Taoist yoga | ||
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Tao yin
Tao yin refers to a wide selection of stretching
exercises designed to improve circulation and
boost the flow of energy 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 stretching
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 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.
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.
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 taijiquan 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
Slow form (long Yang)
Psoas work
Leg stretches
Page created
18 March 1995
Last updated
03 November 2015
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