Kai Men & Tao Yin – Taoist Nei Gung

K’ai Men – “Ho Ping – Unity” – “Open Door”
 
K’ai Men

K’ai Men has been known as “Ho Ping – Unity” and even further back as “Ho-Hsieh – Harmony”. K’ai Men means “Open Door”. These two simple words refer to the doorway to all the channels of one’s mind, body, energy, spirit, and healing. As the exercises are performed, all five are brought together in a wonderful unity/harmony.K’ai Men should be performed slowly and smoothly; so, when moving into a technique/posture you would only move as far as it is comfortable for your body as a whole.

You should take your breath with your movement to aid overall relaxation and, in turn, increase the flow of blood, lymph and bodily fluids, Chi and, later on, Li energy in your body.

It is vital that you don’t move into a stretch or hold a position as this would teach your muscle to stop and tense; if so, you would have to power down your muscle in order to move further into a technique/posture or to move back from it.

Instead, you should use a natural movement of your body by allowing your muscle movement, i.e. you only move till any discomfort about to happen; if so, you should then slowly return to your starting position and repeat the move again at the same pace. This will have an immense effect on your body, i.e. you will naturally move further than the first time. This simple insight will allow you to move further and further with no discomfort or pain.

K’ai Men is the Taoist Nei Gung to practice activation, control, utilization and storage of Sheng Ch’i ‘Internal energy’ and Ching Sheng Li ‘Macro-cosmic energy – External energy – Energy of the Universe’.

Within the main sections of K’ai Men, there are five ‘openings’ (K’ou) or ‘doorways’ (Men K’ou). These are:

  • Spirit
  • Mind
  • Body
  • Energies
  • Healing

There are subsections – every step we take within each section helps us to become more aware of the depths of our own bodies, and the unity and harmony we can acquire within them.

K’ai Men tends to be Yin in its external movements but is balanced by dynamic Yang muscular change during the exercises, together with the harmonizing of the strict mental control of all the energies within the body.

K’ai Men conforms to the principles of the Five Elements (Wu Hsing), which lay down the basics for the dynamic work within the Taoists Arts.

Benefits
  • The some benefits of K’ai Men include improved general health and physical fitness, greater stamina, increased flexibility and suppleness.
  • In addition it helps relax the muscle and helps clear the meridians of any blockages.
Tao Yin - “Secret Island” | T’u Na - “Sudden Arrest”
 
Tao Yin

Tao Yin has been known as “Secret Island” it has also been known as T’u Na which means “Sudden Arrest”.

Tao Yin’s principles of correct breathing are based on the foundations of Yin and Yang and is another range of the Taoist Nei Gung exercises that also conform to the principles of the Five Elements (Wu Hsing).

Tao Yin creates harmony between the organs of a human body via many different respiratory exercises, which are interwoven with a variety of physical muscle change so that the effects and the benefits of the breathing are increased.

Some of the exercises are a mean of sedating, some are a stimulant and a tonic, and others help in activation, harnessing and cultivation of Sheng Ch’i ‘Internal energy’ and Ching Sheng Li ‘Macro-cosmic energy – External energy – Energy of the Universe’.

Benefits
  • Tao Yin enhances the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, increases the mental capacity of the brain, which gives greater mind control.
  • This, in turn, increases perception and intuition, and gives an uplift to moral standards, giving tranquility to the mind, which confers inner harmony and greater happiness.
  • With regular practice, these exercises slowly open up the functional and control channels that feed and activate the energy, nervous and psychic centers, and gives the individual a deeper consciousness, awareness, and understanding of the spiritual world.