The Do-In Way: Gentle Exercises to Liberate the Body, Mind, and Spirit - Softcover

Michio Kushi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0757002684 ISBN 13: 9780757002687

Publisher: Square One, 2006

Synopsis

D¯o-In is an ancient traditional exercise for the cultivation of physical health, mental serenity, and spirituality. Over the last 5,000 years, it has served as the origin of such well-known disciplines as shiatsu, acupuncture, moxibustion, yogic exercises, and meditation. Literally meaning to pull and stretch, D¯o-In originated as a way of achieving longevity and attaining the highest potential of mental and spiritual development.

D¯o-In techniques are a series of motions designed to harmonize body systems. The D¯o-In Way details the fundamental aspects of this exercise, which involves breathing, posture, and self-massage and manipulation to stimulate body systems. The gentle application of pressure on the body’s meridians corresponds with physical processes, and allows for the conditioning of internal organs. This is a comprehensive handbook to an ancient system of movement designed to enhance physical, mental, and spiritual health.

About this title

About the Author

Michio Kushi came to the United States shortly after World War II upon completing studies at Tokyo University. Since then, he has lectured on macrobiotics; the meeting of East and West; traditional Asian medicine, philosphy, and culture; and the realization of world peace and planetary harmony. Mr. Kushi is the founder and president of the East West Foundation, Kushi Institute, Kushi Foundation, and Macrobiotics International. He is the bestselling author of numerous books, including Your Body Never Lies, The Cancer Prevention Diet, and The Book of Macrobiotics. As the leading voice in macrobiotics, Mr. Kushi continues to speak throughout the world on this topic. He currently resides in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

During my life, I have experienced and observed the miseries of world war, together with the misery of present-day society―the various diseases and poverty, greed and selfishness, failure and difficulties, anger and hatred, discrimination and prejudice.

In my youth, I was inspired with the dream of realizing world peace through many possible measures, including the establishment of a World Federation. However, through the process of maturing, I have become able to see that world peace can be achieved only through the reconstruction of humanity, or the resurrection of man, from current degenerative trends which have prevailed throughout the world, increasing with the development of modern civilization.

At the same time, I was able to have an enlightening experience during meditation, which revealed universal and eternal life. I have also had the opportunity to deepen my understanding of ancient oriental philosophies and religions, which should be combined together with the modern occidental thought and way of life. In this regard I am grateful for the inspired teaching of George Ohsawa and many other present-day philosophers, as well as ancient spiritual, philosophical and scientific thinkers.

All miseries in human affairs come from our personal incomprehension of the order of the universe, or we may say, our ignorance of ourselves. From this ignorance we misguide our daily way of life in our dietary practice, social relations, and mental attitude as well as spiritual comprehension.

Life is one infinite universe itself, and our way of life should be simple and practical, according to the order of the infinite universe. Realization of health and happiness is the easiest and simplest way. On the basis of this understanding, I have begun to spread the way of life which everyone can practice at any time as the simplest means to achieve health and happiness, freedom and peace―known as the macrobiotic way of life.

Together with the spread of the way of life for humanity for one peaceful world, I have encouraged the adaptation of several traditional ways of physical, mental and spiritual development, namely, oriental medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, shiatsu massage, palm-healing, meditation, and mental and spiritual exercises. In order to reinforce our own development, I also began to introduce an ancient macrobiotic practice, Do- -In, in the United States about thirty years ago. I am grateful to Mr. Jacques DeLangre and Mr. Jean Bernard Rishi for their respective books on Do- -In, which introduced part of these exercises. However, the Do- -In which I introduced was a partial exercise, mainly related to energizing our physical and mental vitality, and did not fully explain other aspects of Do- -In which are more spiritually oriented. I have been obliged for the past several years to introduce the general scale of the entire scope of Do- -In exercises.

It has been necessary to rediscover and reconstitute the Do- -In exercises because these ancient macrobiotic exercises were largely lost in many areas, although some of them have been practiced among a limited society of seekers in the Far East. The entire scale of Do- -In exercise is not limited to the several series of exercises introduced in this book. These ancient macrobiotic exercises were actually the origin of all physical, mental and spiritual exercises which are currently differentiated into various kinds of meditation, chanting, yoga exer­cise, physiopsychological training, the martial arts, as well as other methods of self-development.

The origin of Do- -In exercise is simply our intuitive self-adjustment to maintain and develop ourselves, within the ocean of universal life or the infinite universe. Therefore, the beginning of Do- -In exercise is historically unknown, but it has always existed with human life, throughout all generations of mankind. However, it was over 10,000 years ago when Do- -In exercises were actively adapted in the ancient way of physical, mental and spiri­­­­­­­­­­­­­­tual deve­lopment to produce free man―the Tao of Shin-Sen (), the Way of Spiri­­­­­­­tual Free Man.

The uniqueness of these exercises is that anyone can practice them at any time as dai­­ly exercises under ordinary circumstances, without requiring any partner or special technique. In this sense, all races, all ages, man and woman, can practice them easily for health and hap­piness. Some of the exercises introduced in this book are my own modification in the hope that they may benefit everyone.

I sincerely hope that everyone throughout the world will freely practice these exercises for his or her own physical health, beauty, and spiritual happiness.

Edition details

• Publisher: Square One
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0757002684
• ISBN 13: 9780757002687
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224