Taoist Yoga

My first exposure to yoga was to the kind of yoga that most westerners think of when we hear the word "yoga" - namely, the practice of Yoga asana, whose origins are in India. In asana practice - a form of Hatha Yoga - physical postures and movements are used as a vehicle for gradually becoming aware of the more subtle aspects of our Being.

As I began to explore more deeply the various Yoga traditions coming out of India, I learned that along with forms of Yoga associated with India's Sanatana Dharma ("Hindu") traditions, there also were forms of Buddhist Yoga originating in Tibet, as well as many traditions of Taoist Yoga, with origins in China.

The word "Yoga" comes from the sanskrit root yug, which means to join, yoke or bind. The idea is similar to the Taoist principle of "joining Heaven and Earth," and to the conjunctio or "sacred marriage" of both hermetic and Taoist alchemical traditions. What is it that's being "joined"? Yoga practice of any sort initiates a joining of the material and the spiritual, masculine and feminine, human and Divine. In Yoga practice, the small egoic "self" is dissolved into (or recognizes its oneness with) the larger "Self" of Spirit.

Within Taoism, it's more common to hear the terms "qigong" or "Inner Alchemy" than the phrase "Taoist Yoga" - but they refer to the same thing. An essential aspect of entering this terrain of Taoist Yoga is the practice of turning the light around - reversing the habitual external focus of our awareness, learning instead to direct our attention inwardly. For those interested in pursuing this path, there are some simple lifestyle choices which have been found to be supportive of the practice of Taoist yoga - ways of moving through our daily lives which nourish this kind of inward focus.

Enjoy!