Chi Kung For Health, Volume Three: Two Intermediate Exercises (Flying Phoenix Qigong)
Review of Chi Kung For Health, Vols 1-3: This video series by the well known qigong instructor, Terry Dunn, takes you step by step through the "Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Chi Meditations", a part of the martial art, White Tiger Kung-fu, which was attributed to the Taoist monk Feng Do Duk, a legendary healer from Ehrmei Mountain in Szechuan province. He passed on the art to the ancestors of the Doo family in 1644. As in most complete qigong schools, which usually include a standing, a sitting as well as moving forms, this series includes three volumes. The first, called Five Basic Standing Exercises, consists of five standing meditations, each with distinct postures and breathing patterns. the video includes side views and panels explaining the breathing patterns and allowing us to view Terry's movements from different angles. It is said in the qigong world that to build qi you need to do standing meditation. Here we can learn five different ways to do that. Each meditation uses various hand and body postures with poetic names such as Monk Holding the Pearl, Willow Leaf Palm, Bending the Bows, and Monk Gazing At the Moon. In the second volume, called Six Seated meditations, we are taught six different seated meditations. Three are basic, warm-up meditations just as powerful as the three Monk Serves Wine that follow. These meditations again use hand and upper body postures first practiced in Volume One. We are taught basic breathing for meditation and then led slowly through various hand and body postures. The first four can be done singly for at least five minutes. The last six should be done sequentially in sets of seven repetitions for each exercise. Volume Three is called Two Intermediate Standing Exercises and teaches two Tai Chi-like Forms only they are practiced more slowly than Tai Chi and are relatively much short routines. Building on what we learned in Volume One of the standing exercises, we are led through these simple yet powerful qigong forms. Terry guides us through the form in several creative ways, using different angles, including an overhead, so that we may view the movements from every way. Because of the great interest in qigong in the West, it is important to have available bona fide teachings by bona fide teachers. Too often students end up learning a little bit of this form and a little bit of another, while never learning any complete system. This series is a good example of a serious and gifted instructor who offers a complete system of qigong to the serious student. --Tolala Towler, Editor of Empty Vessel, Journal of Contemporary Taoism:23 of 23 people found the following review helpful: The Best Chi Kung Teacher, February 11, 2007 By  Four Tusk Njoku "Njoku" (Philadelphia, USA) - - Terence Dunn is the best Chi Kung teacher on media. I have tried other tapes and DVDs over the years, but still come back to Mr Dunn. He is clear, precise and has a calming demeanour. I have yet to take one of his classes personally, but I do not expect him to be any different in person. If you want to learn Chi Kung from a tape or DVD, this is it. The DVDs including this one have a lot of features which allow you to customize your lessons. This particular DVD is the third in the series. They are standing exercises. Part I consists of basic standing exercises and Part 2 of basic seating exercises. This one, Part 3 assumes that you have mastered Parts 1 and 2. The energy builds upon ground covered by Parts 1 and 2. The choreography in these two exercises are a lot more complex. Once you have mastered the movements, you are supposed to perform them with eyes closed, after some breathing sequences. If you perform them regularly, at some point the subconscious mind appears to take over as your consciousness enters into a brown study, and you can actually feel the surging rivers of healing and thrilling chi in the body. You do not do the exercises necessarily looking to feel the chi. Just pay attention to doing them correctly. That will come. Undoubtedly it will come. --amazon dot com review23 of 23 people found the following review helpful: The Best Chi Kung Teacher, February 11, 2007 By  Four Tusk Njoku "Njoku" (Philadelphia, USA) - - Terence Dunn is the best Chi Kung teacher on media. I have tried other tapes and DVDs over the years, but still come back to Mr Dunn. He is clear, precise and has a calming demeanour. I have yet to take one of his classes personally, but I do not expect him to be any different in person. If you want to learn Chi Kung from a tape or DVD, this is it. The DVDs including this one have a lot of features which allow you to customize your lessons. This particular DVD is the third in the series. They are standing exercises. Part I consists of basic standing exercises and Part 2 of basic seating exercises. This one, Part 3 assumes that you have mastered Parts 1 and 2. The energy builds upon ground covered by Parts 1 and 2. The choreography in these two exercises are a lot more complex. Once you have mastered the movements, you are supposed to perform them with eyes closed, after some breathing sequences. If you perform them regularly, at some point the subconscious mind appears to take over as your consciousness enters into a brown study, and you can actually feel the surging rivers of healing and thrilling chi in the body. You do not do the exercises necessarily looking to feel the chi. Just pay attention to doing them correctly. That will come. Undoubtedly it will come. --amazon dot com review