Daoyin is an ancient Chinese body-mind exercise originally aimed at health care as well as physical and spiritual purification. The ascetics of past time believed it could be used to obtain the "eternal youth" (changsheng bulao). The first historical reference about it appears in Zhuangzi, a Taoist text written between the 4th and 2nd century BC:?
Breathing in and out, exhaling and inhaling, they get rid of the old to absorb the new. They swing like bears and stretch like birds - all this they do in order to have long life. They are Daoyin disciples, people who nourish their form seeking for longevity like Pengzu.
(Zhuangzi, Keyi)
Yangsheng
nourishing the Life
China has an ancient and deep tradition of body-mind care. According to historical documents already during the feudal age (770-221 BC) the so-called "life-nourishing ways" (yangsheng zhi dao) gained great importance. They were methods aimed at enhancing a long, healthy and good life, by means of dietetic regime, herbal preparations, gymnastic exercises and spiritual cultivation (such as study, poetry, meditation, etc.).
Many famous thinkers of this time argued heatedly on these issues, proposing their own "ways" and discussing those of their colleagues. Among the various "life-nourishing ways", the physical exercise was almost universally regarded as necessary and very effective. As "physical exercise" we have to think here something much deeper and articulated than what we mean today. It was an exercise involving body and mind in a great potentially unlimited effort of self-purification. The ascetics of that time practiced and taught these techniques in order to reach long life and immortality.
Daoyin yangshenggong
Daoyin yangshenggong (Daoyin life nourishing exercises) is the result of a long and deep research on ancient daoyin techniques carried out by professor Zhang Guangde of Beijing Physical Education University.
Its soft, fluent and harmonious movements are aimed at improving energy circulation within the whole body, to loosen the joints, tone up and oxygenate the muscles and to relax the nervous system.
Several clinical tests made in China and examinations done by medical specialists and researchers from all over the world, have proved Daoyin yangshenggong to be effective in improving the health, preventing and healing many acute and chronic diseases without showing any side effect.
Daoyin doesn't restrict itself to the health aspect. Thanks to its deep and meticulous work on concentration, respiration and movements, daoyin is also a wonderful method for self-cultivation and inner growth. With daoyin we can establish a close connection between body and mind and restore the inner harmony that so often gets damaged in our stressful daily life |
