Our (Mostly) Annotated Bibliography for “Bile Attacks…”
Alicia AppersonGregg Heinrichs
Senior Academic AdvisorAcademic Advisor
Eastern Michigan UniversityEastern Michigan University
Meditation
Osho. (2010). The Book of Secrets: 112 Meditations to Discover the Mystery Within.
New York: St. Martin’s.
Formerly known as Bagwan Shree Rajneesh, Osho was a brilliant (if controversial) Indian mystic and spiritual teacher. Like all of his books, this one is actually a transcription; in this case, of a series of talks Osho gave concerning the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, an eighth century Shaivist text describing112 different meditation techniques. Some of the techniques work best as stand-alone practices and others can be incorporated into daily activities. Osho’s advice to “play” with any technique that sounds appealing has served Gregg very well. If you’re interested in exploring consciousness and human potential, this is wonderful stuff.
Qigong and Taichi
Cohen, Kenneth S. (1999). The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Energy
Healing. New York: Ballantine.
“Qigong,” which means “energy work” in Chinese, describes a wide variety of practices designed to build and maintain health and wellness. Cohen does a fine job de-mystifying the subject and of describing some simple and powerful qigong practices; Gregg particularly enjoys practicing Spontaneous Qigong.
Jahnke, Roger. (2002). The Healing Promise of Qi: Creating Extraordinary
Wellness through Qigong and Tai Chi. New York: Contemporary Books.
With grace and good humor, Jahnke outlines a ten-point process for cultivating and masteringqi, associating a simple practice with each point. The practices are well-chosen and are common to multiple established qigong lineages; there’s none of the “lineage-bashing” here so common in Chinese healing and martial arts. Gregg particularly admires Jahnke’s evocation of how qi feels.
Knollmeyer, Greg. (2014). Spiral Chi Center. Retrieved from
After practicing qigong on his own for over a decade, Gregg began taking tai classes about two years ago with Sifu Greg Knollmeyer. Greg’s a fine teacher, patient and good humored, and skilled in the art of describing just enough of a movement for students to refine their practice of it. If you’re in the Ann Arbor area and looking for a taichi teacher, Gregg recommends Greg wholeheartedly.
Physical Culture
Bragg, Paul C., N.D., Ph.D. and Bragg, Patricia, N.D., Ph. D. (2008). Super Power
Breathing For Super Health And High Energy. Santa Barbara, CA: Bragg Health
Sciences.
Early in the last century, Paul Bragg was a prominent proponent of physical culture, the idea that bodily health, strength, and vigor could enrich the individual and the society; Charles Atlas and Jack LaLanne acknowledge him as an importance influence. Bragg was adamant that well-being depends on the quality of one’s breath, and this book describes and illustrates some excellent exercises for strengthening the diaphragm, expanding the rib box, and elongating one’s inhalations and exhalations. Gregg finds them relaxing and easy to blend into breaks in the work day.
Forencich, Frank. (2006). Exuberant Animal: The Power of Health, Play, and
Joyful Movement. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Before reading this book, Gregg expressed his physicality through carefullyorganized, meticulously documented “workouts.” He found this approach stimulated body and mind, but not spirit. Forencich gave him permission to discover joy in the ways his body expressed itself through spontaneous, unscripted, undocumentablemovement. It taught Gregg that creative engagement in daily movement was far more interesting and spiritually nourishing than his “workouts” were. Beautifully written and dense with ideas, this book inspires and moves. Forencich’s website ( is a treasure trove of similar resources.
Peterson, John (2007). Isometric Power Revolution: Mastering the Secrets of Strength,
Health, and Youthful Vitality. Minneapolis, MN: Bronze Bow Publishing.
Published four years after Pushing Yourself to Power (see below), this book is a comprehensive treatment of isometric and dynamic tension exercises. These exercises require no equipment and don’t cause the joint and nervous system trauma associated with weight training. Like all of Peterson’s books, the text is clear and helpful and well-integrated with the exercise illustrations. If you’re looking for a safe, portable, productive alternative to weight training and/or calisthenics like pushups, pullups, and situps, Gregg recommends isometrics, dynamic tension, and this book whole-heartedly.
Peterson, John. (2003). Pushing Yourself to Power: The Ultimate Guide to Total
Body Transformation. Minneapolis, MN: Bronze Bow Publishing.
Peterson’s among the writers promoting calisthenics--the pushups, pullups, situps, and similar exercises Gregg learned back in elementary school--as real tools for building strength, endurance, and health. A lifelong student of Charles Atlas, Peterson’s great gift to physical culture is in updating Atlas’ system, which integrates calisthenics, isometrics, and dynamic tension exercises. This book presents a 12 movement sequence of dynamic tension exercises Peterson recommends to help build the strength and body awareness required to benefit from calisthenics, although he maintains (as Gregg has found) that the dynamic tension exercises work beautifully without the calisthenics. Gregg finds these exercises (similar to those in Yogananda’s Yogoda System and in various martial arts) even more satisfying than lifting weights. They require no special equipment, and in Selye’s terms, require minimal adaptation energy. Peterson’s website ( is a very useful resource.
Shaking
Keeney, Bradford. (2007). Shaking Medicine: The Healing Power of Ecstatic
Movement. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.
A psychotherapist by profession, Keeney also is steeped in the traditional shaking practices of indigenous healers. This book discusses these practices and their history and offers recipes for incorporating them into daily life. Gregg likes to take regular “shake breaks” during the workday.
Silvestre, Tesa. (2012, July 24). The ecstasy of shaking. [web log comment].
Retrieved from
Shaking is the best, simplest antiodote I know to excessive mental activity. This is a wonderful brief introduction to the practice.
Walking
Dreyer, Danny and Katherine Dreyer. (2006). ChiWalking: Fitness Walking for Lifelong
Health and Energy. New York: Fireside.
Garolfalo, Michael. (2013). The Ways of Walking. Retrieved from
A marvelous reference on walking as spiritual practice. Garofalo’s an experienced qigong and martial arts instructor.
Gurucharan Singh Khalsa and Yogi Bhajan. (2000). Breathwalk: Breathing
Your Way to a Revitalized Body, Mind, and Spirit. New York: Harmony Books.
Parchelo, Innen Ray. (2012). Walk Like a Mountain: The Handbook of Buddhist
Walking Practice. Richmond Hill, ON: The Sumeru Press Inc..
Sarley, Ila. (2002). Walking Yoga: Incorporate Yoga Principles Into Dynamic Walking
Routines for Physical Health, Mental Peace, and Spiritual Enrichment.
New York: Fireside.
Solnit, Rebecca. (2001). Wanderlust: A History of Walking. New York: Penguin Books.
Yoga
Osho. (2002). Yoga: The Science of the Soul. New York: St. Martins’ Griffin.
When most people think of yoga they think of asanas, specialized physical postures. But as Osho says in these transcribed commentaries on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, there’s much more to yoga than asanas. This book presents yoga as a coordinated system designed promote peace of mind.
Yogani. (2004). Advanced Yoga Practices: Easy Lessons For Ecstatic Living.
Nashville, TN: AYP Publishing.
This book was incredibly helpful to Gregg as he established and deepened his meditation practice. Yogani is an engineer by profession, and it shows. With clarity, rigor, and good humor, he shows how the principles espoused in the Yoga Sutras may be expressed in daily practice, and how to troubleshoot difficulties as they appear.
In this sample Lesson posted online, he’s critical of the popular impression that asanas are yoga, promoting them instead as tools for preparing the body for meditation:
Many of the Lessons contained in the book are posted for free access at where you can also visit online practice support forums on topics as diverse as self-pacing, pranayama, and kundalini. The forums are very active and the posters are consistently friendly, resourceful, and generous. If you’d like to learn more about yoga but don’t feel ready to take a class (or even if you’ve taken lots of classes), you couldn’t ask for a better resource.
Miscellaneous
Anderson, Dale L. (1997). The Orchestra Conductor’s Secret to Health and Long Life:
Conducting and Other Easy Things to Do to Lose Weight, Increase Energy, and
Live Longer. New York: Wiley.
Gokhale, E. (2008). 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back: Natural Posture Solutions for Pain in
Back, Neck, Shoulder, Hip, Knee and Foot. New York: Pendo Press.
Keeney, Bradford (2004). Everyday Soul: Awakening the Spirit in Daily Life.
New York: Riverhead Trade.