it is only a first step, the recommendation as the foundation of many other Shaolin Qigong techniques, the power implicit in their practice before martial arts exercises, and the reward offered of building up enormous energy potential in a small amount of time.
     Throughout the text one becomes aware of this kind, gentle but relentless dedication to taking the reader, trainee or initiate, to new and higher levels of achievement. At no point is there any sense of the beginner’s limitations, only a sense of the promise ahead and the value inherent in working towards clear goals.
     In other words, while being a book artfully designed to meet the needs of a contemporary, pressured and chaotic existence, Shaolin Qigong: Energy in Motion is also a book that is likely to introduce many to the wisdom of Buddhist spirituality and to the disciplines of perhaps today’s most fabled form of martial arts.
     It will also lead some to reflect on the absence in Western religion of the simple practical ways that empower Buddhist Monks in presenting their teachings and wisdom.
     The fact that this book is also the product of the active participation of an Austrian woman, whose life has been transformed by her exposure to the Shaolin tradition, adds an extra dimension.