I Chin Ching: 49 Exercises to Build Strength, Increase Flexibility, and Improve Balance - Softcover

I Chin Ching or Yijin jing roughly translates to “muscle/tendon change classic” or the “change of tendon and muscle.” The idea is that by tensing your muscles through static holds/stretches and dynamic motions you can build stronger, more flexible muscles and tendons, while achieving better balance and coordination. That’s a lot of promise for just 49 exercises!

There are many legends on I Chin Ching and how it came to be. Some of the legends are vague and some are contradictory so this book will briefly share the legend of Bodhidharma and will focus the majority of the book on the following:

• Providing a simple, visual, step-by-step manual on how to do 49 I Chin Ching exercises with proper technique
• Providing realistic variations to help you build strength, flexibility, and balance so you can eventually achieve some of the tougher exercises

The Legend
Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk from India, traveled the Himalayan mountains to bring Buddhism to China. As he encountered the Shaolin monasteries, Bodhidharma found the monks to be very weak and unable to sustain long meditations. Therefore he taught the monks several exercises to change their physical bodies and build stronger, more flexible muscles which would result in even stronger minds. These exercises became known as the I Chin Ching exercises.

Many of the exercises are similar to or are exact replicas of yoga postures, perhaps as an influence from Bodhidharma’s Indian roots.

“Practicing the I Chin Ching exercises has provided significant physical benefits to me and has helped me achieve various fitness goals I have as a martial artist, professional dancer, yogi, and runner. It has taken me over a decade to be able to do all 49 exercises and a few of the really tough ones...I can only do for a moment before crashing to the floor! I love the never-ending challenge that these exercises bring me.” -Katy Moeggenberg, Author

Katy Moeggenberg has a passion for being active. As an internationally published Fitness Author/Model, Kung Fu black belt (5th degree), Professional Dancer/Choreographer, and Yogi, she's been able to share her passions with others. She has enabled a variety of goals for her clients to come true - fine tuning professional dancers' technique, honing martial artists' skills for complex competitions, and empowering clients to lose as much as 100 lbs. She performs Dance and Kung Fu over 50 times a year across venues and audiences. In addition, her teaching has been featured and sought after at national dance conventions, college universities, and NFL® cheerleader training camps. She owns/manages/instructs at both Cincinnati Kung Fu and Anaya Belly Dance, and has been doing so for more than a decade. A Cincinnati native, she lives there today with her husband, Kung Fu master Joe Harmon. Learn more at katym.me.