Y Dan : An ancient alternative to Tai-chi

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A simple alternative to Tai-Chi

By T. Wong, CFT

Yin-Yang Symbol Y-Dan is an ancient exercise dating back

over 2000 years. Initially, it was practiced only by the Chinese

imperial families and remained quite secret. Eventually, it was

lost and remained so for centuries until 1978. It was at this time

that it was rediscovered and practiced again in Taiwan. In a very

short time, its popularity became so widespread that due to the

limited number of qualified instructors, only people over the age

of 40 were allowed to learn.

Y-Dan is a full body exercise with its own warm-up and cool-down

built into it. It exercises every part of the body and has a very

balancing effect on the body and mind. The name of the exercise

actually translates to External Elixir which means that it was

designed to exercise the exterior of the body, which includes the

muscles, joints, ligaments, etc. Because of this, it is also one of

the safest exercises you can do. Another exercise very closely

related is called Nei Dan which translates to Internal

Elixir However, this exercise is much harder to learn and can

potentially cause more harm if done improperly. The beauty of Y-Dan

is

that it's arranged in such a way that it can be learned very

quickly and efficiently. There are only 19 movements in the

exercise, so each movement can be remembered more easily and

practiced with more repetition. With some other types of exercise,

you may do each movement only once. But in Y-Dan, each movement is

done either 4 times or 10 times.

The " Chi " is something you may have heard of before. It's

basically your body's energy flow balancing the body, mind,

and spirit. When the Chi flows well throughout the body and your

meridians are open, you will experience vibrant health with energy

and a general feeling of well-being. It's also much more difficult

for disease to take root with everything flowing so well. Now you

may

have heard of athletes dying very young and think to yourself, " How

could they have died so young when they were in such great shape? "

The truth is that they may not have been in such great shape after

all.

Just because someone looks good, it does not mean that they have

balanced health. A lot of athletes exercise to the point of

overtraining which can cause a shock to the system. That, when

combined

with very severe dietary and drug practices makes their bodies into

walking time bombs. Unless you're experienced, you can't tell any of

this from looking at them. But believe me, I've seen it myself. They

fool everyone around them. Then one day an injury hits them, then

they

get a string of illnesses, get hurt a few more times in a futile

effort

trying to regain their former glory, and finally, it's game over.

Remember,

I've seen this myself!

What these people need is balance.

They need to tone down their more intense exercises and include

balancing exercises to bring harmony to their bodies. Clearly, they

did not have good flow of Chi. Y-Dan is excellent for this purpose.

It's easy to learn, is very effective at promoting the Chi

and makes you feel great. Not only that, but it also helps prevent

and rehabilitate injuries. I've taught numerous people Y-Dan

who suffered from various joint problems including Fibromyalgia and

Sciatica among other things. At first, the students were not able

to perform all the movements. But eventually, once they were able

to do them all, their pain was almost gone! It may not have left

100%, but they were able to do many things that they hadn't

done in years.

Another point I'd like to make is that

I'm not saying you shouldn't do other exercises. By all

means, do them as long as they don't involve impact. Although

Y-Dan can work very well by itself and certainly has helped

countless people using nothing else, it can also help balance out

other exercises you do. I am also a bodybuilder of more than 11

years and take my weight training very seriously. However, when I

started including Y-Dan in my daily routine, I can say with

absolute certainty that it enhanced my exercise greatly. Getting up

to go in the morning was easier, starting my workouts was easier

even in cold weather, and I had more overall energy and balance. As

much as I look forward to my bodybuilding workouts, I look forward

to my Y-Dan.

As with any exercise, exercising first thing in the morning is

the most beneficial. This is primarily because of blood

circulation. Between the hours of 1AM and 3 AM, the liver is placed

under the most strain and retains the most blood, which is why

people will often wake up during this time to use the bathroom, and

also why people have cold hands and feet in the morning. By

exercising first thing in the morning, you will make your body more

efficient by forcing the blood out of the liver and to the rest of

the body. Also, your focus is generally better in the morning, and

unexpected things often have a way of creeping up on you as the day

goes on. By exercising first, you don't have to worry about

that, because you've already done your exercise.

I have been an instructor in Y-Dan for the past 7 years and a

weight-training instructor for 9 years, working in conjunction with

Prime Health Products. Due to the demand for the Y-Dan classes and

to make it accessible to people who don't live in the Toronto

area, I produced an instructional DVD making it possible for

anyone anywhere to learn this fabulous exercise.

There are 19 movements in total with 7 introduction movements

and 12 core or main movements. It begins gradually with very slow

movements, eventually getting harder and more dynamic, until it

finally slows down again at the very end.

Introduction Movements

1. EMBRACING THE MOON: This is a general warm-up exercise to

slowly open your energy meridians.

2. TURNING THE HEAD: This is another warm-up exercise again

opening the energy meridians and involving movement of the

head.

3. WALKING AGAINST THE WIND: This involves some deep breathing

along with some leg movements to slowly bring the whole body

into

play.

4. SWINGING THE ARMS: This is a faster movement involving

somewhat

more vigorous breathing and arm movements.

5. BENDING: This is a forward stretching exercise.

6. STRETCHING: This is a more dynamic stretching exercise

combining

forward stretching with overhead stretching in a fluid motion.

7. ROTATION: This is a combination of rotation of the body and

deep

breathing to end the introduction movements.

Core Movements

1. PREPARATION: This is a warm-up for the core movements.

However,

the movements are faster than the warm-up in the introduction

movements with more vigorous motions.

2. BREATHING LIKE A TURTLE: This combines forward bending with

very

deep breathing and in particular has helped many of my

students

over the years with back pain.

3. KNEELING AND SWINGING: This is probably the most dynamic

movement of the entire exercise involving knee bending

(squatting),

arm exercise, and finger exercise all in 1 movement.

4. FLAPPING YOUR WINGS: This involves quick movements of the arms

moving away from your body resembling a bird flapping its

wings.

5. STRENGTHENING THE SHOULDERS: This does exactly what the name

suggests. Through various rotations and upward extensions of

the

shoulders, they are strengthened and these movements are also

very

effective at rehabilitating shoulder injuries.

6. THE EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH: This movement is a

very effective balancing exercise. It involves quick movements

with

the arms outstretched.

7. CROSSING YOUR ARMS: This exercise strengthens the fingers and

forearms.

8. PRESENTING THE PEARL: This is another excellent balancing

exercise. It involves both short and deep breathing along with

short and long arm movements.

9. ROTATION AND FINGER STRENGTHENING: As the name suggests, this

combines rotation with finger strengthening while at the same

time,

involving deep breathing.

10. STRENGTHENING THE HEART AND SPIRIT: This is a very dynamic

movement with finger strengthening and vigorous arm and leg

movements.

11. SWINGING THE FOOT: This is a balancing exercise in the sense

that it's done while standing on 1 leg. It exercises the calf

muscles and involves quick shaking movements of the legs.

12. WALKING LIKE A CRANE: This is the cool-down of the exercise

and

is a slow fluid motion to bring you right back to where you

started.