THE WAY OF ENERGY (TAO CH'I)
The Traditional Health Practice of Taiji and Ch'i gong
Tao in Chinese means "the way". Ch'i means "breath, life-force or energy". Tao Ch'i is therefore "The Way of Energy".
The purpose of Tao Ch’i (the Way of Energy) is to promote and develop health and harmony by learning and practicing the traditional Taoist exercises of Taiji and Ch’i Gong. The stresses of our day to day existence push our energy away from the energy resources in our bodies. Our practice is designed to recover our ch’i (energy) so that we can be revitalized and healthy.
Using movement and breath, these practices help us to become aware of the way the ch’i (qi) flows in our bodies and to make the necessary adjustments so that our energy moves more freely in all aspects of our lives.The exercises are slow and gentle, yet their impact can be profound. They require no machinery or special clothes, and can be practiced by individuals of any age or physical capacity.
The Tao that can be told
The Way is to straighten oneself and await the direction of destiny. When a time is going to arrive, you cannot go out to greet it and bring it to you; when a time is going to leave, you cannot stop it and pull it back.
- Lao Tzu, the Weng Tzu, Ch. 61
People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life....I think that what we're really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive.
- Joseph Campbell
When a man is living, he is soft and supple.
When he is dead, he becomes hard and rigid.
When a plant is living, it is soft and tender.
When it is dead it becomes withered and dry.
Hence, the hard and rigid belongs to the company of the dead:
The soft and supple belongs to the company of the living.
Therefore, a mighty army tends to fall by its own weight,
Just as dry wood is ready for the axe.
The mighty and great will be laid low;
The humble and weak will be exalted.
- THE TAO TE CHING - Chapter 76
The purpose of Tao Ch’i (the Way of Energy) is to promote and develop health and harmony by learning and practicing the traditional Taoist exercises of Taiji and Ch’i Gong. The stresses of our day to day existence push our energy away from the energy resources in our bodies. Our practice is designed to recover our ch’i (energy) so that we can be revitalized and healthy.
Using movement and breath, these practices help us to become aware of the way the ch’i (qi) flows in our bodies and to make the necessary adjustments so that our energy moves more freely in all aspects of our lives.The exercises are slow and gentle, yet their impact can be profound. They require no machinery or special clothes, and can be practiced by individuals of any age or physical capacity.
The Tao that can be told
- is not the eternal Tao.
- is not the eternal Name.
The Way is to straighten oneself and await the direction of destiny. When a time is going to arrive, you cannot go out to greet it and bring it to you; when a time is going to leave, you cannot stop it and pull it back.
- Lao Tzu, the Weng Tzu, Ch. 61
People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life....I think that what we're really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive.
- Joseph Campbell
When a man is living, he is soft and supple.
When he is dead, he becomes hard and rigid.
When a plant is living, it is soft and tender.
When it is dead it becomes withered and dry.
Hence, the hard and rigid belongs to the company of the dead:
The soft and supple belongs to the company of the living.
Therefore, a mighty army tends to fall by its own weight,
Just as dry wood is ready for the axe.
The mighty and great will be laid low;
The humble and weak will be exalted.
- THE TAO TE CHING - Chapter 76