SunDo – Taoism’s Best Kept Secret
In the world of yoga, and even Taoist practices, SunDo is probably not among the first disciplines that immediately come to mind — and there’s a good reason for this. Despite existing in obscurity since the 1100s, Taoism’s SunDo practice has only been available outside of the isolated mountains of Korea for about the last 50 years.
And yet, despite it’s somewhat mysterious nature, SunDo has shown countless practitioners in the East and West, alike, that it is truly one of the most empowering and transformative breathwork practices in existence. |
How so?
As with Taoism itself, the principles of harmony and balance reign supreme. SunDo is a practice that works to direct the power of the body and mind toward their most natural, unobstructed states for optimal mental and physical health, as well as greater self-mastery.
Ancient Taoists attained great wisdom by simply following the way of nature. SunDo’s smooth belly breathing is actually based on observations of how infants instinctively breathe deeply and evenly down into their bellies. We lose this natural mind-body-breath connection as we move through life and our breathing weakens, along with our overall well-being.
SunDo is a reclaiming of the vital life force we know as breath.
As with Taoism itself, the principles of harmony and balance reign supreme. SunDo is a practice that works to direct the power of the body and mind toward their most natural, unobstructed states for optimal mental and physical health, as well as greater self-mastery.
Ancient Taoists attained great wisdom by simply following the way of nature. SunDo’s smooth belly breathing is actually based on observations of how infants instinctively breathe deeply and evenly down into their bellies. We lose this natural mind-body-breath connection as we move through life and our breathing weakens, along with our overall well-being.
SunDo is a reclaiming of the vital life force we know as breath.
“The lost art of breathing”
Breathing is such a fundamental part of our lives that we can do it an average 23,040 times a day and not think once about it. We’re constantly barraged by lyrics in popular songs telling us to “just breathe” or “take a deep breath.” It often seems we’re flooded with these ideas to the point of cliche. But despite its pervasiveness, we’ve lost the value of breathing as a culture. We see it as an impediment that holds us back. As we sprint through life, coughing and out of breath, we’ve forgotten what an incredible source of power breathing truly is. Taoist practices hold the key to understanding and unlocking this life-changing force, and people throughout the world are rapidly discovering the difference it makes in the practice of SunDo. Regular yoga has poses and breathing techniques; how is SunDo really different? We can sum up this difference in one line: Yoga is a practice of postures with breathing — SunDo is a practice of breathing with postures. |
While yoga’s Pranayama (breathing) techniques do, indeed, involve breath and the use of various poses, the two are often practiced separately. Breathing is used as a means to achieving better postures, not as a definitive goal in itself.
In SunDo, the primary focus is always deep, slow breathing and both postures and breathing are done together. However, even before practicing any postures, beginners learn basic breathwork as this is the first step toward the mastery of advanced breathing techniques taught in later stages of SunDo. Eventually, this breathing gives us an ultimate source of power to use for anything in life.
Additionally Hindu Yoga and Taoist SunDo differ in these critical ways:
In SunDo, the primary focus is always deep, slow breathing and both postures and breathing are done together. However, even before practicing any postures, beginners learn basic breathwork as this is the first step toward the mastery of advanced breathing techniques taught in later stages of SunDo. Eventually, this breathing gives us an ultimate source of power to use for anything in life.
Additionally Hindu Yoga and Taoist SunDo differ in these critical ways:
Yoga often involves a fair amount of movement — there is no movement or very minimal movement in most SunDo poses, as stillness allows for maximum concentration on breathing.
Both the nose and mouth are used for breathing in many common yoga techniques. In SunDo, only the nose is used, as mouth breathing is significantly less effective in regulating carbon dioxide levels in the blood. SunDo helps the practitioner develop breathing habits that are most conducive to optimal health and mental acuity. Pranayama techniques work with a variety of stop-start breaths (like Kapalabhati which emphasizes rapid punctuated inhales and exhales). SunDo is always slow, smooth, even, and virtually seamless breathing that works with the body’s natural tendency to breathe into the belly. SunDo focuses on identifying and addressing obstructions — mental and physical — that may be inhibiting optimal breathing. It encourages self-massage and visualization techniques that can be a great help to practitioners with chronic breathing difficulties. As poses are not the primary focus of SunDo, eyes are closed during postures to minimize distractions and concentrate on only breath. Popular yoga techniques like Ujjayi breath utilize multiple centers of the body in the breathing (chest, diaphragm, and abdomen); SunDo focuses solely on the expansion and contraction of the abdomen, as it allows for the deepest, most controlled breathing. |
What’s the result of this special focus on breath?
SunDo promotes greater calm, mental clarity, self-control, vital energy, and overall physical well-being in its practitioners through the honing of deeper, more controlled, and balanced breaths.
Recommended Reading: The Benefits of SunDo and Taoist Practices
SunDo’s focus on breathing incrementally resolves or improves many of the physical and mental issues we encounter regularly in the bustle of life — providing users with more than just a quick post-yoga buzz, but lasting long-term benefits for bodies and minds.
Seeking to not only preserve energy, but to create a vast reservoir of vital life energy, SunDo, like many Taoist practices, cultivates the breath as an elixir of life. Experience the SunDo difference for yourself!