Rating: 
Summary: a terrific book on being more alive
Review: As a holistic M.D., I have found this book to be a valuable guide to experiencing energy. Its very effective in teaching practices to cultivate the energy of the life force that is in us and surrounds us, everywhere. By emphasizing chi gung with a connection to nature this book forms a wonderful guide for self-discovery of energy and living in a manner that is more awake and alive. I found this book to be clear, direct, and free of the near-religious type of dogma that is found in some chi gung circles. There are also many suggestions for practices and exercises to help develop awareness and sensitivity in our daily lives. The author is not a newcomer to energy work, having been taught chi gung in her childhood and practicing it for over 30 years. It is a book that I often recommend to patients.
Rating: 
Summary: Chi Gung is a Chinese art form simular to Yoga or Tai Chi.
Review: As Lily Carnie explains in Chi Gung, Chi Gung focuses more on the internal feeling of chi (energy) and the movements and postures are easier to learn than those of Yoga or Tai Chi Chuan.The benefits of training with Chi Gung include: Developing your healing powers. The primary goal of Chi Gung is for your chi to circulate regularly throughout your system. By achieving a smooth flow of energy, your body is better able to heal itself. Increasing your fitness level. Through breathing techniques and a variety of postures, muscular endurance is increased. Improving personal defense abilities. Progress faster in your martial arts and sports training by using Chi Gung to soften your movements and relax your muscles. Developing your paranormal skills. Chi Gung teaches you to heighten your sensory awareness to new levels of perception. Improving your sexual performance. Become a more sensual person by using Chi Gung to last longer with your partner and have multiple orgasms. Expanding your spirituality. Practicing Chi Gung helps you to control your emotions and become in tune with all creation.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully sincere work
Review: Being a reader of many Chi Gung books, I've noted that some tend to focus on techniques and systems, going into elaborate details on forms, postures, diagrams and the like. Others tend to discuss principles and concepts and then demonstrate how various Chi Gung practices incorporate them. Ms Carnie's book definately falls into the latter category and takes it to level I've not seen before. It seems like her fundamental precept is this...if Chi is indeed a universal force then it is available to be experienced, sensed and applied everywhere not just in a martial arts studio while doing this form or that exercise. Ms Carnie helps to bring an "everyday" aspect to the study of Chi. She begins by laying the foundation and then goes on to an extremely diverse variety of training exercises intended to enhance your experiences with Chi. The last portion of the book does discuss some extraordinary abilities that have been traditionally associated with Taoist Wizardry, yet I found that the way she handles those topics to be a reasonable extension of the principles of Chi awareness she discusses earlier. Some may prefer a detailed focus on technique while others may prefer the more relaxed and open style of Ms Carnie. Each reader will have to decide if this approach is effective for them, but I've found this book to be an honest and sincere work dedicated to increasing one's awareness of Chi.
Rating:
Summary: A difficult subject made easy for me.
Review: Being new to this subject I found L.V.'s book to be insightful and thorough. This subject could easily be lost on me, but L.V. breaks down the parts into easily absorbed units. The breathing techniques were especially useful in my martial arts training. The explanations of Meridians in any other book would have caused me to give up reading, but I could absorb and visualize (with the aid of graphics) this concept. Although I am sometimes plagued by injuries during training, I am confident that given time and practice, these techniques will help me reach a new potential for healing faster. This in turn allows me to return to the activities I enjoy,such as Martial Arts. I recommend this book to both newbies and advanced practitioners .
Rating:
Summary: Chi Gung, taught as it should be
Review: I find this book to be superb. I am particularly attacted to its flexibility, which fits in with the fact that the form of Chi Gung which Ms. Carnie practices is "The Flowing".
Lily Carnie is a skilled teacher unlike many who know *how* to do something but don't know how to pass on that ability. The Olympic coach Laurence E.Morehouse found that an extremely ineffective way to teach someone how to use their body is to tell them what to do with the various parts of their body. What works is to give them an IMAGE to hold in their mind. Ms. Carnie in her section on breathing, "... the most important skill you will learn in practicing this ancient art.", shows her awareness of this principle: "Imagine you are inhaling a delicate silk thread and if you breathe too harshly, quickly, or spasmodically, it will break."
What motivated me to write this review was the "Astonishing bad" review of Kenneth Robinson. I found his review "helpful" in recommending anything on Chi Gung by Lam Kam Chuen or B. K. Frantzis. I have to assume that, in sharp contrast to the flexibility of Lily Carnie, their works would exhibit the rigidity so dramatically displayed by Mr. Robinson.
But to return to "Life as it Should be" as we say in Maine, L.V.Carnie's "Chi Gung" will broaden the vistas of your life.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful way to start Chi Gung
Review: I found reading this book a wonderful experience. The author writes in a very personable style, with plenty of examples for finding how chi works best for you. You will learn briefly about the energy flow patterns of the body but primarily learn to use practical health tips to improve both your physical and mental health. Chi Gung can help you change your perceptions and restore your child-like wonder and appreciation for the world around you. Chi Gung is perceived by many as a martial art, but this book helps you realize that it can be so much more! It's about intuition, being in the right place at the right time, and learning to fully sense the world around you. I recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their overall physical health and who wants to realize their full mental and spiritual potential.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a buy!
Review: I highly recommend this book. This is a rare book. It covers both the physical (Wai Dan), and mental (Nei Dan) aspects of Chi Kung, and Tai Chi Chuan. This book has approximately 100 exercizes to try. This book is very easy to read and more importantly easy to understand. The Information dealinng with the meridians discussed on pages 34-40 is worth the cost of the book alone!
Rating:
Summary: This is really a contribution to the world.
Review: I wish scientists read this book too, and do a research. In one of the chapter in Part III (Advanded Chi Gung), Carnie explained how those magic work (Telekinetic, Predicting the Future, Reading People's Mind, etc). In fact, the explanation showed that those things are logic, not magic.
In short, all are about our senses' sensitivity (Sensory training is also provided in part II). What needs to be found in the research is: How to define/measure the human senses' sensitivity in "units". In today's world, for example, we could define our punch (force) in Newton, sounds in Decibel, speed in Km/Hour, etc.
If we could define our senses' sensivity in units, then we could tell what could be achieved at what units level, the chi gung practitioners could measure the progress of their senses' sensitivity, etc. My circumstances do not allowed me to do this research.
I really wish somebody could do it, find the unit measurement for the senses' sensitivity, and use the research's result for good/positive things. This book is highly recommended for all Chi Gung practioners as a reference. It tells us what Chi gung could do, and what need to be done in order to achieve that level (Physical training, Mental training, Emotional training, etc).
Rating:
Summary: A must for aficionados of Chi Gung & Shamanism
Review: If I had read every book on Chi Gung and Shaminism I would probably rate this book a 10. However, I have not. I have read many, though, and this is one of the best books on these subjects that I have come across. Why is it that these subjects are generally obfuscated by writers? Perhaps it's because English is a second language, or they really don't know what they are talking about! Lily appears to walk her walk, not just talk the talk. I am recommending this book to my Chi Gung and Tai Chi students. Her book is a refreshing departure from the usual. She makes subjects that other's have made difficult appear surmountable. Her clear and concise way of presenting the material are refreshing. This book is not only a way of learning but it is a fun read too. Lily's beauty of soul and desire to help others shines through in this book. I think she will become a very well known teacher in the years to come.
Rating:
Summary: The Best! I keep it with me always and use it for reference
Review: L.V. Carnie takes a very non-biased look at Chi Gung. Giving you the needed information and exercises to learn to use CHI GUNG. It has helped me in thousands of ways. I carry the book with me always and highlight different sections and exercises. I have come to a much higher level of personal happiness along with a deeper understanding of Life. Thank you L.V. Carnie
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