Breath, Qi Gong & Dao Yin

letting go

Breath Consciousness

As we work with the body, letting go of the old and stepping into the new, it is extremely useful to have some tools to help us remain embodied and drop into our root.

One of these tools is breathwork. There are many things we can do with the breath – it is one of the most powerful tools available to us. There is a powerful technique called Conscious Connected Breathwork that invokes a stress response to break our habitual holding patterns and help us get to the peace beyond. I have worked extensively with this and use it when it is needed.

Breath, Qi Gong & Dao Yin with Frances Sarah Turner

There are also breathing techniques that can help you to calm the heart, quiet the mind and drop the qi. In yoga, pranayama, or the study of the breath, is a whole science in its own right. There are many techniques, including lengthening the exhale, holding after both inhale and exhale, or breathing into specific parts of the body.

However, the breath is said to be like a wild tiger. We have to respect it. Much of my work with the breath involves helping you to listen to the body and allowing the breath to be just as it is, encouraging it subtly in particular ways that are exactly right just for you. Sometimes it is the smallest breath that is the most powerful.

To breathe,
And yet to hold the breath
A little separated.
To eat,
And yet to hold the stomach
Parly closed.
To look,
And yet to hold the eyes
Somewhat away.

To keep it all at bay
In anxious shielding –
What is this need?

When I could ride the bellows,
Feel the rhythmic pulsing,
Life and death
Opening and closing
By itself.

When I could sing the flavour,
Feel the constant changing,
Plant and seed
Forever transforming
Without my help.

When I could dance the radiance,
Feel the steady cycling,
Light and dark
Rising and falling
On its own.

Why do we watch a made up play,
Thinking we know better,
When all around, lies richness?
Divided from us
By a heart beat, a hair’s breadth
Of awareness.

Songs of Renewal, July 2025

gentle movement

Qi Gong & Dao Yin

I use these flowing qi gong movements from the East to encourage not only movement itself, but also an awareness of how we move in relation to nature and our environment. As you practice qi gong movements, you become more aware of your own energy or qi, as well as of the energy around us all. The more you work with qi energy in this way, the more you will feel it as something substantial.

Dao yin is the classical version of qi gong, and looks like a cross between yoga and qi gong. I work every day with a set of dao yin from the Dragon Gate Tradition of Daoist meditation. These movements embody ancient wisdom from Classical China that predate qi gong and emphasise softness, connection and flow, releasing what is held, opening what is closed and revealing what is hidden. They include the six healing sounds.

Breath, Qi Gong & Dao Yin with Frances Sarah Taylor

Qi gong and dao yin is, in itself, a moving meditation designed to free the body from tension. The body is approached softly and with respect, and you are never expected to force your body into any posture. These exercises help you to relearn how to comfortably live in this body we call home, to sit on the floor with greater ease, and to walk through life with freedom.

As our posture improves, so does our breath, and we take in more positive energy from our surroundings. Qi gong, dao yin and breathing are the most natural things for a human being to engage in. Doing them in nature is a joy that heals the body and makes the heart sing.

We’re always told to drop into the root,
And feel the earth beneath our feet,
The bubbling spring of nourishment
That could perhaps fill out my stick-like legs
Bruised by neglect.

But tai ji is too hard and does not suit,
And pain shoots through the knees
As my blind striving makes it worse
And hardened muscles, lower limbs like pegs
Totter bereft.

Where is that holding tightness? In my hips?
Perhaps the pelvis is involved,
The quads and lower abdomen,
It stops the qi from flowing through the groin
With great effect.

Can I drop all this guarding? Brave the slips
And falters of true letting go,
To free the passageways below,
So that my sacred root and earth may join
In deep respect.

Songs of Forgiveness, June 2026

natural movement

Spontaneous Qi Gong

When we get in touch with ourselves, our bodies start to move naturally in the way they need to. This kind of natural movement is sometimes called spontaneous qi gong. If we can allow these natural movements, they show us where we hold tension, and help us to listen to the body and what it needs to do to release tension.

Spontaneous movement is super useful on the journey towards freeing your voice and stepping into improvised sound. There are many lovely ways to help you to begin to drop self-consciousness and allow the body to move in the way it wants to. To explore this further, come to one of our group gatherings or book an individual session.

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