Book Review - Wild Goose Qigong

Hong-Chao Zhang
YMAA Publication Center, 2000
paperback, $14.95

What's good for the goose...

Wild Goose Qigong is a moving form of Qigong, the Chinese system of wellness combining spiritual, physical, and respiratory fitness. While many forms of qigong merely use static meditation and breathing exercises, Wild Goose Qigong incorporates the movements of the wild goose.

The book begins with an introduction to gigong (also spelled chi kung) and its history of helping people stay healthy over thousands of years. Qigong has been shown to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune systems--even when examined by modern science.

The bulk of the book is filled with step-by-step instructions and photos documenting the basic 64-move form of Wild Goose Qigong. Each move is well photographed and extensively explained in the accompanying text. Some moves are basic stance-and-breathing, others have fanciful names like "Raise Left Wing to the Sky" and "Scoop the Moon".

YMAA also offers a companion video on Wild Goose Qigong. At $29.95, it's twice as expensive as the book, but I think it's a useful purchase for folks who are learning the form for the first time. The book makes a handy reference to the form, but the video would simplify learning the form for the first time.

All content copyright © 1999-2008 James Hom