圖片來源/ wix

Daoyin is a meticulously designed sequences of movements that help us unwind from a week of hard work and find the holistic integrated whole. It can take years of devotion, determination, and an attitude of calmness and regularity (平常心) to learn Daoyin. Drawing on my personal experiences, I share the following fundamental factors on how to learn, to help us in this process of body-mind-soul cultivation.  

 

“Further” learning requires learning the basics of learning
 

Most of us pursuing the art of Daoyin may find it challenging to learn this art. Daoyin itself is not difficult to learn, it is merely a form of art that awakens the senses and body mechanisms that have been inherited in us, long forgotten and ignored throughout our years of education.  Since we are not provided an opportunity to discover these mechanisms in our educational system, therefore it seems hard for us.  In the Daoyin practices, we are actually awakening the self-awareness and self-dialogue to realize these mechanisms.  Hence we are actually relearning how to learn!  We actually are learning to see how we have been approaching learning!   

 

Trust (Belief) and Faith 
 

Daoyin is a set of exercises that can be part of our daily lifestyle.  With today’s fast pace and volatile environment, we are often busily engaged with endless meetings, managing multifaceted information coming in from social media, emails and SMS.  More often than not, our body is straining to cope with these information bombardments.  For example, we are often attached to our mobile phones, which we hold onto for hours daily, creating strain on the elbow, which in turn causes tension on the shoulder and hence contributes to the stiffness of the neck.  For those who have been doing Daoyin may come to realize that with the various types of elongated and contracting spiraling movements, we can help release the tensions built up on the arms, shoulders and to the neck, hence bringing relief to our bodies.  This in turn should reinforce the original belief that Daoyin can help us unwind the tensions built up.  This trust/belief will nurture the necessary faith to pursue the form of art.   

 

Commitment, Determination, Persistence
 

Cultivating through Daoyin requires multiple practices to let our body “memorize and learn.”  Multiple practices are often disrupted by other arranged activities, be it work or family-related matters and other leisure activities.  For those who have practiced Daoyin, we would have noticed that if we stop practicing for over two weeks, our body actually becomes stiff and “forgets” the movements.  To understand and unwind, we need to train the body movements through multiple practices.  Only by multiple practices would we be able to develop the muscles necessary and the space needed in the body.  Our body is an organic living being.  Anything that lives has its own pace of change.  We need to get accustomed to the real nature of our body mechanisms.  To do so will require our own commitment to preserve time for practices and persist on a regular basis and be determined to do so.  After all, it is you who can organize time wisely.   Through these multiple practices, we cultivate the real strengths of commitment, determination and persistence.  In times of challenges, the cultivated determination, persistence and commitment will help us face difficulties and overcome them. 

 

Patience and 平常心 an attitude of Calmness and Regularity
 

When we do Daoyin, we don’t pursue a goal of accomplishment and we don’t look for short-term gains.  The body needs time to relearn, to get accustomed to new forms of movements.  Daoyin is an art form and a lifestyle that accompanies us throughout the adventures in our lives.  Each person has her or his learning path and level of understanding.  It takes patience and an attitude of calmness and regularity to learn.  We learn steadily and slowly, with no preset (expected) standards and goals.

 

Focus and be there at the moment
 

For most people, we can only do Daoyin once or twice a week.  When we come into the studio, some of us may actually not be there, meaning our physical body is there but our mind and heart may not.  Some of us may be easily distracted with worries regarding work or any other matters.   But why don’t we give ourselves only 2 – 4 hours per week to be with ourselves?  It is through the multiple practices during those few hours that we are relearning how to stay focused and put our awareness back on the body and be there “at the moment.”  We learn only “at the moment” of being there.  

 

Courage - not being afraid of pain and challenges 
 

Practicing Daoyin also helps us build the courage needed to face challenges, try new things that are beyond our comfort zone, as well as confront difficulties and overcome the toughness and pain during the process.  With courage, we will not be afraid of failures, as failures are ways opportunities for us to learn about ourselves and pursue improvement.  With courage, we will have the strength to experiment with new things that are beyond our comfort zones.  By trying, we may discover the untapped potentials within ourselves.  Go and unveil the true you.

 

Learning by experiencing and feeling through our actions
 

In Daoyin, the way we learn is not by memorization of theories, instead, we learn by actual practices without any presumptions, only with the focus on experiencing the feeling of our feelings. The first stage of Daoyin is training the awareness of our self-awareness skills and kickstarting the ability to self-dialogue.      

 

Daoyin as Lifestyle
 

Daoyin is just a set of movements that revives the natural body mechanisms that have been forgotten.  As we first do Daoyin, we will experience the importance of faith, commitment, determination, persistence, courage, focus and learning by doing.  These are the fundamental skill sets for us to learn how to learn.   Over time, when these skill sets are nurtured to a certain degree, we will be ready to do further learning by unlearning what we have learned and thus relearn what we are learning.   To be continued…

------------------------------------------------

導引是一套可以幫助我們從一週辛勤工作中釋放壓力的運動，並且找到全然的整合。學習導引需要多年的投入、決心和平常心。以下分享一些關於如何學習「學習」的基本觀念，希望能讓剛開始學習氣機導引的同學，在學習的路徑上有所幫助。

 

「進階」的學習，需要先回歸「學習如何學習」
 

大多數人在學習導引過程中，可能會感覺非常不容易。然而導引其實並非一門困難的藝術，他只是喚醒了我們體內本已具足，卻因為多年的「教育」而逐漸忽視或遺忘的身體本能；因為我們從未有過發覺自身的機會，才使導引顯得如此困難。在學習導引的過程中，我們透過喚醒內在自覺，重新和自己對話並認識身體的感官與機能。這段重新找回本能的過程，正是重新學習如何學習的根本，我們也透過這個過程逐漸重新掌握如何真正的學習。

 

信心和誠心
 

導引是一種能夠融入我們生活方式的一套訓練方法，在這個快節奏和環境多變的現代社會中，我們總是疲於應付無止盡的會議、社交媒體資訊、電子郵件和簡訊，這些看似無形的轟炸，卻不斷地對我們的身體造成巨大的壓力。例如，我們每日投注大量時間的手機，時常佔據了一天的好幾個小時，這給手肘帶來了慢性卻巨大的壓力，進而導致肩膀緊張，頸部也變得僵硬。而透過導引動作練習，我們能在各種緩慢而深層的延伸和收縮的螺旋中，逐漸釋放累積在手臂、肩膀和頸部的緊繃，從而帶來身心放鬆和舒暢。在這樣舒緩壓力的過程裡，也能逐漸構築我們對於自己身體的信心，並支持我們用更真誠的心態學習氣機導引。

 

真心、決心、恆心
 

氣機導引的每一個動作，都需要持續不斷且反覆的練習體會，才能讓我們的身體「記憶並學習」，從而得到真正的進步。然而這樣的過程在尚未有所體悟的初學階段勢必令人感到反覆且枯燥，也使初學者更容易因為工作、家庭、休閒等活動而中斷了練習；雖然看似無傷大雅，然而我們往往會發現，一旦超過一兩個星期沒有練功，我們的身體便又會變得僵硬，甚至再次「遺忘」身體的本能。因此即便枯燥，也必須透過不斷地堅持練習，才能深刻地挖掘出身體與肌肉的內在空間。

 

人類的身體是有機的生物體，而任何生物都有自己的生命節奏，依循身體機制才能聆聽到身體本能，而要做到這一點，就需要對自己一份真心的承諾，妥善安排時間，堅持穩定練習；畢竟時間終究掌握在自己的手裡。當我們一步步克服這些難關，我們其實也不斷培養自己的真心、決心和恆心，當生活中的挑戰來臨，這些日日耕耘的收穫將助我們一臂之力，成為克服困境的力量。

 

耐心和平常心
 

一旦我們下定決心學習導引，短期的成效就已經不是我們的目的，試著保持穩定、緩慢地學習，不預設或追逐任何目標，留給身體更多時間重新學習，適應新的運動形式，順著每個人各自的學習步調，用充分的耐心和平常心等待自己的進步，進而讓導引成為一種穩定、緩慢且沒有預設標準的生活態度。

 

專注並活在當下
 

對許多學員而言，我們每周都只有一到兩次的練習時間，即使如此，每當進入課程時仍然有許多學員只有身體在現場，內心卻不在。當肢體在跟著動作的同時，意識卻依然在為工作或其他外務所操勞，讓原本與自己身體對話的寶貴時間淪為空洞的比手畫腳，真的非常可惜。何不每週留給自己2-4個小時的時間，在導引的課程中專注在當下，透過導引反覆的練習重新學習內在專注並回歸身體的覺察，唯有活在當下的那一刻，才是真正學習的開始。

 

勇氣 - 不畏痛苦和挑戰
 

練習導引除了肢體的進步，在練習中所面臨的酸、痛、麻更能幫助我們建立自己克服挑戰的勇氣，讓自己即便面對生活中的困境和失敗，也能化為自我進步的動力；有了勇氣，我們將能跳脫舒適圈嘗試新的事物，甚至在嘗試的過程中發現自我深處從未發掘的潛能，不斷探索、超越自我。
 

透過行動、經歷的感受而學習
 

在導引的學習裡，我們並不透過理論或知識來學習，而是透過不帶預設立場的行動和在行動的經驗中學習，感覺自己的感覺。在學習導引的第一階段中培養覺察力，以及開啟與自我對話的能力。

 

導引是生活態度
 

總而言之，氣機導引是一套喚醒身體內在機能的功夫，當我們開始入門學習，便須依照自己的步伐逐漸建立信心、誠心、真心、決心、恆心、耐心和平常心，有了這七顆心的誕生，我們才能真正學習到紮實的導引基本功，並且能夠專注在如何重新定義學習，並學到克服困境的勇氣。隨著時間推進，當這些基本功逐漸內化到我們自身當中，我們才能真正開始進階的學習，甚至到最後能把自己所學會的透過更高的維度重新學習。學習導引的路，永遠是未完待續。