I am thrilled you have found me. This is the first step to self-care, self-healing and most importantly, self-understanding. The 139 BCE Huainanzi is an eclectic compilation, attributed to Liu An, from various Hundred Schools of Thought, especially Huang–Lao religious Daoism. ‘’Huainanzi’’ Chapter 7 echoes ‘’Zhuangzi’’ 15 disparaging yangsheng techniques because they require external supports. Mair, Victor H., tr. (1994), Wandering on the Way, Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu, Bantam. The system is an extremely comprehensive one. Some exercises are designed to "soften" the body and develop flexibility, others relate directly to specific organs, while others have a more general effect on the health. There are both standing and sitting forms, making the system accessible to people of all ages and physical conditions. For more advanced practitioners, Professor Zhang has created Tai Ji Quan hand and sword forms which combine traditional Tai Ji martial principles with acupoint stimulation. Collins, Roy and David Kerr (2001), Etymology of the Word “Macrobiotic:s”[ sic] and Its Use in Modern Chinese Scholarship, Sino-Platonic Papers 113.

It basically says you need to reach balance physically, emotionally and spiritually. The exercices/ cures are often Qi gong, meditating, gardening... Like basically slow down... yangsheng, (Chinese: “nourishing life”) Wade-Giles romanization yang-sheng, in Chinese medicine and religion (particularly Daoism), various self-cultivation practices aimed at personal health and longevity. Engelhardt, Ute (1989), "Qi for Life: Longevity in the Tang," in Kohn (1989) Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, University of Michigan, 263-96. The Taoists sometimes use medicines [服食藥物] with a view to rendering their bodies more supple and their vital force stronger, hoping thus to prolong their years and to enter a new existence. This is a deception likewise. There are many examples that by the use of medicines the body grew more supple and the vital force stronger, but the world affords no instance of the prolongation of life and a new existence following. … The different physics cure all sorts of diseases. When they have been cured, the vital force is restored, and then the body becomes supple again. According to man’s original nature his body is supple of itself, and his vital force lasts long of its own accord. … Therefore, when by medicines the various diseases are dispelled, the body made supple, and the vital force prolonged, they merely return to their original state, but it is impossible to add to the number of years, let alone the transition into another existence. (tr. Forke 1907: 349). Another medical text from Mawangdui is a recipe ( fang方) manual titled Recipes for Fifty-Two AilmentsThe Eastern Jin dynasty official and Liezi commentator Zhang Zhan 張湛 (fl. 370) wrote one of the most influential works of the Six Dynasties period, the Yangsheng yaoji (養生要集, "Essentials of Nourishing Life"). For yangsheng health and immortality seekers, this text is said to be equally important as the Daodejing and Huangtingjing (黃庭經, " Yellow Court Classic"), it was "a widely available source of information for the educated but not necessarily initiated reader", until it was lost during the eighth century (Despeux 2008: 1149). The Yangsheng yaoji is important in the history of yangsheng techniques for three reasons: it cites from several earlier works that would have otherwise been lost, it presents a standard textbook model for many later works, and it is the earliest known text to systematize and classify the various longevity practices into one integrated system (Engelhardt 2000: 91). In the present day, the text survives in numerous fragments and citations, especially in the Yangxing yanming lu (養性延命錄, "On Nourishing Inner Nature and Extending Life"), ascribed to Tao Hongjing (456–536), Sun Simiao's 652 Qianjin fang (千金方, "Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold [Pieces]"), as well as in early Japanese medical texts such as the 984 Ishinpō ("Methods from the Heart of Medicine"). (Barrett and Kohn 2008: 1151). Helped principally by the invaluable efforts of Richard and Simon Watson, of the Longfei Tai Ji Quan Association, the English Dao Yin Yang Sheng Gong Association is a thriving one. It presently numbers 30 instructors and well in excess of 3,000 students. The one-minute ritual is to then mindfully choose a fork or spoonful of food from your plate and chew your food slowly for 1-minute at a time, noticing the flavour and texture of each mouthful. Han manuscripts [ edit ] Manuscript written on bamboo strips, from the Kongzi Shilun (孔子詩論), an early discussion of the Classic of Poetry, Warring States period (c. 475-221 BCE) Original silk fragments of the 168 BCE Daoyin tu (Chart for Guiding and Pulling [ Qi Circulation]) in the Mawangdui Silk Texts Barrett, T.H. and Livia Kohn (2008), " Yangsheng yaoji", in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism, Routledge, 1151-1152.

Its soft, fluent and harmonious movements aim to improve energy circulation within the whole body, to loosen the joints, tone up and oxygenate the muscles and to relax the nervous system. Truly the art of Chinese self-healing that you cannot ignore or underestimate its relevance to our balanced mind, body, and soul. Katie Brindle has successfully extract one part of Tong Shu on self-healing and TCM into a practical health book for every interested person in the world. Notice any areas of tension or discomfort in your body. Imagine breathing deeply into and softening the muscles in these areas. Blowing and breathing, exhaling and inhaling, expelling the old and taking in the new, bear strides and bird stretches—all this is merely indicative of the desire for longevity. But it is favored by scholars who channel the vital breath and flex the muscles and joints, men who nourish the physical form [養形] so as to emulate the hoary age of Progenitor P'eng. (15, tr. Mair 1994: 145). Yang, Dolly (2022), "Therapeutic Exercise in the Medical Practice of Sui China (581-618 CE)", in Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine, ed. by Vivienne Lo, Michael Stanley-Baker, and Dolly Yang, 109-119, Routledge.The idea of yang (養, "nourishing") is prominent in Chinese thought. There is a semantic field that includes yangsheng (養生, "nourish life"), yangxing (養形, "nourish the body"), yangshen (養身, "nourish the whole person"), yangxing (養性, "nourish the inner nature"), yangzhi (養志, "nourish the will"), and yangxin (養心, "nourish the mind") (Despeux 2008: 1148). In religious Daoism and Traditional Chinese medicine, yangsheng (養生, " nourishing life"), refers to various self-cultivaton practices aimed at enhancing health and longevity. Yangsheng techniques include calisthenics, self-massage, breath exercises, meditation, internal and external Daoist alchemy, sexual activities, and dietetics. The ancient Chinese Taoists enjoyed a regime of qigong and meditation practice, a seasonal local diet, adequate rest and sleep, and generally living in tune with the rhythm and cycles of nature. Applying and adapting this Yang Sheng approach to modern life will help you feel healthier, more energised and at ease – you’ll be more in your ‘flow’. During the Ming period, various collections and compendia of longevity writings appeared. Hu Wenhuan (胡文焕), editor of the 1639 edition Jiuhuang Bencao ("Famine Relief Herbal"), wrote the main work on yangsheng, the c. 1596 Shouyang congshu (壽養叢書, "Collectanea on Longevity and Nourishment [of Life]"), which includes the Yangsheng shiji (養生食忌, "Prohibitions on Food for Nourishing Life") and the Yangsheng daoyin fa (養生導引法, " Daoyin Methods for Nourishing Life"). Some works are inclusive treatments of diverse longevity techniques, for example, the dramatist Gao Lian's (fl. 1573-1581) Zunsheng bajian (遵生八笺, "Eight Essays on Being in Accord with Life") described yangsheng diets, breathing methods, and medicines. Other works focus entirely on a single method, such as Tiaoxi fa (調息法, "Breath Regulation Methods") by the Neo-Confucian philosopher Wang Ji (1498-1582) (Engelhardt 2000: 81). Another new development under the Ming is the increased integration and legitimization of yangsheng techniques into medical literature. For example, Yang Jizhou's (楊繼洲) extensive 1601 Zhenjiu dacheng (針灸大成, "Great Compendium on Acupuncture and Moxibustion"), which remains a classic to the present day, presents gymnastic exercises for the various qi- meridians (Engelhardt 2000: 82).