The Living Breath: A Complete Guide to Chi Gong

The foundation: the nature of chi, its role in Chinese medicine, and how chi gong differs from exercise.

1. Welcome to The Living Breath5 min
2. Chi: The Energy That Runs Everything5 min
3. The Types of Chi in Your Body5 min
4. Chi in Chinese Medicine: The Big Picture5 min
5. How Chi Gong Differs from Exercise5 min

Where chi lives, how it moves, and what happens when the flow gets disrupted.

1. Meridians: The Body's Energy Highway5 min
2. The Key Acupoints You Need to Know5 min
3. The Dan Tian: Your Energy Center5 min
4. The Small Circuit (Microcosmic Orbit)5 min
5. The Large Circuit (Heavenly Cycle)5 min
6. What Blocks Chi Flow (And What Opens It)5 min

What research does and does not show about qigong in chronic illness, cancer care, and immunity, and when not to practice.

1. Chi Gong as Medicine: A Different Approach5 min
2. Chronic Conditions and Chi Gong5 min
3. Chi Gong and Cancer Recovery5 min
4. The Immune System Connection5 min
5. When Not to Practice: Contraindications and Safety5 min

Three foundational methods: Standing-On-Stake, Relaxed and Quiet, and Spontaneous Movement.

1. Introduction to the Three Methods5 min
2. Standing-On-Stake: First Posture (Months 1 to 3)5 min
3. Standing-On-Stake: Second Posture (Months 4 to 6)5 min
4. Standing-On-Stake: Third Posture (Months 7 to 9)5 min
5. Relaxed and Quiet Chi Gong: Seated Method5 min
6. Relaxed and Quiet Chi Gong: Standing Method5 min
7. Relaxed and Quiet Chi Gong: Visualization and Breathing5 min
8. Spontaneous Movement: Letting the Body Lead5 min
9. Combining the Methods: Your First Practice Session5 min

The framework, schedule, and environment that make the difference between trying chi gong and living it.

1. The 100-Day Rule5 min
2. Best Times to Practice5 min
3. Where to Practice: Environment Matters5 min
4. Orientation and Alignment5 min
5. Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them5 min
6. Building Your Personal Practice Schedule5 min
7. Progress Markers: How to Know It Is Working5 min

Advanced and optional. The traditional progressions for developing external chi, and how to read claims about it.

1. What Is External Chi?5 min
2. How to Read an External-Qi Study5 min
3. The Six Steps of External Chi Training5 min
4. Developing Sensitivity to Chi5 min
5. Working with a Practice Partner5 min

Advanced and optional. One-Finger Art, Magic Palm, martial applications, and Empty Force, as tradition and history.

1. One-Finger Art: The Index Finger Method5 min
2. One-Finger Art: Progressive Training5 min
3. Magic Palm: Cultivating Laogong5 min
4. Martial Applications of External Chi5 min
5. Empty Force: History and Context5 min

The seven emotions, stages of meditation, and seven methods for entering the meditative state.

1. The Seven Emotions and Your Health5 min
2. What Stillness Offers5 min
3. The Stages of Meditative Development5 min
4. Seven Methods for Entering the Meditative State5 min
5. The Unity of Person and Heaven5 min
6. Patience, Confidence, and the Long View5 min

Where chi gong fits within Chinese medicine, martial arts, and internal cultivation.

1. Chi Gong and Acupuncture: Shared Roots5 min
2. Chi Gong and Herbal Medicine5 min
3. Chi Gong and Tai Ji Quan5 min
4. Chi Gong in the Martial Arts5 min
5. Your Lifelong Practice: Where to Go from Here5 min