Below is Warragul student Kate Golightly’s experience at our recent Dao Yin Chi Kung workshop.
Our day commenced with a warm welcome from Sifu Di Logan and a cool venue in anticipation of a hot and humid day ahead. About 20 participants attended the four hour Dao Yin workshop at Golden Lion’s Berwick Academy. Participant’s experience ranged from those who were unfamiliar with the Dao Yin exercises to those with previous Dao Yin workshop experience, from new tai chi students through to those with many years of tai chi experience. As a Warragul student, and like the majority of those present at the workshop, I had experienced many of the Dao Yin moves as a cool down at the end of our regular tai chi lessons. This was what motivated my curiosity to attend the workshop.
Sifu Di introduced the workshop by explaining the principles and benefits of the Dao Yin set of exercises, and the importance of abdominal breathing, accurate techniques and the use of our imagination; mind and body.
The first skill, Adjust the Breathing, allowed us to concentrate on our breathing in time to the counting prompts (1-8), as we felt a sense of familiarity to the flowing movements. Then the imagery component had us Pushing the Boat Downstream, while focusing on our smooth abdominal breathing. As we progressed to each new movement, of which there are eight, the level of concentration required also increased. The counting prompts were an essential reminder to pace our breathing rate and prevent us from rushing the movements. Some of the exercises, such as A Roc Spreads it’s Wings, seemed to naturally reinforce and settle our breathing pattern and allow the mind to relax into the movement.
Push the Window Open to Look at the Moon, like all the Dao Yin movements, is so lovely to watch. However it was at about this point that my mind and body were feeling very challenged, and my breathing rate was not conforming to the counting prompts which I was suddenly aware that I was no longer listening to. Time to regroup and focus! The morning was fast disappearing and it was the perfect time to have a mini break, refuel the body and an opportunity to socialise and resettle.
I was amazed at how many Dao Yin movements we had practised. With the eighth exercise complete, and as our minds started to tire with so much new information, it felt reassuring to rehearse our new skills as a sequence, following the lead of Sifu’s Chris and Darlene, and Si Jie Sandra in front of us, and led by Sifu Di’s gentle commentary.
What an amazing workshop. I, like so many other participants I spoke to, found the instructions to be clear and easy to follow, with a very manageable amount of theory. Now, and as always, the challenge is to reinforce what we have been taught, by practising and processing the information provided by our teachers. As I reflect on my body’s level of fatigue after the workshop, I also feel motivated to learn more and to focus on better breathing control during my tai chi practise. I especially found it challenging to maintain a steady breathing pattern during the 6th and 8th Dao Yin exercises.
On behalf of all the participants present at the Dao Yin workshop, many thanks to Sifu Di for a meaningful and motivational tai chi training experience.
If you’d like to do this programme at home, you can get a copy of the DVD and Instructional manual here.