Tao Yin is a series of breathing exercises practiced by Taoists to cultivate ch'i, the internal energy of the body according to Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...

.
The practice of Tao Yin was a precursor of qigong

Qigong

Qigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...

, and was practised in Chinese Taoist monasteries for health

Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

 and spiritual

Spirituality

Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

 cultivation. Tao Yin, along with Shaolin Ch'uan, is also said to be a primary formative ingredient in the well-known "soft style" Chinese martial art, T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

Effects

A typical Tao Yin exercise will involve movement of the arms and body in time with controlled inhalation and exhalation. Each exercise is designed with a different goal in mind, for example calmative effects or expanded lung capacity.

Some of the exercises act as a means of sedating, some as a stimulant and a tonic, whilst others help in the activation, harnessing and cultivation of internal Ch'i energy and the external Li life force. Through the excellent health that is gained thereby, they all assist in the opening up of the whole body, enhance the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, increase the mental capacity of the brain, give greater mind control, increase perception and intuition, uplift moral standards, and give tranquillity to the mind, which in turn confers inner harmony and greater happiness. As time goes by, these exercises slowly open up the functional and control channels that feed and activate the energy, nervous and psychic centres, enabling the individual to have a deeper understanding, consciousness and awareness of the spiritual world.

See also

• Dantian
  Dantian
  Dantian, dan t'ian, dan tien or tan t'ien is loosely translated as "elixir field". It is described as an important focal point for internal meditative techniques.There are various points of dantian...
  
  
• Internal alchemy
• Lee Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan
• Qigong
  Qigong
  Qigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...
  
  
• Silk reeling
  Silk reeling
  Silk reeling , also called winding silk energy chánsījìng , refers to a set of neigong movement principles expressed in traditional styles of t'ai chi ch'uan, but especially emphasised by the Chen and Wu styles of t'ai chi ch'uan...
  
  
• Wudangshan
• Chang San-feng
  Zhang Sanfeng
  Zhang Sanfeng was a semi-legendary Chinese Taoist priest who is believed by some to have achieved immortality, said variously to date from either the late Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty or Ming Dynasty. His name is said to have been Zhang Junbao 張君寶 before he became a Taoist.Zhang's legend is that of...
  
  

External links

• Entry on Daoyin from the Center for Daoist Studies
• The origin of Daoyin Inscription from a Warring State Period cultural relic - neigong.net
• Theory of essence Qi and spirit - neigong.net
• Entry on Tao Yin at the Seahorse Mediawiki