Tina Chunna Zhang - Earth Qi Gong for Women: Awaken Your Inner Healing Power

Classical Northern Wu Style Tai Ji Quan:
The Fighting Art of the Manchurian Palace Guard (with Frank Allen)

The Whirling Circles of Ba Gua Zhang:
The Art and Legends of the Eight Trigram Palm (with Frank Allen)

Copyright 2008 by Tina Chunna Zhang. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout written permission of the publisher. For information contact Blue Snake Books c/o North Atlantic Books.

Published by Blue Snake Books, an imprint of North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712

Cover design by Susan Quasha

Earth Qi Gong for Women: Awaken Your Inner Healing Power is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our websites at www.northatlanticbooks.com and www.bluesnakebooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

PLEASE NOTE: The creators and publishers of this book disclaim any liabilities for loss in connection with following any of the practices, exercises, and advice contained herein. To reduce the chance of injury or any other harm, the reader should consult a professional before undertaking this or any other martial arts, movement, meditative arts, health, or exercise program. The instructions and advice printed in this book are not in any way intended as a substitute for medical, mental, or emotional counseling with a licensed physician or healthcare provider.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Zhang, Tina Chunna.
Earth qi gong for women : awaken your inner healing power / by Tina Chunna Zhang.
p. cm.
Summary: Focuses on promoting womens health through a traditional Chinese medicine method and an ancient series of gentle, conscious movements geared toward a womens unique anatomy, to help balance emotions and hormones, and promote anti-aging and general health. Forewords by an American MD and a Chinese doctorProvided by publisher.
eISBN: 978-1-58394-702-9
1. Qi gong. 2. Medicine, Chinese. 3. WomenHealth and hygiene. I.
Title.
RA781.8.Z433 2007
613.714082dc22
2007038831

v3.1

Q i gong, commonly known as an energy-moving exercise in the West, is often portrayed either as a mystical technique used only by martial artists or as quackery perpetrated in the healing arena. Neither could be farther from the truth and, as Ms. Zhang explains and illustrates, the techniques are both simple and effective for improving ones health and calming ones mind.

Beginning with a simple yet thorough explanation of the Chinese understanding of qi, Ms. Zhang leads the reader through a variety of postures and exercises designed to address specific areas of the body. In turn these exercises help prevent or alleviate many common womens health issues often seen in American emergency rooms and medical practices. In addition to enjoying the physical benefits of the exercises, the reader will, with proper intent, notice a progressive strengthening of the spirit-mind-body connectiona result not usually found in the common workout routines of gyms and health clubs. Women empowered by these benefits will be better able to direct and assist their physicians in the common goal of maintaining optimal health throughout their lives. Finally, while not a substitute for medical care, these exercises offer improved health without the cost, risk, and side effects of pills, hormone therapies, and supplements.

The book also contains practical information for medical physicians, acupuncturists, and doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The concise descriptions of select acupuncture points, meridians, and orbits will undoubtedly add to the knowledge and acumen of any physician, healer, or student preparing for board certification in medical acupuncture.

In closing, let me say it is my honor and my pleasure to offer an endorsement of this wonderful work and to be of assistance to a remarkable friend and martial artist. May everyone enjoy his or her association with Ms. Zhang as much as I have.

E ARL D. M ORGAN , MD, FACFE, DABMA
Emergency Physician/Medical Acupuncturist, Brockport, Pennsylvania

I am very happy and proud to see this book published! As a gynecologist who has treated womens health problems for more than thirty years, I find it very gratifying to finally see an alternative way of improving womens health through Chinese healing traditions presented so clearly in a written text.

Although I truly value Western science-based medical techniques, which do save many womens lives every day and promote improved health, I equally enjoy seeing qi gong grow in popularity as a healing exercise for essential health maintenance.

Over the years I have detected many common patterns in the health problems of women. I also know that most women really care about being proactive in regards to their health and would love to have more tools and information than is usually available. In addition to the combination of Eastern and Western medical treatments (a combination that has been used in Chinese clinical practices), natural healing exercises have been tested and shown to have great value. The natural conclusion is that the combination of advanced medical treatments and traditional natural healing methods is the best way to improve and change a majority of womens health conditions.

Not much to my surprise, I discovered that I agree with this book and its fundamental view of the importance of proper exercise and how this is part of the gynecological theories of traditional energy medicine!

C HEN X IU Q IN , MD
Gynecologist, Beijing, China

E arth Qi Gong is based on a special medical qi gong developed and perfected over the course of 1,700 years by Daoists, Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors, and qi gong experts in China to address the needs of a womans unique anatomy.

This simple and pleasant qi gong set will help women cultivate more of the earth energy (female energy) that they naturally have in their bodies. It moves the blood and generates female energy through a series of very gentle, conscious, and graceful qi gong movements, therefore working as a natural medicine that relies on the bodys own power to heal. Through its practice, women discover and connect to the positive energy in all internal organs and systems to improve or maintain their functions. This creates pelvic health, which in turn helps women balance their hormones to ease or arrest the uncomfortable symptoms of menstruation or menopause. In addition, Earth Qi Gong has correlations to the theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and it exercises the energy pathways of the body, a practice that promotes long-term anti-aging effects and a natural mind-and-body approach to maintaining general health in a modern lifestyle.