Breathing & Qi Cultivation in Taoist Yoga

​SunDo is also one of the oldest forms of Taoist-style "Yoga"

We don’t often think of Taoist practices as yogic arts – conventional thinking regards them as distinct from the Hindu yoga disciplines. So why do many SunDo postures look exactly the same as postures you would see in a Hatha or Yin yoga class? Because over the many millennia in which these practices developed, in both the Taoist and Hindu traditions, certain ways of positioning the body were universally recognized as having powerful effects on energy flow.

However, SunDo distinguishes itself from Hatha yoga practice by holding postures in stillness — hence, its influence on the Yin yoga world.
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As we discussed above, stationary poses are an important part of SunDo because they allow users intense focus on their breathing, but, unlike other yoga forms – even the soft Yin yoga poses – postures are always and completely secondary to the breathing. ​And, eyes are kept mostly closed to maintain a meditative state the focuses soley on the breath in the dantian (lower abdomen).

If we do not have control over our breath, we cannot cultivate and circulate Qi energy in its purest form. In fact, poses can actually drain us of Qi if they over-emphasize fast or shallow chest breathing, causing us to expend more energy holding positions than we can cultivate during practice. This may be a reason some students of yoga have hit a plateau.

Yoga in Sanskrit means “to yoke,” join, or attach. Such is the power of SunDo, the art that yokes or trains the body through postures, the mind through focus, and the spirit through breathing and Qi cultivation. In uniting the effectiveness of longer-held “yoga” poses with the deeply focused breathing of Taoist disciplines, SunDo offers practitioners the best of both worlds.

Learn more about SunDo practice at One World Wellness in East Haven!