導引。內功。氣功

In the Neijing text the arts of daoyin 導引 and moving qi 行氣 are listed alongside acupuncture, moxibustion and herbal medicines as primary methods of care. Stemming from this there has been from ancient times down to the present day, an unbroken succession of practitioners specializing in applying Neijing medicine through physical culture.

Drawing on lineage transmitted arts as well modern research our programs provide the foundational knowledge and skills to analyze and understand the effects of movement through a Neijing lens and make informed decisions in thinking of movement as medicine.

Our program uses a variety of traditional body technologies to explore and verify the theories and intellectual ideas put forth in the Neijing text. Creating experiences is the key to connecting theory and practice and is our primary goal.

 

Our methods have been tested over many generations, transmitted from Teacher to student and verified anew. Most recently these methods have been refined and adapted for use in modern western cultures taking into account the changes in environments and society over time while remaining connected and conscious of the principles of the arts. In our contexts these methods are designed to:

  • Make the the practitioner physically healthier, stronger and more resilient;
  • Develop sensitivity to subtle impressions and processes;
  • Develop the ability to generate a strong energy field;
  • Ground the Shen and the mental energies to create a stable consciousness.

The Neijing tells us;

                                                                          人之血氣精神者，所以奉生而周於性命者也

                                                The blood, qi, jing shen of people, these offer us our lives, encircling the destinies.

                                                                            經脈者，所以行血氣而營陰陽

                                              The channels, these conduct the blood and qi, projecting and constructing yin yang

                                                                          志意和則精神專直，魂魄不散，悔怒不起

         The zhi and the yi, will and intention harmonize then jing shen are focused and upright, the hun and po do not scatter, remorse and anger do not arise 

 

When ever the Neijing authors made a comprehensive list of medical modalities they included physical culture practices which they called variously dǎo yǐn 導引 guiding and pulling, àn qiāo按蹻 pressing and lifting, xíng qì 行氣 moving qi and qiáo mó 喬摩 hooking and rubbing. Very little is known about what exactly these practices entailed but there is little doubt they are the direct fore runners of the physical culture that has persisted until today and which our studies are largely based upon.

中央者其地平以濕天地所以生萬物也眾其民食雜而不勞故其病多痿厥寒熱其治宜導引按蹻故導引按蹻者亦從中央出也

素問 12

The central region is flat and by means of the humidity of heaven and earth is able to generate the thousand things in great multitudes, people here have varieties of foods to eat and do not have to struggle, therefore their illnesses are wilting reversal and hot and cold, their proper cures are guiding and pulling exercise and pressing and lifting the legs, thus these therapies come from the central region.

Su Wen chapter 12