Bone Marrow Nei Kung: Taoist Ways to Improve Your Health by Rejuvenating Your Bone Marrow and Blood

Hi, there, I've been doing this one for quite a while now. I actually learned it from the vhs tape which is a much easier way than the book. there are a couple of prerequisites--you have to know iron shirt one (another fantastic practice) and be able to do the "big draw" (which means pull chi up your spine all the way with one breath; basically identical to "kriya yoga" if you know that one. (if you need to learn iron shirt one also try to get the vhs/or dvd version; the big draw is part of "healing love" for which I also suggest video rather than a book). I've also learned iron shirt from a person and the video is still the way to go--you can look at it every night for a month, back it up, listen to the explanation eight times in a row if you want, etc. Also, there's a section in here called "chi weight lifting" which is somewhat controversial. If you don't want to practice that just omit it, I always have and I've had fantastic results just doing the rest of the practice, fast-forwarding through that part. This is an awesome practice by someone (mantak chia) who is a true expert, not these wannabes who try to show their expertise by saying things like, "This is too dangerous to do at home (gulp)." I suppose they think you're going to wait until you get to the monastery on a mountain top in mainland china. what drivel. practice and enjoy. best of luck with your spiritual life, whatever it is.

This is Volume III of the Iron Shirt series. As far as I know, there is no Volume II unless you count a videotape Chia produced. Anyway, Volumes I and III belong in the library of any enthusiastic tai chi/chi gong practitioner. But the techniques in these volumes are dangerous. Read the books for the theory, learn what's been held back by teachers for hundreds of years, but do not try any of these exercises unless you are working one-on-one with a master teacher, preferably one with training in Asian medicine. Chi packing is very dangerous and it forms a central part of the practices in Volume I. Lifting weights with your genitals is equally dangerous, if not more so, and that's featured in Volume III. Some chi gong teachers shun these practices entirely as unnecessary and unhealthy. Others believe they are enormously beneficial if practiced correctly. If the books pique your interest, find a great teacher and work with him or her on this stuff. Otherwise, keep the barbells at the gym and the book for purely intellectual gratification.

This book is full of some of the best information on energetics around. I do not have the pleasure of practiceing any of the techniques, novice, but I love having the info on my mindfor when I get there. In other word enjoy in good health.

Truly the best book Mantak Chia has authored. While somepeople question the incorporation of Siddhu-like practices into theTaoist model, "Bone Marrow Washing" is a slap in the face to our modern culture which focuses on energy loss.Unlike Chia's other books, this one includes techniques for cooling one's internal organs, and dealing with the flow of energy in general. Unfortunately, it lacks perspective and that is why I give it only 4 stars. Chia does not include enough about what sort of mental attitude one should approach the material with. It is overall a very yang document which is in need of balance. When reading this book or doing the practice, one should always contemplate Lao Tzu's words: "empty the mind and fill the belly." Bone Marrow training is not something you can do and then return to your life with the same old destructive patterns. Awareness of one's energy is a 24-hour committment, and when you amass a ton of energy you must also be responsible for refining it. Be warned: the practice is potentially dangerous. I suggest that anyone interested in it seek out the advice of one who has walked the path before them. END

I found Mantak Chia's writing style and the many clear diagrams easy to follow. This is one of the few books written on this esoteric and heretofore secret Taoist practice. It is an excellent addition to the library of any serious student of Qigong.