The word Daoism is very often used as a catch all phrase to cover an enormously wide variety of activities. What is certain is that Daoism has a long and complex history.

It is not within the scope of this site to delve too deeply into Daoism's past or present. There are many excellent websites that you can visit from the links page and some recommended reading in the news & reviews page.

My interest in Daoism was sparked in the late 90's as I tried to gain a fuller understanding of some of the concepts that underpinned my practice of TJQ.

I was fortunate to discover the British Taoist Association, it's an organisation with strong links to many temples in mainland China and some of its members have been ordained as Daoist priests. The most experienced being Shi Jing (right).

Shi Jing is an excellent teacher and leads several annual retreats teaching Dao Yin and Meditation.

Dao Yin and Meditation are the two main practices that constitute an area of study that is called "Yangsheng" 養生 which translates as "nourishing life".

Different Daoist sects place varying degrees of emphasis on these areas of practice, but generally they all utilise these methods. The important thing to remember about practice is that it is different for every individual. For example, a young healthy individual would benefit from taking part in hard physically demanding practice whereas some else with a less robust constitution may be harmed by the same regime. Such an individual would benefit from a more gradual regime.

Another individual might find a more meditative approach beneficial. What is important in all cases is that practice should be balanced, not in isolation, but in terms of the individual's needs and it should be recognised that the same individual's needs change, often quite frequently.

Daoist martial arts are most closely associated with the Southern and Western Chinese Sects of Daoism. These Sects are traditionally not monastic traditions but more usually hermitic in nature where teaching is passed on from a teacher to an individual student. These individuals were based around the mountains of Wudang in Hubei and Omei in Sichuan.

The sects in these areas followed the what is referred to as the Post Celestial method of cultivation, that is to say they nurture the body to enhance its energy levels before changing focus to the clarity and stillness aspect of meditation.

The Post Celestial process can include simple massage and stretching (Dao Yin) martial arts various Qi Gong traditions and sexual yoga usually referred to as Paired Cultivation. Further information on this can be found in the Theory Section.