YANGSHENG: A LIFE STYLE FOR EVERYBODY AT ANY TIME   by Rosa María Canas

“Strengthening body, mind, soul and spirit for a meaningful life”

Yangsheng can be for many people an unknown term but the fact is that is a very old word full of meaning. Yangsheng dates back to ancient times; it can be traced back to Mencius, as far as the fourth century B.C.
Even if a precedent can be found in “Huangdi Neijing” -one of the oldest Chinese medical cannons-, Mencius gave the first approach to Yangsheng by explaining how to strengthen the own vital energy (Qi) with breathing techniques.
Later on, but still between IV and I century B.C, it was said that spirit enlightenment can be achieved through the harmony of three elements: vital energy, soul and soul’s highest state (“Guanzi”).
Traditional Chinese Medicine development enlarged in the II century A.D Yangsheng’s concept with new techniques and health disciplines.
But, what do we understand by Yangsheng?
Yangsheng could be defined as a live style for everybody at any time.
The term “Yangsheng” comes from two words: “Yang” which meaning is “cultivating/nourishing/nurturing” and “Sheng” that is to say “life”.
Based on that, Yangsheng, one of the most important concepts in MTC, looks for promoting health by nurturing and enriching life; it seeks to achieve a state of well-being, living in harmony with universal laws and rhythms of nature. Still a step further, Yangsheng is a practice for health prevention as well.
According to the above definition, Yangsheng, a doctrine strongly related to different forms of Taoist thought, covers all practices aimed to strengthen body, mind, soul and spirit. Those include, for instance, Meditation, Qigong, Mindfulness, Tui Na, Breathing Techniques, Dietary habits…, called to be in constant adaptation to times, circumstances, personal growing process and own environment.
It is imperative to understand the energy flow and how one’s own body works for keeping a long and healthy life. Yangsheng is the tool for this target: embodying a life style for everybody at any time.
Improving our own lives will irretrievably improve the health of the society we are living in.

THE GOOD TEACHER   by Rosa María Canas

According to our project approach, the good educator/teacher should be the one that is able to base his practice on the point that one day their students will know more than him. That means, the good educator/teacher may have as a leitmotiv the Chinese saying: “Student beat teacher”.
The good educator/teacher may have the hope that one day their students will take the knowledge that he transmits to them and they will go further with it, adding their own experiences and researches in a way of being able to develop their lives as much and as better as possible.
The good educator/teacher starts from the point that knowledge it is not a personal patrimony (heritage); that is why he/she is not considering him/herself a sort of “God” or “Guru” who is flying upon his/her learners, showing them his/her “intellectual arrogance”.
He/She is aware that this model of being cannot be considered as a good educator/teacher; this is an enormous ego that drives nowhere.

Learners deserve respect based on a mutual understanding, interaction and motivation. And educators/teachers deserve respect as well, a consideration that they will win only if they are able to awake their learner’s interest for learning and absorbing knowledge.
While educators/teachers have to be motivated to fulfil learner’s expectations, learners should be encouraged to get involved in their own learning process, trying to develop their own knowledge and cultural fields, their own evolution, their social skills, and above all, their own mental, cultural, personal and human evolution.
It is only under that assumption (premise) that we will run towards the excellence in education and therefore towards an enriching world for the human being.

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Learning Methods in TCM and Yangsheng: Towards Excellence in Adult Education

Erasmus+ Programme 2014-2020 - Key Action 2: Strategic Partnership Project

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