A Woman's Qigong Guide

by Yanling Lee Johnson

YMAA Publications, 2001

Softcover, 153 pages, $16.95

Subtitled, Empowerment Through Movement, Diet, and Herbs. This is one of the relatively few qigong books we have available that deals with women's health issues. With chapters on the history of qigong, an introduction to qi and qigong in general and specifically on qigong and female energy, as well as sections on diet and emotional balance, we are given useful and important information.

Another helpful and important chapter is on practices for various aspects of women's health such as: skin condition, good breast health, menopause, amenorrhoea, pregnancy, depression, sterility, and others.

Sections on qi, food and herbs and herbal remedies, including many herbal recipes, give us information on how to treat women's health issues through diet and the use of the centuries-old tradition of Chinese herbs.

According to the author: "Certainly Chinese philosophies and medicine apply to both men and women, and of course, both men and women practice qigong, but qigong addresses the differences as well as the similarities." It is certainly true that, while the qi itself is the same, whether in a man or a woman, women certainly do have their own health issues and interests.

Taoists, throughout the ages, have crafted both qigong practices and herbal treatments that specifically relate to women's health and self-cultivation. And, while most books work with general qigong practices it is extremely useful to have books like this that address the interests and needs of women.

Review by Solala Towler

Published in The Empty Vessel Spring 2001