Issue 37 - Tse Qigong Centre

Daoist Yoga“The GentleArt of Openingthe Body”The Practice of the Internal Arts is the studyof the science of Yin & Yang. Students are oftentold to achieve a distinction between those Yang attributes of focus and concentration and the Yincharacteristics of relaxation and openness. Opening however is not always an easily achievedquality and with the stresses of Western Society our bodies tend to recoil and close from theconstant bombardment of stimulation we receive.It is important to our practice of the Internal Arts to have a toolwith which we may loosen the joints, sinews, and muscles ofthe body to allow for the free flow of energy and the quick andfree extension necessary for application.Daoist Yoga emerged from earliest times in China and is allied withthe Daoyin, or energy induction exercises. They were first specificallymentioned in the Chang Tzu in the 4 th century BC when it was saidin part, “stretching like a bird is only for longevity”. However it isobvious that the practice predates even this mention and was part ofthe cultural heritage of the ancients. Verse 76 of the Lao Tzu illustratesthis legacy when it was written;“A man is born gentle and weak,at his death he is hard and stiff.Green plants are tender and filled with sap,at their death they are withered and dry.The stiff and unbending is the discipleof death, gentle and yielding is the way of life.”During its long and complex evolution the systemdeveloped many off-shoots and branches, and some of these maystill be witnessed in our traditional Internal practice, for example theK’ai Men training. However the root of Daoist Yoga remains, in itsmost basic form, as simple sets of single seated or standing stretches.One might recognise these stretches in modern western exerciseprograms like the Palates system, the Alexander Technique, or evenperformed by runners before the London Marathon. In fact theChinese have no direct translation for the word Yoga which arisesfrom the Hindu Sanskrit word for union. And it is easy to see howdivergent systems of body opening exercises might become confusedin western minds with similar terms.The focus then of all Daoist Yoga, or stretching exercise,is to open and relax the body, specifically the joints of the spine, thehips, and shoulders, as well as the sinews of the arms and legs, feetand hands.Daoists, whose philosophy is based in part on theobservations of animals, believed that in order to be in harmony withthe environment, the body must be balanced and free from tension.The tiger’s paw will fall loosely and with sensitivity when stalkingprey, yet suddenly explode with power when closing for the kill.This could not occur if the tiger’s paw was as stiff and unyielding asmany of our hands have become. Sensitivity and tension arediametrically opposed and are a hindrance to our art. Moreover, asan Internalist, it is fundamental to our research to develop thissensitivity inwardly, to develop the ability to look deep insideourselves in order to direct our energy correctly for our structure.Without subtracting anything from the valuable body ofsubcontinental, or Buddhist yoga, it is important at this point to revealsome of the fundamental differences between the two. Indian &Tibetan styles of Yoga have been codified since the 2 nd century BCwhen the Yoga Sutra first appeared. This style of stretching exerciseseeks the liberation of limitations of the flesh, delusions of the senses,and pitfalls of thought, as some of its ultimate goals. This style seesphysical & mental training not for its practical application but ratheras a means to spiritual ends. The Asanas (postures) and methods ofPanayama (breath control) guide the practitioner towards Pratyahara(a higher consciousness in a Buddhist sense). Yogis assume posturesQi Magazine 11