What exactly is Taoist Yoga?

Taoist Yoga originated in Ancient China as a way to prepare the mind and body for Taoist meditation. Taoist Yoga focuses on developing and maintaining an awareness of the flow of breath and chi in the body - with this awareness the practitioner uses simple postures and breathing techniques to release blockages and strengthen the flow of chi in the body.

Many yoga practitioners are familiar with stretching to relax - in Taoist Yoga, the focus is on relaxing in order to stretch. The postures we use in Taoist Yoga are relatively basic, and do not require a high level of flexibility. The emphasis for the practitioner is on how to position oneself to clearly connect and work with the flow of breath and chi in the body, rather than how far one stretches the physical body.

This soft but powerful ancient Chinese art form translates usefully in today’s world  as a method for reducing stress and physical tension, and creating a profound sense of calm and stillness in the mind and body.

After teaching Taoist Yoga over the past year, here's what we've found:

Students have enjoyed the benefits of this gentle, yet powerful practice. Participants range from those new to any sort of yoga or energy arts practice, to experienced yoga practitioners, as well as those who have been studying Energy Arts for many years.

For those new to yoga, the Taoist Yoga approach offers those with any physical limitations - such as inflexibility or injury - to soon feel the benefits of gentle poses. For beginners in particular, we pay extra attention to using propping and working without strain to get into poses.

Experienced yoga practitioners have found the precision and focus on subtle aspects of the body and alignments in Taoist Yoga deepens their understanding of body positioning in all yoga practice.

For those already familiar with other Energy Arts, Taoist Yoga is a great way to feel and deepen body/energy alignments and breathing in very relaxing poses - one student spoke about the fact that Taoist Yoga had a significant effect on her understanding and practice of the long form.