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Taoist Yoga
Yoga is a popular form of exercise taught
throughout the world. It addresses balance, stretching, strength-building and
relaxation. If you are already quite fit and
want to become more supple, then Taoist Yoga is an ideal choice.
Not so fit?
If you are unfit, overweight, not supple and sedentary, then yoga
is perhaps not the best starting place. In lieu of patience and
relaxation, beginners are apt to force the stretch and this may result in
injury. Straining and exerting are unwise if you are out of shape.
Start mild
Qigong and tai chi for health are a wise starting place for the
unfit. Although the exercises are notably challenging there is virtually no risk
of injury. Your body is gently coaxed into suppleness without forcing an
outcome. More earnest stretching comes later...
Fear blocks Tao by warping our
perception. It sends us guiltily into the past or anxiously into the future,
rather than letting us relax into the present.
(Wolf Lowenthal)
Be patient
Once the required standard of fitness has been reached in qigong,
we offer students the opportunity to study Taoist Yoga (tao yin).
Tao yin
Tao yin refers to a wide selection of stretching exercises
designed to improve circulation and boost the flow of oxygen within the body. It
is commonly referred to as 'Taoist Yoga'.
The stretches work the legs, back and psoas in particular.
Mild stretches
Taoist Yoga is a gentle way to exercise the body:
• Simple to perform
• Easy to learn
• Improves balance
• Stress-relief
• Meditation exercise
• Encourages a calm mind and composed emotions
• Energises
• Does not strain the body
• Strength-building
• Emphasis is placed upon allowing rather than forcing
• Improves skeletal alignment and poise
• Low-impact
• No exotic/strenuous postures
• Can be practiced by most people
Releasing rather than forcing
The aim is to relax into the release the muscles, rather than
force the body. In order to further release muscular tension and aid
flexibility, the body is sometimes massaged during the stretch.
It is encouraged to lengthen naturally. Typically the same exercise is performed
a few times to enable a fuller release.
Freedom from tension
Modern living leads to most people accumulating unwanted
tightness in their muscles. This limits their range of movement. Common causes:
Too much sitting
Repetitive activities
Insufficient exercise
Straining/forcing the body
Sport
Dehydration
Poor sleep
Stress
Tao yin exercises
are an excellent way to free the body and mind from tension.
Sedentary lifestyle
Many young people begin to lose their flexibility in their 20's
and 30's and seldom regain it. The main problem is laziness. There
is no point in lying/being
overly tactful about this...
Sitting
Sitting for lengthy periods of time is bad for the body. It
causes muscles to tighten, circulation to suffer, the eyes to become fixed and
the mind to dull.
The legs, lower back and shoulders typically
become weak, tight and often quite painful. Tao yin stretching slowly reverses
the problem.
What is the difference between Taoist Yoga and the various forms of hatha yoga (Iyengar,
Ashtanga, Bikram, Vinyasa etc)?
In real terms, the approaches are quite similar although there
are differences. Both use semi-static postures. Both employ specialised
breathing. Both are designed to harmonise and strengthen the body.
Forcing
Hatha literally means 'willpower' and has the connotation of the mind dominating
the body. Taoist Yoga adopts a much milder approach; patiently encouraging
release rather than forcing a stretch.
It combines patient relaxing with gentle self-massage. If a yoga posture proves
to be too challenging or uncomfortable, try an alternative posture.
Cross-training
Usually, tao yin is practiced alongside qigong and tai chi. By combining
stretching and movement, the body receives a varied, comprehensive workout. The
relaxation that arises from qigong aids the body in tao yin stretching. This
then facilitates a greater range of internal massage during tai chi practice.
Different to qigong
Taoist Yoga serves a similar purpose to qigong but accomplishes
the outcome through different means. Qigong movement has more in common with tai
chi and serves as a building block for tai chi form (e.g. the arms are only
lengthened to 70% of reach, whole-body movement predominates). Tao yin is
primarily concerned with releasing, self-massage and breathing.
Youthfulness
Flexibility and aging are related concerns. The Tao Te
Ching introduced this insight; advising that young things are pliable
whilst the old and dying are brittle.
It is essential that tai chi students have a balanced workout; and this should
involve an extensive stretching regime. Suppleness will make your body last
longer and improve your quality of life.
Eligibility
In our syllabus, Taoist Yoga is offered to class members who know
the basic strength-building exercises:
Qigong
exercises
- ba duan jin
- moving qigong
- reeling silk exercises
- stretches & joint work
- full circle qigong
- qigong development
Psoas work
Leg stretches
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
04 May 2023
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