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My focus in practicing and teaching Wing Chun (詠春拳 Yongchun Quan), the Shaolin tendon method (少林易筋經 Shaolin Yijin Jing), the Yin Yang and Five Elements methods (陰陽五行功 Yinyang Wuxing Gong) as well as the Daoyin method (導引功 Daoyin Gong) clearly is on the internal aspects of all of these practices.

Such an internal approach to movement traditions based on Daoist philosophy cannot only enrich a movement practice, but it can also support paths for much deeper transformation processes. With the text photo pieces here on this blog I want to offer additional inspiration and more creative ways to reflect on Daoist philosophy.

There are no acupuncture points

/ Ansgar Gerstner - Daoist philosophy in movement

A translation as points is not helpful for your daily practice. These so-called points are not points. The Chinese character 穴 xue refers to a cave, a cavity, the character 位 wei means position. We are therefore rather dealing with the positions of more prominent (energetic) spaces. They are energetic junctures. We foster their pulsating for healthy constellations within larger constellations in the web of life. The way we visualize (patterns and structures) has consequences for our practices.

No center and no central control

/ Ansgar Gerstner - Daoist philosophy in movement

No center and no central control

When you look at the way the 道德經 Daodejing approaches the concept of 天地人 “the universe, the earth, human beings” as I discuss it in my last blog post, it is obvious that in a world consisting of endless networks a focus on a center and central control creates unnecessary imbalances, risks, and problems. For a movement practice based on the philosophy of the 道德經 Daodejing, this means that instead you have a diversified practice with a wide range of inputs that are guiding the processes. An energy hub like the 下丹田 lower Dantian for instance, is therefore just one energy hub among many, many others. When you initiate a movement, the focus is on connecting, not on where the movement starts. There also is no centralized process.

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The universe, the earth, human beings

/ Ansgar Gerstner - Daoist philosophy in movement

The universe, the earth, human beings

Most of the time 天地人 is simply literally translated as heaven, earth, man. The way I perceive Daoist philosophy, I now personally prefer to translate the concept as the universe, the earth, human beings. In the context of the philosophy of the Daodejing, 天 tian, heaven refers to the world of the stars, the universe, the larger unit that 地 di, the “earth” is just a part of. In this concept we human beings are not at the center of the universe. We are simply looking at the earth and the universe from, and “for” our human perspective. Human beings like other beings and things are part of life on earth. The earth is just one other piece of this immense world you can easily observe when looking at a starry night sky. This, and of course many other concepts, link the thought of the Daodejing to indigenous world views. I also mention this in one of my prior blog posts and recommend the reading of or listening to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants for a better understanding of the thought of the Daodejing in this respect.

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