OK... hi - I'm interested in learning about Taoism... from what I understand it's all about energy flow and controling energy, etc.. so I wanna know about it. Can you suggest any books or websites I can read to get me started? Thank you.
Tai-Chi and Chi Gung, bother taoist internal martial arts are all controlling the flow of your internal energy.
Taken from http://www.taichi-ireland.com Tai Chi (also pronounced taiji) is a powerful series of interconnected flowing martial techniques which originated in China that have significant and long-lasting benefits for the body and mind. The essence of Tai Chi is relaxation through gentle bending, twisting, contracting and extending movements combined with deep diaphragmatic breathing to pump oxygen more efficiently around the body, leaving the practitioner feeling light, vibrant, and free from fatigue. With practice, the adept will have excellent coordination, a dramatically improved posture, greater sense of balance, and a heightened sense of vitality without exhaustion. In addition, the body becomes stronger and more immune to disease. Tai Chi was originally designed by Daoist monks to aid them in meditation. It is not purely Daoist, as there are elements of the Southern Shaolin tradition in it, but it's essence remains one of relaxing into your body and mind, something which is of pressing importance in these technologically stressed times. Relaxing the mind is something which seems to be overlooked these days. A relaxed mind housed in a relaxed body is not just just the stuff of Latin quotes ("Mens sana in corpore sano"), but is a real possibility. Stress is killing people; whether through cigarettes or heart attacks or cancer, it's on the rise. Tai Chi, and its attendant Taoist technologies, offer a real chance for people to plug into themselves and find a level of calm where the shrill, feverish pace of everyday life can be stilled. There's no religion involved here, no proselytizing, just a rearrangement of your body into postures and alignments that aid the body in healing itself, for the body's self-healing abilities are profound, and often dismissed as "placebo". Tai Chi allows you to go inside to your interior landscape, to learn about your internal topography so that you can feel something happening long before it goes badly wrong and potentially turns into an illness. We have become so dependent on doctors that we have abdicated responsibility for our own health, resigning ourselves to pills or palliative medicine. You can take control of your health and not get sick. Tai Chi can help you on that path. There is no rush, no sense of hurry. You must listen to your body, get to know it, and make friends with it. It is all you really have.
Chi Gung, also taken from http://www.taichi-ireland.com/ Chi Gung, or Qi Gong, means "energy work". There are many kinds of chi gung, which can be roughly paraphrased as the following: "An exercise which has a specific effect upon a specific part of the body or mind, performed repetitively with the active participation of the mind, can be called chi gung" Thus, there are hundreds of chi gung "exercises". All have the goal of powering up the body's "operating system", giving you more energy, releasing tension and stress, strengthening systems in the body, calming the mind, and so on. You don't need any experience to do chi gung. You don't need to be svelte, slim or muscular. You don't need to be enlightened, cool, or a hippy. You don't need to be Chinese. Anybody can do it. You can do chi gung it driving, photocopying, or having sex. The ability to be present and aware is crucial, and marks out chi gung and tai chi from mere "mindless" exercise (plodding miserably on a treadmill with headphones, eyes sadly glued to Sky News).
Benefits of both What can Tai Chi do for me? No matter what age you are, it's never too late to do something about your health. As the Chinese classics say, "Only sick people get sick". Tai Chi is a very gentle way to begin getting in tune with your body again, like you were when you were a child, full of boundless energy. This state can be achieved again through continuous daily practice of Tai Chi. It is considered the most subtle form of acupuncture, and it is practised by over 100 million people in China every day, and millions more around the globe. Why spend years on a health plan if you end up attached to machines, alone in a sterile environment, surrounded by strangers? DMany adults in today's modern world are prematurely old. Poor nutrition, exhaustive working hours, mental stress, little exercise-sound familiar? Fuelling each other, these elements combine to produce a body strained to the limits, putting further pressure on the emotions, which are inextricably linked to the health of the body. So here you are. What can tai chi do for you? It's just one of many things, no more, no less. The Body Alignments are opened: Many people are tense in one or more parts of their bodies. The initial posture of Tai Chi helps re-educate people about their natural alignments; the ones they had as a child. In fact, the purpose of most Taoist Chi Gung is to make your body as relaxed, loose and full of energy as a child again. No-one can keep up with a child, especially when screaming for hours without any problem. Tai Chi strengthens the nerves and eases stress: As you get stronger through continued practice, your nerves are strengthened and your body awareness is enhanced. You try to FEEL what is inside you. Most people have a very poor sense of feeling the "guts" inside them, yet this is what keeps you alive. Yes, those internal organs-heart, liver, spleen, kidney, lungs. Try to feel them so you can detect any problems long in advance. As your ability to relax improves, and your health is strengthened, work capacity is increased, and you find yourself less tired than you used to be. Moreover, the deep breathing induces bodily and mental calm as the heart rate is slowed (cardiac sinus arrhythmia if you must know) and the nerves of the Central Nervous Sysytem are soothed. Shallow rapid breathing can lead to tension and sometimes feelings of violent anger. The blood is circulated without stress on the heart: Concerning the circulation of blood, the object of Tai Chi is not to make the heart pump more strongly, but to increase the elasticity of the vascular system so the heart doesn't need to pump as strongly, which provides it with more rest. High blood pressure is the narrowing of the arteries through fatty deposits or stress which makes it difficult for the blood to move efficiently. Tai Chi improves cardio-pulmonary function: Most people think that aerobic exercise is necessary to strengthen the heart and the lungs. While aerobic exercise does accomplish this, so does Tai Chi. Slow, deep, regular breathing and energy movement combine to work oxygen deeper into the tissues than regular exercise. In addition, the venous pumps in the legs are activated powerfully, allowing blood to get back to the heart efficiently. This prevents all sorts of circulatory disorders, like varicose veins. The lymph pump, hence the immune system, is strengthened: The lymph fluids are moved primarily by tiny muscular contractions. The relatively fine muscular contractions improved by Tai Chi move lymph efficiently through the entire system and release the T4 white blood cells that help mop up invading pathogens. These actions, as well as the overall increase in energy that Tai Chi brings, strengthen the body's immune response. The synovial fluid is vitalised, bringing flexibility to the joints: Synovial fluid is found in the joints. It lubricates the joints, allowing joint flexibility, and when functioning normally helps prevent arthritis and rheumatism. Tai Chi works with the synovial fluid by compressing and expanding it, preventing and reversing all sorts of joint problems. The muscle tissue gains elasticity: Tai Chi also causes muscle tissue to elongate. With the stretches of Tai Chi the muscles eventually attain a state akin to that of a springy rubber band. The tendons are strengthened: Tai Chi also adds greater strength and elasticity to the tendons which contributes to the tremendous flexibility many Tai Chi practitioners have. Tai Chi loosens the muscles and builds power: Tai Chi works with the muscles quite differently than typical exercises do. Tai Chi and other internal exercises build effortless power and looseness; the goal is a feeling of relaxed power. Relaxed power comes when the muscles just loosen up and allow the energy to flow through. Coordination, balance, posture control, bone density, increased lung capacity and a feeling of mental well being are among the other myriad benefits.Mortgages do not decrease, nor do banks treat you better, but people might, as you exude deep confidence in your physical structure.. Balance in your life: Perhaps, just perhaps, a daily dose of Tai Chi might help you to inject some balance into other parts of your world, whether in work or at home, that need some balance.
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism/ http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/taoism.html
What you are talking about does seem to be about Tai-Chi. On Taoism, there are three books I suggest you check out: The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu - this was the first text about it. It's damn good. You can find copies on the internet, this one is my favorite http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html Also get "The Handbook For the Urban Warrior: A spiritual survival guide" by the Barefoot Doctor - this is very well written and very well thought out, a more practical approach to Taoism. "Tao Paths: Long Life" - by Solala Towler - this is a little orange book full of quote the Towler has found along side things he has said. A very good little guide. This one is specifically about Taoist health, healing, and energy work. This little reading list shouldn't set you back much, have a go at it. Blessings Sebbi
It's still 25 years after my first read of it, among my faves of all time. But also, the I Ching is a book for which I have great respect.
I found out tonight that a friend of mine reguallr does Chi Gung - has done for the past 2 years.. so I think i'm going to go with her next time
Try the Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. Its the most basic philosophys of Taoism and are explained so that even a child could understand them. Actually I can explain try to explain the whole book in a few words. Relax and go with it.
