Dao Yin

[EagleShen]

Hi Bums,

I've recently started studying Dao Yin (or daoyin or Dao In), and am really enjoying the practice. I'd be really curious to hear from anyone else who's done any form of Dao Yin in depth about your experiences and perspectives on it as a cultivation practice.

 

The form i've been doing is a Dragon Gate family lineage, and while it's not been as strong physically as i'm used to, which could just be because i'm still fairly new to the practice, my main benefit so far has been an opening of my lower dan tien and an ability to drop deeply and easily into meditation beyond anything i've experienced before.

 

Look forward to some good sharing of experiences (i hope)

[Sloppy Zhang]

Dao Yin has actually recently caught my interest, and I was wondering if you could share a little bit more on thhe stuff you are doing, where did you learn it from, other resources?

 

Sorry I can't add more to your thread.

[markern]

I know little about it but have a strong feeling that I want to have a dao yin practice as a large part of my overal yoga practice. I think Sarah Powers Yin Yang yoga looks good. Her book is very nice.

 

I want my yoga to be more from the inside out and less forced from the outside in like the Iyengar yoga I used to do.

 

My impression from reading about dao yin it is that it is considered an important foundational practice to get your body in order and as such can be quite powerfull but that in terms of chi prodcution and alchemy it can not compare to realy, realy powerfull qigong. Sort of like have longevity breathing is a very usefull and imporant foundationl practice that can take you far but it will never give the insane amount of power that Tummo will. Is this correct?

 

Is dao yin always sitting practices? Are there standing asanas as well?

 

I also think I have read something about dao yin being a practice primarily for the area from the navel to the kness and less so for the rest of the body. Is this correct?

 

Are there Dao Yin practices that are intervwoven with standing and moving qigong?

[EagleShen]

Sloppy Zhang, my interest was first stimulated by Hua Ching Ni - i saw a book on Dao Yin (he calls it Dao In) in the bookstore, i bought it and tried on a off some of the practices. I never really pursued the practices with rigour, but it sat in the back of my mind as something i'd really like to do, and something i'd really like to find a teacher for. Part of my interest was that he explains it as one of the original practices of the 'ancient achieved ones', a precursor to Tai Chi. I always meant to get around to getting the video he has of the forms too.

 

Then i came across a teacher here in Melbourne http://www.daoyintherapy.com.au not too far from where i live, so i've started studying with him. Re other resources, not really sure, would love to hear of any, i'll pass them on if i find any.

 

My impression from reading about dao yin it is that it is considered an important foundational practice to get your body in order and as such can be quite powerfull but that in terms of chi prodcution and alchemy it can not compare to realy, realy powerfull qigong. Sort of like have longevity breathing is a very usefull and imporant foundationl practice that can take you far but it will never give the insane amount of power that Tummo will. Is this correct?

 

Interesting perspective though, i guess it's part of what i'm curious about, how far can it take me, and what are people's experiences with it? The guy i'm studying with, Master Tao, it's his primary practice and he is very highly achieved as far as i can tell from my humble perspective. See my post here, i did a bit of a review of my first workshop with him: Dragon Gate Dao Yin Chi Gong - totally awesome! . The alchemy stuff is there, but there is very a Yin approach to it (compared to Mantak, for example, who's approach i would classify as a more Yang approach). What is better? Yang is probably faster as that is the nature of Yang, but is it deeper?

 

Is dao yin always sitting practices? Are there standing asanas as well?

 

I also think I have read something about dao yin being a practice primarily for the area from the navel to the kness and less so for the rest of the body. Is this correct?

 

Are there Dao Yin practices that are intervwoven with standing and moving qigong?

 

There's a lot more than just sitting practices, and a lot more than just physical practices.

 

All of the gong's (physical practices, or asanas if you like) so far are dynamic, ie they involve some kind of movement, they are not static postures. There are sitting one's, standing one's and lying one's. Master Tao has given me gongs to work specifically on my lower back, stomach and neck. As far as i understand it, Dao Yin is in someways a precursor to what we now understand as Chinese medicine - medical practitioners would prescribe a series of gongs to work on a particular part of the body to fix ailments.

 

There are meditation practices as well in both Hua Ching Ni stuff and Dragon Gate, and these have been some of the most awesome meditation practices i've come across. You could say the physical side of Dao Yin is a prepares a soft supple container for the internal alchemy. There is really deep softness to the internal alchemy approach.

 

I guess my impression so far is that it is a very Yin approach to internal alchemy (which really appeals to me), and lot of the more modern developments that grew out of it have a bit more Yang to them. BUT, i've only done one workshop and read one book so far, so it's still pretty new to me and i could well pop up in a month or two and say everything i've written here is rubbish, but it's where i'm at with it now

 

Would still love to hear from anyone who's been practising it for some length of time.

[hagar]

Sloppy Zhang, my interest was first stimulated by Hua Ching Ni - i saw a book on Dao Yin (he calls it Dao In) in the bookstore, i bought it and tried on a off some of the practices. I never really pursued the practices with rigour, but it sat in the back of my mind as something i'd really like to do, and something i'd really like to find a teacher for. Part of my interest was that he explains it as one of the original practices of the 'ancient achieved ones', a precursor to Tai Chi. I always meant to get around to getting the video he has of the forms too.

 

Then i came across a teacher here in Melbourne http://www.daoyintherapy.com.au not too far from where i live, so i've started studying with him. Re other resources, not really sure, would love to hear of any, i'll pass them on if i find any.

 

 

 

Interesting perspective though, i guess it's part of what i'm curious about, how far can it take me, and what are people's experiences with it? The guy i'm studying with, Master Tao, it's his primary practice and he is very highly achieved as far as i can tell from my humble perspective. See my post here, i did a bit of a review of my first workshop with him: Dragon Gate Dao Yin Chi Gong - totally awesome! . The alchemy stuff is there, but there is very a Yin approach to it (compared to Mantak, for example, who's approach i would classify as a more Yang approach). What is better? Yang is probably faster as that is the nature of Yang, but is it deeper?

 

 

 

There's a lot more than just sitting practices, and a lot more than just physical practices.

 

All of the gong's (physical practices, or asanas if you like) so far are dynamic, ie they involve some kind of movement, they are not static postures. There are sitting one's, standing one's and lying one's. Master Tao has given me gongs to work specifically on my lower back, stomach and neck. As far as i understand it, Dao Yin is in someways a precursor to what we now understand as Chinese medicine - medical practitioners would prescribe a series of gongs to work on a particular part of the body to fix ailments.

 

There are meditation practices as well in both Hua Ching Ni stuff and Dragon Gate, and these have been some of the most awesome meditation practices i've come across. You could say the physical side of Dao Yin is a prepares a soft supple container for the internal alchemy. There is really deep softness to the internal alchemy approach.

 

I guess my impression so far is that it is a very Yin approach to internal alchemy (which really appeals to me), and lot of the more modern developments that grew out of it have a bit more Yang to them. BUT, i've only done one workshop and read one book so far, so it's still pretty new to me and i could well pop up in a month or two and say everything i've written here is rubbish, but it's where i'm at with it now

 

Would still love to hear from anyone who's been practising it for some length of time.

 

Been doing it for about 6 years.

Mainly as a preparation for sitting, yet I enjoy it as a transformational tool for the body. All I can say is that it has one main key component that does all the difference, and that is how everything starts from the LDT.

 

It showes how the physical body really is an expression of the state of the organs and cavities and visa versa. Thus crucial to Nei Dan to be efficient.

 

But I'm a dabbler at this, and don't do it nearly enough to reap the benefits.

 

h

[mat black]

Glad to here it's going well eagle shen (J)

 

I read your account on the link you included in the other post. I was really happy to see such a shining review of Master Tao.

I wondered for ages how I could write something about my time there without saying too much, what you wrote was great.

 

I'll try and add a couple of cents........

 

The Dragon Gate Daoyin from this school has many forms, hundreds actually. They range from standing, kneeling, sitting cross legged, sitting straight legged, lying on ones back and lying on one's front.

 

There is a gentle fluidity to the movements, which among other things, are quite good at opening the channels, moving the qi, gathering qi and improving the posture.

It is said that the spine and posture is a base for the qi to be healthy - given that there are so many nerves going from the spine to all parts of the body.

 

Despite the simplicity of the forms, there is a great depth to them.

 

Master Tao's teachings come from both a Daoist traditional lineage (he is the holder) and Buddhist teachings, eg- mantras, Guan Yin and correct principles.

I remember one time the discussion was on a particular topic involving qi and various other things which was generating curiosity and interest among the class...........then Master Tao reminded us of what really matters by saying "the most important thing is to cultivate a good heart"

Edited March 14, 2010 by mat black

[EagleShen]

Been doing it for about 6 years.

Mainly as a preparation for sitting, yet I enjoy it as a transformational tool for the body. All I can say is that it has one main key component that does all the difference, and that is how everything starts from the LDT.

 

It showes how the physical body really is an expression of the state of the organs and cavities and visa versa. Thus crucial to Nei Dan to be efficient.

 

But I'm a dabbler at this, and don't do it nearly enough to reap the benefits.

 

h

Thanks Hagar, re the LDT, yeah there's a strong emphasis on the LDT as foundation, i'd done practices to activate it before, but the Dao Yin has opened a whole new depth.

 

We are perhaps a geometry of 'mirrors' existing on various planes.

 

I read your account on the link you included in the other post. I was really happy to see such a shining review of Master Tao.

I wondered for ages how I could write something about my time there without saying too much, what you wrote was great.

 

I'll try and add a couple of cents........

 

The Dragon Gate Daoyin from this school has many forms, hundreds actually. They range from standing, kneeling, sitting cross legged, sitting straight legged, lying on ones back and lying on one's front.

 

There is a gentle fluidity to the movements, which among other things, are quite good at opening the channels, moving the qi, gathering qi and improving the posture.

It is said that the spine and posture is a base for the qi to be healthy - given that there are so many nerves going from the spine to all parts of the body.

 

Despite the simplicity of the forms, there is a great depth to them.

 

Master Tao's teachings come from both a Daoist traditional lineage (he is the holder) and Buddhist teachings, eg- mantras, Guan Yin and correct principles.

I remember one time the discussion was on a particular topic involving qi and various other things which was generating curiosity and interest among the class...........then Master Tao reminded us of what really matters by saying "the most important thing is to cultivate a good heart"

Thanks Mat, I could imagine him saying that, he has such an open and joy filled heart himself, a real softness i've only found so far in Taoist teachers who don't use the more Yang cultivation methods - that said the only 'masters' i've spent time with have been fans of a more Yin approach to internal alchemy. My previous teacher, Prof Lun Wong, had a similar presence to Mater Tao, and although he didn't strictly teach Dao Yin, all is 'Dao' practices were very soft, very little forcing.

 

Would it be fair to say that a feature of Dao Yin is the balancing of the whole body and opening of channels so that the inner alchemy will naturally arise in harmony with the gentle urgings of the will?