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November-December 2013 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 1

Volume 3, No. 5 www.Yang-Sheng.com (ISSN: 2326-277X) Nov-Dec 2013
Yang-Sheng Editorial Board TABLE OF CONTENTS
Publisher/Editor: Kevin W Chen, Ph.D.
From the Editor 㕆㘵Ⲵ䈍 .……….……….………….………...….…...………..…….. 5
Editor-in-Chief: Michelle Wood
Associate Editors: Tales from the Dao 䚃ⲴՐ䈤 …………………………………………………….…… 6
Master Mantak Chia
Helen Hu, L.Ac. OMD Old Man of the South Pole
Roger Jahnke, OMD, L.Ac. by Roy Hanney
Rebecca Kali
Joy E. Staller, B.A Food As Medicine 伏 ⯇ .………………………..…..………….…..……………...….... 10
Solala Towler
Christina J. Barea Roses and Longevity
Medical Editor: Sharon Montes, MD. by Katrina Everhart
Web Master: Rena Reese Daoist Internal Alchemy 䚃ᇦ޵ѩ ………….…………………….……..…………..... 14
Layout Editor: Marguerite Zietkiewicz Sexual Alchemy
Columnists: by Pascal Schonknecht
Ken Andes, L.Ac. D.Ac.
Cindy Borgonzi-Areglado
Eric Borreson
Meditation in Motion ≐ᷕ⅍゛ ……………………………………………………….. 19
Timothy Booth Truths about Tai Chi for Health and Longevity
Shawn Cartwright, MBA. by Eric Borreson
Salvatore Casano, R.N. Ph.D.
Cindy Cicero Feature Article 䱦徱㔯䪈……………...…………….………………………….…...…... 20
Chris D’Adamo, Ph.D.
Felice Dunas, Ph.D. The Longevity of Primordial Wuji Qigong
Marty Eisen, Ph.D. by Shifu Michael Rinaldini
Katricna Everhart, M.A.
Ginger Garner, MPT, ACT The Dancing Doc 㡎 ५ ………………………………..………..…..…….……….……. 26
Chiuan Gee
Nadia Linda Hole, M.D. Longevity: Lengthen Your Telomeres with Meditation
Dan Kleiman And Die Like a Squirrel
Ellasara Kling by Sharon Montes, MD
Aihan Kuhn, CMD, Dipl., OBT
Linda Lazarus, L.D.
Lilly Lei, M.D. From the Master ᐸ‫ڵ‬ѻデ..………………….…………………….……..……………. 30
Violet Li Evolutionary Growth and Embodied Learning in Taiji
Phoenix Liu, Ph.D. by Mauro Carboni
George Xavier Love, OMD
Li-Jun Ma, MDୈPh.D.
Elizabeth Mackenzie, Ph.D. Book Review Җ䇴 .........................……………………………..……….……...……… 38
Mark Melchiorre, L.Ac. The Sustainable You by John Loupos, HSE, MS
Steffany Moonas, Ph.D.
Narij Naik, M.Pharm. a review by Michelle Wood
Mika Ono
Rodney J. Owen Research Update 䥹䞼≐⾩ġ……………..……..…...…………………….…………… 40
Rebekah F. Owens, LMT
Rena Reese, M.S.
Updates on Scientific Research of Longevity
Michael Rinaldini by Kevin Chen
Andy Rosenfarb, L.Ac.
Chun Man Sit Spirituality of Dao 忻ᷳ䱦䤆ġ…….…………..……...…..………….…...…………….. 48
Jessica Sommar, MSc.
Michael Winn Laozi 侩⫸ġ- Legand or History? A brief biography of
Yuan Wang, OMD the author of the Dao De Jing
Yang Yang, Ph.D.
Tina Chunna Zhang
by Christina J. Barea
Sam Zhao
Scientific Qi Exploration 㮼䘬䥹⬎㍊䳊 …….…………..……...…..………….…...…. 50
Consulting Editors: Part 2. The Collaterals
Master Kenneth Cohen
Effie Chow, L.Ac, Ph.D by Marty Eisen
Faxiang Hou.
Livia Kohn, Ph.D. Seasonal Harmony ⬋刪䘬␴宸 …………………….………….…..…………………... 57
Tianjun Liu, OMD
Nan Lu, OMD. L.Ac. Winter: A Time to Reflect
Guan-Cheng Sun, Ph.D. by Ellasara Kling
Lama Somananda Tantrapa
Master Zhongxian Wu Support Yang-Sheng…………………………………………………..………………… 65
Tony Zhuo, OMD

November-December 2013 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 3

From the Master ᐸ‫ڵ‬ѻデ

Evolutionary Growth and

Embodied Learning in Taiji
by Mauro Carboni

ence, secondly as outcome of reciprocal bodily

Introduction. interactions, visual insights and imitations; in
other words, an internalized practice of mirroring
During the last (Carboni, 2013).
decades, the Taiji From here begins our re lec-
practice has been the tion on Taiji as environment
subject of a world-wide of evolutionary growth and
diffusion and has been development of human po-
known above all as tential. The idea of change
“moving meditation.” In grows and develops precise-
fact, this path of training ly in these areas of experi-
is experienced and per- ence, through an embodied
ceived by most practi- learning, founded on a di-
tioners as awakening of mension of reciprocity and
the Self. In this regard, the scienti ic literature mutuality, and expressed as individual and collec-
has formulated several hypotheses in order to tive help for the person.
explain and understand in what terms this
phenomena may be considered as a simply
consequence of some form of shared autosug-
Slowness or expanding the space
gestion, or rather, if it is really a veri iable in time.
outcome, founded on neurophysiological ba-
ses, as well as on particular relational and in-
teractive conditions of mindfulness-based
learning (Salomon & Globerson, 1987; Langer
& Moldoveanu, 2000; La Forge, 2005; Nedel-
jkovic et. al., 2012).
This ancient martial art leads to discover
the body as wholeness, and may help the
sense of kinesthetic awareness. Therefore, it
is possible to recognize within the practice of
Taiji an essential indicator, irstly as the op-
portunity to develop the perception of one’s
corporeal identity through a shared experi-

30 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 3, Issue No. 5

 For many beginners the slowness in natural and universal membership. Unfortunately,
Taiji is a primary feature. This is just the in our daily experience « ive thieves destroy the
surface of a further experience more articulated spontaneous interaction between body and
and complex where this study can ind its realiza- internal energy, by interfering in this way with
tion, at the deepest point of perception, like a per- the attitude of meditation in daily life. They
sonal journey of Self research. are eyes, ears, nose, mouth and mind. If they
are all too active, these thieves steal the inner
We refer to a spatial/temporal dilation that energy from the body» (Jou, 2001: 122).
implies a paradoxical experience. The gradual in-
crease of the focused intention do not produce, Consequently Taiji offers the chance to develop
necessarily, a corresponding increase in intensity a conscious perception of one’s own corporeal
of the quality of the movement in terms of mass, presence, through which the practitioner can feel
weight, or gravity. The internal energy of move- him or her self in the quality of particular move-
ment is not controlled or limited, it is distributed ment in a precise moment in time. At the same
instead, in such a way as to act in terms
of balance and proprioception, so that it
inhibits the discrimination of body parts The practice of meditation,
and, in a complementary way, facilitates
the awareness of the whole, especially when is connected to breath,
through actions, so that in this way are leads to a deep state of
monitored and coordinated.
The practice of meditation, when is
personal integration,
connected to breath, leads to a deep state a holistic condition of
of personal integration, a holistic condi-
tion of consciousness. The meditation consciousness.
practice through the breath stimulates
the nervous system, reaching, in this
sense, the quality of an integrated sys-
tem. This is structured as a low system,
which as such must be Flexible, Adaptive,
Coherent, Energized, and Stable
(acronym: FACES). It is precisely when a
system becomes integrated that it reach-
es the maximum complexity (Siegel,
2007: 151-152.174).
The tradition of internal martial arts
deines the condition of attunement be-
tween corporeal engagement and vital
energy as a modulated relationship be-
tween intention, mind/body, and energy
(Yi,Qi, Li). This means that the practice of
Taiji Quan lives and grows inside of Tao.
The latter must be understood as a per-
ceptual and phenomenological state of a
November-December 2013 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 31
From the Master ᐸ‫ڵ‬ѻデ The slow movements performed by a person
during the training even allow to achieve more
fundamental transformations in relation to the
capability to gain a skilful control of movement.
Many studies and researches show that a con-
stant practice of Taiji can enhance the control of
the perception of gravity in terms of gait and pos-
ture. In addition, it produces a clearer sensation
of changing the balance as an uninterrupted con-
dition of physical and emotional transformations
(Taylor-Piliae et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2010).
Through the slow movement, the practitioner
of Taiji tries to ind continually a particular condi-
tion of precariousness where it feels suspended, in
time the person may perceive a sense of unity be- every single moment, between substantial and
tween past and future. It is something that inte- nonsubstantial, full and empty.
grates the sensory and emotional individual his-
But movement is transitory and intangible. If
tory in what we deine as “bodily biography.”
you hold it still, you destroy it; if you don’t, it is
In addition, Taiji as experience, regarding the over and gone. But if you repeat it, slowly, many
perceptual ield, facilitates the achievement of a times, you begin to perceive details and nuances
state of “proactive attention.” And even more, the that escaped your notice at the start (Strauch,
internal work of Taiji ceaselessly tends to return 1986).
toward an undifferentiated and non-substantial
state (Wu Ji), a process of non-action in action
that search the stillness into the movement and Unified Experience through breath
gradually internalizes the “spiral power” (Chan Si
Jin). The movements of “silk reeling” (qualities of
and imagination.
gesture related to the Art of Neigong) connect the
different joints of the body, increasing the inter-
nal energy with improvements in lexibility, ex-
tension of movement, and circulation of Qi. This
implies a progressive study, learning, and devel-
opment of various kind of physical and mental
energy. Through practice these properties come
to take a certain form, as postures or gestures, as
well as kinesthetic qualities.
The daily practice of this gestural and corpore-
al engagement returns to our bodily activation in
a deeper meaningful sense of identity. We are
faced with a dimension of experience where the
doing seems to coincide with being.

32 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 3, Issue No. 5

 As a sphere has its own support on
only one point, always different and al-
ways equal, every movement in Taiji is
also permanently connected to its axis
in such a way so that it creates a con-
stant state of search of balance through
and during a continuous low of changed and
adapted move-
ments. It is a di-
mension of experi-
ence that connects
pace and gait with
gestures and pos-
tures. What that
seems to be as an
apparent limit of a
changing of bal-
ance, actually be-
comes the resource
and the real
strength of the
martial art itself.
Not by chance, in
the Classics of Taiji, we can ind a lot of meta-
phorical imagery. The function of these sugges-
tions is to help the pupil in the learning, laying
the basis for a better understanding of a complex
and multidimensional study. This re lects the in-
trinsic and sophisticated range of insights related
to the balance and human movement (Wayne &
Kaptchuck, 2008: 96).
In recent years, a large number of experi-
mental protocols and accurate analysis of the
movement components, has demonstrated that
during the practice of Taiji, meaningful changes
occur related to neuromuscular and cognitive
functions. We refer to the special conditions of
practice, in which the tone supple and the postur-
al lexibility are directly linked with the continui-
ty and smoothness of movements as a whole.
These properties of body action are focused on
inner perception, ensuring an increase in
November-December 2013
strength and lexibility, and inally and especially,
in improvements in the balance adjustment.
(Jacobson et al. 1997; Lan et al. 1998; Lan et al.
2000).
This means that the movement, especially in
the practice of Taiji, has to be understood as re-
sult of a constant adjustment, to which corre-
sponds a wider
process that satis-
ies common physi-
cal needs, to move
luidly and ef i-
ciently (Strauch,
1986).
Ultimately, the con-
tinuity of the move-
ment and the whole
sense of body relate
to common princi-
ples that are syn-
thesized in the ex-
ercise of spiral pow-
er (Chan Si Jin).
This is a fundamental element of Neigong
(internal work) and Taiji. Is a set of spiral move-
ments that brings the body to be irmly
“anchored” to the ground and, at the same time,
makes it possible to climb skyward lightly. The
energy and the movement, in this way, can ex-
pand itself in every direction, and, paradoxically,
focuses and places the core of energy exactly in
the center of the Taiji Sphere. Even the social sci-
ences are struggling to understand how this com-
posite “mechanism” can be a help to harmonize
an individual’s health and well-being. The peculi-
ar gestures expressed in Taiji represent precise
qualities of experience: awareness, luidity, soft-
ness, lack of effort, concentration, regulation of
breathing and energy. In addition, Taiji operates
as a simultaneity of structures and functions
(breathing, movement, attention/concentration,
memory, positive emotions, knowledge, and self-
awareness), and is able to activate positive per-
Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 33
From the Master ᐸ‫ڵ‬ѻデ

sonal resources, as well as adjustment of mecha-

nisms and adaptive capacities (Posadzki et al.,
2010).
In this perspective of re lection we can recog-
nize the actuality of the phenomenological
thought of Merleau-Ponty, who explains that
«The body is our general medium for having a
world.» (Merleau Ponty, 1962: 146). It is an ho-
listic approach to information’s process which
realizes itself as awareness condition, especially
when trying to understand the movement or mo-
tility «as basic intentionality. Consciousness is
in the irst place, not a matter of “I think that”
but of “I can”» (Merleau Ponty, 1962: 137).
The development of learning experience it is
here considered as a knowledge form mediated
by associative interactions. In other words, the
kinesthetic organization of movements and ges-
tures, according to various forms of manipulation
and exploration of objects and materials, is like a
property which is part of the growth path of a
human person from the evolutionary age already. that are the fundamental structures of the majori-
ty of movements.
This allows one to control the shape of the
Repetition: empowerment and movement together with the ability of anticipat-
transformation. ing and projecting the image of the Self in time
and space. “The skill to perceive rhythmic struc-
tures is one of the primary memory supports.
This because there is a direct relationship be-
The approach of repetition as way to tween the short term memory (…) and the ability
study becomes, in time, progressively to perceive the temporal forms represented by
more internal. This also means to live the im- rhythmic structures» (Le Boulch, 1982). And
perceptible change in a seemingly immutable ex- again, «rhythm and motion have in common phys-
perience. In addition, it implies that the same ical qualities as time and duration, focus, energy
movement, through experience, acquires differ- and intensity, direction and cyclicity. All this in a
ent and new meanings, in which the quality of dense network of reciprocity and shared ele-
gestures changes. ments which leads everything to coincide in a
Finally, it is precisely in the context of uni ied experience» (Le Boulch, 1987). In particu-
“repetition,” as the core of the learning process, lar, the perception of personal movement in terms
where we can recognize those rhythmic qualities of rhythm and energy, shape and quality of ges-

34 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 3, Issue No. 5

tures, enables everyone to capture the richness
and complexity of knowledge, mediated by the
corporeal experience.
The dynamic activation of body is a fundamen-
tal element, in an evolutionary sense, included in
the overall framework of the action. It is the core
and starting point of a continued and renewed
processing of experiences and, in a broader
sense, of the meaning processes. Time and space,
in so far as they represent the real dimensions of
our existence, are intimately connected with the
physicality of our experiences, and, in addition,
are perceived and understood as qualities of hu-
man action, as ful illment of our being.
This ensures that, in every single moment, the
perception of space (or time), if is acted and lived
through the movement, can become reality and,
thus, can be a tool of recognition and interaction.
November-December 2013
From this vision of corporeal experience emerges
a social dimension of life as shared culture, that, as
such, can be related to the researches on the mir-
ror neurons and the embodied functions (Gallese,
2001; Gallese & Sinigaglia, 2010).
The Taiji has, therefore, a function of calibra-
tion, of communication and relational attunement
between the group and the person. We are speci -
ically referring to the mutuality and reciprocity of
a mirroring that we perceive as creativity of be-
ing. A space-time in which the expectations and
the targets to be achieved, are not the conse-
quence of outcomes or judgments, but might be
considered by the perspective of interpersonal
relationships.
Gesture and Corporeality as Value.
The enhancement of corporeality in
terms of bodily and gestural communication is an
essential reference in the educative planning.
This, in a broader sense, which involves the con-
text of the implementation and achieving of the
inclusion processes, is where the search of reci-
Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 35
From the Master ᐸ‫ڵ‬ѻデ

procity, as exchange of experiences, nourishes

the creativity of knowing.
Ultimately, the formative orientation of Taiji
operates through a multidisciplinary educational
approach. This means that any educational device
in the practice of Taiji can be the source of a
learning experience in which the internal work
facilitates and leads the process of construction
of knowledge. In this sense, the teacher proposes
experiences that can provide different approach-
es in solving a task.
Consequently, the study of Form incorporates
the learning in a real and meaningful context. The
luidity and the individual expression, during the
practice of Taiji, are requested and encouraged as
personalization of the learning process. In addi-
tion, the study of “pushing hands” creates the ide-
al conditions for a learning process as social ex-
perience, as well as the adoption of imagery
which allows the use of many kinds of knowledge
representation (Carboni, 2013).
Therefore, among the basic criteria of Taiji as
nition and differentiation in the context of wel-
Evolutionary Embodied Environment we can rec-
coming dynamics;
ognize the presence of three important methodo-
logical assumptions: the timeline dimension is lived within a dimen-
sion of continuity, in connection with the various
[ the empowerment of self-awareness as co-
representations of perceived identity by each and
hesive mediation of corporeality;
over time;
[ the enhancement of educational activity as
the emerging social interactions in the Taiji
dialogical situations characterized by bod-
setting reveal the complex network of mecha-
ily mediation;
nisms and projective identi ications, in structur-
[ the development of communication as mo- ing relationships between personal identity, con-
tivational improvement. text, and environment.
In this respect, within the practice of Taiji, Therefore, the enhancement of personal growth
three modes of implementation that are typical in the training path of internal martial arts is
of the inclusion processes also emerge: achieved as heritage of shared experience, com-
the conception of space appears as a rule inher- bining the emergence of sensory memories and of
ent in the relational cohesion, facilitating the sta- perceptive experiences. This comes together and
bilization of situations of confrontation, of recog- also through the development of the synesthesia
as holistic process of knowledge.

36 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 3, Issue No. 5

 Finally, this increases the capacity of viewing
the movement in a representative form which
leads toward the structuring and the consolida-
tion of the sense of identity and of belonging.
References available on Yang-Sheng.com

Mauro Carboni is Researcher of Special Peda-

gogy and Educational Research at the University
of Rome “Foro Italico”, As-
sistant Professor of Didac-
tics and Special Pedagogy
at the Course Degree in
Sport and Exercise Scienc-
es; Professor of Special
Pedagogy at Course Degree
in Preventive and Adapted
Physical Activity (master-level degree), Professor
at International Doctorate in Culture, Disability
and Inclusion: Education and Training. Is one of
the founding members of the Italian Society of
Special Pedagogy (S.I.Pe.S). His research interests
include the processes of inclusion and the educa-
tive integration through analogic mediators
(gesture, music and image) connected with the
empathy as essential factor of relationship, nota-
bly through a methodological analysis of learning
environments. He studied Taiji and Nei Gong with
the Master Guo Ming Xu and attended workshops
with many other Chinese masters. He is a pupil of
Master Flavio Daniele at Nei Dan School of Mar-
tial Arts where he earned the title of Taiji Instruc-
tor (Yang style). E-mail address : mau-
ro.carboni@uniroma4.it. Af iliation: University of
Rome “Foro Italico” – Department of Educational
Sciences for the Motor Activities and Sports

November-December 2013 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 37

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