Liangong, The Complete Book (NEW!)

Paperback, 323 pp. Over 500 photographs and illustrations; 8 1/2 x 11.

This is the most complete book compiled about Liangong in any language to date.

Since early 2002, when we finished the article, Liangong in 18 Forms: Massage in Motion in Qi Journal (Vol. 12, No. 2, Summer, 2002), until now we have been slowly at work on translating 3 books written by the creator of Liangong, Dr. Zhuang Yuan Ming (1919- ). Additionally, we conducted two formal interviews with Dr. Zhuang and his son, Zhuang Jian Shen in 1999 and 2000 and synthesized the information from the interviews and the books into one complete text covering all three series of these wondrous exercises that were developed to treat patients with acute pain in the neck, shoulders, back, hips, legs, and feet; as well as elderly patients who suffer from pain in the aforementioned areas due to complications from respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

This one-of-a-kind text includes over 500 hundred photographs and illustrations of Dr. Zhuang performing all 54 exercises, specific target area(s) of each exercise, and eastern and western anatomical language that details precision and exactness of practice for maximum benefit. Dr. Zhuang is not only a TCM practitioner, but he is also one of the top one hundred orthopedic physicians in China. The text addresses a multitude of issues for reducing or relieving acute pain, how to enhance synovial fluid and tendon sheaths, as well as in-depth descriptions of how to specifically engage various muscles and joints including the lumbar triangle, the piriformis, the psoas, the rhomboids, the internal and external intercostal muscles, biceps and quadriceps femoris, the popliteal, etc. Information not only focuses on stress release, but also how to enhance internal strength, maximize flexibility, and increase magnitude respiratory motion-a necessary exercise for patients who suffer from chronic bronchitis or cardiovascular disease.

Also included are synopses of Dr. Zhuang's scientific research, details of how and why he designed each of the exercises, form and function, historical photos, and more.