Book Review: Qigong Meditation

Qigong Meditation Embryonic Breathing by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming.  This was a book that was recommended to me, and since I had nothing else at the time on my reading list, I gave this book a shot.  The book is about 348 pages long, and is a sizable read.  It tries to be very in-depth with it's information as well as it's principles, theories and practices.  The primary concern in the book is health, how to recover it, manage it, and improve it.  It sets out to give you practices to improve your health, as well as the information needed to understand what you're doing and why.
So, on to the meat and potatoes of the book.  Was it any good?  Well, sort of.  The first thing I should point out is it was very thorough.  When it brought up a subject, it would do well to illustrate it in just about every different way it could to make sure it got across to the reader.  The problem is, it is super redundant.  It does such an exhaustive job of hammering away at subjects, that it feels you've reread the same thing over 20 times before it moves on.

It's a cross between Eastern philosophy and Western science, but not really in a good way.  For Western science, it covers biology and the makeup of the body to show where, from a scientific standpoint, these energetic centers are.  It tries to show how Chinese medicine and Western medicine aren't far off, which is does kind of poorly.  After it discusses biology, it goes on to compare it to qigong, but does so mostly through interpreting ancient texts on the matter.  I think translated by the author himself, or a mix of him translating as well as others.

Either way, I hope you like reading translated ancient text, because it is thorough throughout the book.  Making up about a third, to even half the book, as he shows the original text, then translates it again.  Then moves on to another text that is similar, but maybe slightly different, and does the same, over and over.  This wouldn't be too bad, except that what I read in the translated version, didn't always match what his translation was for it, to me.  So after sometime, I became more confused then anything, because the texts in some cases seemed very clear cut, if a bit poetic.  But then his translation of the translation felt like it was reaching far deeper for meaning sometimes, than I think it was meant to have.

It was not a fun read either.  Very tedious and repetitive.  If this book was only one-third the size, and the redundancy was cut down to fit, it would probably be a better read, with better flow, and the same good information gets across without losing the reader to boredom .  It was pure information, and a person's take on it, that after a time, you begin to wonder if he actually has a good grasp on the subject he's teaching.  I felt like I was sitting at some cross-over lecture between biology and ancient Chinese manuscripts, and the lecture was going on for so long, over the same things, that I begin to drift off as the "cue the get off the stage music" begins playing in my head.

I can't see how it got the score it did on Amazon.  Maybe other people really enjoyed it.  If I had to say something good about the book, I'd have to say that it was well meaning, aiming for improving your health and well being, which is good.  It gives you some methods of meditation and exercise to do.  It gives you a chance to see what translated ancient Chinese manuscripts look like, and the authors opinion on them, which was... different.  And, I think I ran out of things.

I think a part of the problem was he would often compare Taoist and Buddhist practices for the same thing.  But in many cases, the practices outright contradicted each other, to the point in which I was left thinking that the effectiveness of these practices had nothing to do with the practice itself.  But either something else entirely hidden within the practices, or it was a placebo.

I honestly can't say I would recommend this book to anyone, unless one of the things I've listed above interests you.  The book to me was so boring, I had to read another book just to get the taste of this one out of my head.  Although it still isn't the worst one I've read.  This book was more then anything, boring, not necessarily bad.  Although, in it's defense, I don't think it was trying to be entertaining.  But it would have helped tremendously!

4/10

Hope you enjoyed!