3 Taoist Secrets for Embodying your Life

Collection: Qi Gong

Taoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy and spiritual tradition that offers a unique perspective on life, existence, and human experience. Where many religious practices aim to transcend and sometimes even punish the body, Taoism cultivates a deep connection with our physical self in ongoing relationship with nature around us.

This resonates with my own experience, in which I see the body as starting point and place of return for everything we do in life. Leaving the body in order to meet spirit or the divine has never made any sense to me.

In this article I’ll highlight a few elements of Taoism as an embodied philosophy, specifically zooming in on principles and practices that promote holistic wellbeing and inner peace.

Secret 1: Embracing the Present Moment

At the heart of Taoism lies the principle of wu wei, often translated as "effortless action" or "non-doing." It is a state of being in free flowing spontaneity, that surrenders to what is, with a high degree of awareness to the present moment. Flowing with the rhythms of life requires much less energy than fighting against them.

That doesn’t mean ‘go with the flow’ at all times, but it does honour a cyclical approach to life, to action and rest, to learning and integration, that is much kinder to our body-heart-mind than the often future and goal-oriented mindset that strives for achievement, or living in regret of the past with a strong inner critic of blaming self and others.

How would it be to let go of overthinking and excessive planning or revisiting the movie of your life up until now? Can you explore for a day, or a week, the affirmation of “I am here, I am now”? Rest in or return to that present moment awareness as often as you can, connected to your heart and the wisdom of life that is coded into your cells.

Secret 2: Honouring the Body as a Sacred Temple

In 2019 I had a very close brush with death. Afterwards, I heard a voice saying ‘you are a soul with a temporary experience in a human body’. This resonates with the Taoist view of the body as sacred vessel that houses the spirit, and the importance of caring for the physical self. Rather than trying to ignore, punish or escape the body, how can we befriend it? I wrote about this in an earlier blog post, Re-Anointing the Body. Your relationship with your body is the only one that stays with you throughout your entire life. Wouldn’t it be nicer to make friends with your body, and look after it as a sacred expression of the beloved?

This is both about providing for its practical needs of hygiene, relaxation, nourishing food and sufficient sleep, as it is about honouring its innate wisdom. Our mind tends to be much faster than our body - what if we slow down to ‘bodily speed’, and listen to its guidance? After having been diagnosed with an auto-immune condition that affects the lower back and can cause severe and debilitating pain, the ‘lesson’ I was learning was to include my body in everything I do, and not leave it behind when I think I have ‘more important things to do’…

What can you do this week to nourish your body and create a welcome and encouraging atmosphere for your bodysurf that promotes physical vitality and well-being?

Secret 3: Finding Balance in Yin and Yang

Central to Taoist philosophy is the concept of yin and yang. It is  visualised in a circle that consists of two swirling parts, that flow into each other, with a small dot of the opposite colour contained within each swirl.

This represents the interconnection of apparent opposites. Traditionally, Yin symbolises feminine, receptive, and nurturing aspects, while yang represents masculine, active, and assertive energies.

Just like the day cannot exist without the night, we all have these polarities inside of us, whatever our stance on gender identity. This image can help us cultivate inner equilibrium and resilience as well as navigating external challenges with a wide-angled, inclusive view that embraces difference and diversity.

How would it be to explore the interplay of yin and yang energies within yourself, without placing a value on either. Dancing with action and receptivity, strength and softness (see my previous post on Living in Times of Change, for a practice to embody polarities).

Qi Gong as Applied Taoism

Tao is translated as “the way”, but no-one can describe it. If it is captured in words, then it’s no longer the Tao. I love that image of movement and change-ability.Focused as we are on words and literacy, on verbal communication and canonical spirituality, trying to describe what we experience defies the experience of life and the sacred itself.

This is beautifully illustrated by Qi Gong movement practice, which is Taoist in origin. Mimicking the movements of nature, it is all about becoming aware of, cultivating and flowing with life force energy. Since you woke up different this morning than you did yesterday, since your day asks different things of you each time, Qi Gong practice is also never the same…

I’d love to invite you to my Qi Studio Membership. You’ll learn a combination of breathing, moving and working with your imagination to optimise the flow of energy in your body in relationship to the world around you. Harmonise your inner landscape, align with the natural world and the rhythms of the Tao, and move towards balance and well-being in body, mind, and spirit.

We’ve just entered a new series to move with the transformations of Fire which is connected to Summer, to the heart and small intestine. You can try it for free for 2 weeks and see if this moving spirituality is as supportive for you as it is for me and many others across the globe!

The small print...

• This post first appeared on 7.6.2024 in the Feminism and Religion blog.