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What is Daoyin (Part 1)
Daoyin, a practice with over five thousand years of history, is a treasure of Chinese cultural heritage and a traditional method of health preservation.
The term “Daoyin” can be literally understood as guiding qi and stretching the body, but it also encompasses practices such as tooth tapping, massage, intention, internal vision, internal skills, and external skills.
Functionally, it can be divided into therapeutic Daoyin and fitness Daoyin, such as the ancient Five Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi), Eight Pieces of Brocade (Ba Duan Jin), and Tai Chi (Tai Ji Quan), which are folk health-preserving practices that promote smooth circulation of qi and blood, harmonizing yin and yang, thereby enhancing the body’s immunity and maintaining health.
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What is Daoyin? (Part 2)
The practice of Daoyin is a great innovation in Chinese culture, with a long history. The “Daoyin Diagram” unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb No. 3 in Changsha dates back over two thousand years, and its references can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty.
The “Huangdi Neijing” (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon) traces the practice of Daoyin back to the time of Fuxi. The “Suwen” section states: “When the people eat mixed foods without labor, they suffer from many diseases such as atrophy and cold heat; thus, they should practice Daoyin and acupressure.”
Throughout the five thousand years of Chinese civilization, Daoyin has become a method for physicians, Daoists, and common people to treat diseases, strengthen the body, and prolong life, forming an important part of the unique cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. “Dao” refers to movement;
“Yin” refers to the process of eliminating unfavorable factors from the body through movement, guiding the pathogenic qi out of the body; in simple terms, guiding qi makes it harmonious, and guiding the body makes it flexible.
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What are the effects of Daoyin?
Daoyin can improve the body’s metabolism, balance yin and yang, harmonize qi and blood, unblock meridians, cultivate true qi, strengthen the righteous qi, and expel pathogenic factors.
It achieves this through various exercises that enhance the body’s qi transformation. The so-called qi transformation is actually the process of material and energy transformation within the body.
Qi promotes the generation and transformation of essence, qi, blood, and body fluids. Activities such as digestion, sweating, urination, and defecation can be understood from a TCM perspective as manifestations of qi transformation, representing a physiological metabolic process.
The First Effect of Daoyin
The life activities of the human body maintain the balance of yin and yang through continuous movement and change.
When yin and yang are harmonious, energy is abundant, and one does not fall ill; conversely, when yin and yang are imbalanced, it weakens life activities, leading to illness or even death.
The role of Daoyin is to regulate the body’s yin and yang through breathing, movement, and intention, achieving balance.
The Second Effect of Daoyin
Harmonizing qi and blood. TCM believes that qi is the commander of blood; when qi flows, blood flows; when qi is stagnant, blood is stagnant; thus, to invigorate blood, one must first smooth the qi.
Daoyin promotes the exchange of old and new qi and blood through bodily movements and breathing techniques, thereby harmonizing qi and blood.
The Third Effect of Daoyin
Unblocking meridians. Meridians are the channels through which qi and blood circulate in the body, connecting the organs and linking the internal and external environments.
Meridians connect all parts of the body and integrate the body with the external environment; when meridians are smooth, various pathways in the body are unobstructed, and life activities function normally;
when meridians are abnormal, the functions of the organs will be disrupted, leading to disease.
Daoyin works based on the interrelationships and functions of the meridians to unblock and smooth them, achieving the purpose of preventing and treating diseases.
The Fourth Effect of Daoyin
Cultivating original qi. Original qi is the driving force of life activities, composed of true qi (inherited from parents during the embryonic stage) and grain qi (produced after digestion of food by the spleen and stomach).
Various methods of Daoyin promote digestion and cultivate original qi.
The Tianchi Orthopedic Team’s Collaborative Diagnosis and Treatment System
The Tianchi Orthopedic Therapy follows the holistic view of the unity of heaven and man, guided by the academic thought of Master Liu Boiling, “Treating bones also treats the kidneys,” focusing on the treatment of spinal and joint pain and difficult rheumatic bone diseases through concepts such as “manipulation, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, external treatment, and Daoyin.” It emphasizes the irreplaceable importance of the integrated diagnosis and treatment cycle of “prevention, examination, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation” within the collaborative diagnosis and treatment system of TCM, forming a “pure TCM” treatment plan for spinal diseases, joint pain, related internal medicine difficulties, gynecological issues, and chronic diseases.
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