Mondays 7.45-8.45pm at Barclay Viewforth Church, 1 Wrights Houses, Bruntsfield EH10 4HR,  £8 per class, Teacher:  Angela Fallon

• Taoist yoga is Chinese in origin and dates from approximately 180BCE but may in fact be older. 
• It is a series of exercises that develop greater flexibility and strength and many are aimed at addressing particular health complaints  
• Exercises are practiced with directed focus on breath, particular muscles or tendons, or focus on particular energy points or pathways 
• Benefit is gained by relaxing before beginning each movement
• Postures are generally not held 
• Emphasis is on maintaining a relaxed state throughout each exercise 
• Specific exercises follow particular breathing patterns dependent on the aim of the exercise.  
• The aim is to unblock chi so it may flow freely nourishing the entire body

The exercises are not gruelling but actually very enjoyable to do.  We follow the Taoist view that if there is pain, you are doing something incorrectly or with force.   Pain only creates tension in the body and a contraction of the muscles.  It is this tension which leads to many sports injuries.    The body is not something to be punished and forced into position.  

Taoist Yoga is about working with your body, stretching to a comfortable position, releasing and stretching again.   The gain is in increments but allows the body to adjust without risk of injury.  When we work the body in this way, we become more supple.  The exercises work the tendons and not just the muscles. If we look at animals in nature they move with power, strength, speed and flexibility - never with strain.  Animals move with an effortless grace. It is the tendons, ligaments and fascia which give mammals their ability to spring into action.   We become so reliant on our big muscles that everything else becomes neglected, weakened, imbalanced or damaged.  We build strength but lose flexibility.   Taoist yoga helps to redresses this balance.  

• At the end of a class everyone feels wonderfully relaxed, realigned, taller and looser. 
• You sleep deeply and peacefully after a session. 
• Muscle groups are used efficiently so you do not feel exhausted but beautifully relaxed. 
• You know you have worked but you do not have pain in your muscles for days after.  
• Minimise your risk of injury to muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints.  
• Gain a clear and peaceful mind.
• Regain suppleness. 
• Correct problems of shortened or imbalanced muscles such as tight hamstrings, inability to bend and touch your toes or squat.

Taoist yoga exercises are traditionally divided into 'Kaimen' (which means 'open door')  and 'Tao Yin' ('guiding energy' )

• Kaimen exercises stretch the body through an exercise sequence followed by an extension.  
• In this case 'open door' refers to the opening of the gateways into the body. 
• As Taoist yoga is closely aligned with the principles of Chinese Medicine, the gateways are not only joints and cavities of the body but also the meridian system.  
• The purpose of Kaimen exercises is to open the gateways in the body to allow the free flow of chi. 
• Considering that many health problems are caused by blocked energy around the body, Kaimen exercises can be beneficial to many types of problems as well as generally for health preservation.