forts toward positive emotions and virtuous living. The overall result of such practices, which are neither difficult to learn nor hard to do, is the realization of what F. M. Alexander—the founder of the widely effective Alexander Technique of physical integration and a forerunner of Moshe Feldenkrais and Thomas Hanna’s Somatics—called “the possibility of physical perfection.” This is a state of complete health, much more than the mere absence of illness or symptoms. Health here means an integrated balance of physical well-being, personal happiness, good fortune, and harmony, a state of overall wholeness in which people go beyond being discreet entities separate from the outside world and instead become active participants in the triad of heaven, earth, and humanity. Physical and energetic perfection as pursued in Daoist body cultivation as well as in behavioral kinesiology is thus key not only to greater well-being and personal satisfaction but also to the realization of a harmonious society and new world order. REFERENCES Bedell, Leila G. 1885. The Abdominal Brain. Chicago: Grass and Delbridge. Begley, Sharon, ed. 2007. Train Your Mind to Change Your Brain. New York: Ballentine. Diamond, John. 1979. Behavioral Kinesiology: How to Activate Your Thymus and Increase Your Life Energy.. New York: Harper & Row. Goleman, Daniel, ed. 1997. Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health. Boston: Shambhala. Kabat-Zinn, Jon. 2005. Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World through Mindfulness. New York: Hyperion. Kaptchuk, Ted J. 1983. The Web that Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine. New York: Congdon & Weed. Kohn, Livia. 2005. Health and Long Life: The Chinese Way. Cambridge, Mass.: Three Pines Press. Larre, Claude, and Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallee. 1996. Eight Extraordinary Vessels. Cambridge: Monkey Press. May-June 2012
Luttgens, Kathryn, and Katherine F. Wells. 1989. Kinesiology: Scientific Basis of Human Motion. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Publishers. McMillin, David L., Douglas G. Richards, Eric A. Mein, and Carl D. Nelson. 1999. “The Abdominal Brain and the Enteric Nervous System.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 5.6. www.meridianinstitute. com. Neswald, Sara Elaine. 2009. “Internal Landscapes.” In Internal Alchemy: Self, Society, and the Quest for Immortality, edited by Livia Kohn and Robin R. Wang, 27-53. Magdalena, NM: Three Pines Press. Nichols. T. L. 1853. Esoteric Anthropology. New York: Stringer & Townsend. Sekida, Katsuki. 1975. Zen Training. New York: Weatherhill. Spencer, Colin. 1993. Vegetarianism: A History. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows. Whitman, Walt. 1954. The Complete Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman. Garden City, NY: Garden City Books. Dr. Livia Kohn is Professor Emerita of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University. A graduate of Bonn University, Germany, she has spent many years pursuing research on medieval Daoism and Chinese long life practices. She has written and edited over 25 books, taught many classes on Asian religions, and worked on a large variety of related projects. In addition, she has practiced taiji quan, qigong, meditation, yoga, and other cultivation methods for many years. These days, she lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida, and is a Daoist freelancer. She teaches workshops all over the world, runs international conferences on Daoist studies, and is executive editor at Three Pines Press and of the Journal of Daoist Studies. She has lived in Japan for a total of ten years and traveled widely in Asia, especially in China, Korea, and Thailand. Aside from her native German, she is fluent in Chinese and Japanese.. To contact Professor Kohn, please e-mail liviakohn@gmail.com Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life)
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