Tai chi in the context of "Zhan zhuang"

Inner peace (also known as peace of mind) refers to a deliberate state of psychological or spiritual calm maintained despite the presence of stressors. It is associated with a state of psychological "homeostasis" and the opposite of being stressed or anxious, and is considered to be a state where one's mind performs at an optimal level, regardless of outcomes. Peace of mind is thus generally associated with a state of contentment and emotional well-being including bliss, happiness and contentment.

Peace of mind, serenity, and calmness are descriptions of a disposition free from the effects of stress. In various cultural traditions, inner peace is regarded as a state of consciousness attainable through practices such as breathing exercises, prayer, meditation, tai chi or yoga. Many spiritual practices refer to this peace as an experience of knowing oneself.

Daoyin is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Daoist neigong, meditation and mindfulness to cultivate jing (essence) and direct and refine qi, the internal energy of the body according to traditional Chinese medicine. These exercises are often divided into yin positions (lying and sitting) and yang positions (standing and moving). The practice of daoyin was a precursor of qigong, and blended with the introduction of Indian yoga into China with the spread of Buddhism and was practised in Chinese Taoist monasteries for health and spiritual cultivation. Daoyin is also said to be a primary formative ingredient in the yin aspects of Chinese martial arts including the well-known "soft styles" of the Chinese martial arts, of tai chi, and middle road styles like Wuxingheqidao.

The main goal of daoyin is to create flexibility of the mind, thereby creating harmony between internal and external environments, which relaxes, replenishes and rejuvenates the body, developing in its practitioners a vital and healthy spirit.

Neigong (internal strength or internal skill), also spelled nei kung, neigung, or nae gong, refers to a series of internal changes that a practitioner goes through when following the path to Dao, and these changes may be achieved through practices including qigong or tai chi. Neigong is also associated with xingyi quan.

Neigong practice is normally associated with the so-called "soft style", "internal" or neijia Chinese martial arts, as opposed to the category known as waigong 外功 or "external skill" which is historically associated with Shaolin kung fu or the so-called "hard style", "external" or waijia Chinese martial arts. Both have many different schools, disciplines and practices and historically there has been mutual influence between the two and distinguishing precisely between them differs from school to school.

Dantian is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine loosely translated as "elixir field", "sea of qi", or simply "energy center." Dantian are the "qi focus flow centers," important focal points for meditative and exercise techniques such as qigong, martial arts such as tai chi, and in traditional Chinese medicine. Dantian is also now commonly understood to refer to the diaphragm in various Qigong practices and breath control techniques, such as diaphragmatic breathing for singing and speaking. Along with jing and shen, it is considered one of the Three Treasures of traditional Chinese medicine.

The bagua (Chinese: 八卦; pinyin: bāguà; lit. 'eight trigrams') is a set of symbols from China intended to illustrate the nature of reality as comprising mutually opposing forces reinforcing one another. Bagua is a group of trigrams—composed of three lines, each either "broken" or "unbroken", which represent yin and yang, respectively. Each line having two possible states allows for a total of 2 = 8 trigrams, whose early enumeration and characterization in China has had an effect on the history of Chinese philosophy and cosmology.

The trigrams are related to the divination practice as described within the I Ching and practiced as part of the Shang and Zhou state religion, as well as with the concepts of taiji and the five elements within traditional Chinese metaphysics. The trigrams have correspondences in astronomy, divination, meditation, astrology, geography, geomancy (feng shui), anatomy, decorative arts, the family, martial arts (particularly tai chi and baguazhang), Chinese medicine and elsewhere.

The Three Treasures or Three Jewels (Chinese: 三寶; pinyin: sānbǎo; Wade–Giles: san-pao) are theoretical cornerstones in traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist cultivation practices such as neidan, qigong and tai chi. They are also known as jing, qi and shen (Chinese: 精氣神; pinyin: jīng-qì-shén; Wade–Giles: ching ch'i shen; "essence, breath, and spirit").

Conscious breathing encompasses techniques directing awareness toward the breathing process, serving purposes from improving respiration to building mindfulness. In martial arts like tai chi and qigong, breathing exercises are said to strengthen diaphragm muscles and protect organs, with reverse breathing being a common method. Meditation traditions, including yoga and Buddhist meditation, emphasize breath control. Yoga's pranayama is believed by practitioners to elevate life energies, while Buddhist vipassanā uses anapanasati for mindfulness of breathing.

In music, circular breathing enables wind instrument players to produce a continuous tone. Singers, too, rely on breath control through consciously managed breathing stages. The Buteyko method in physical therapy focuses on breathing exercises for conditions like asthma, emphasizing nasal breathing and relaxation. In psychology, Integrative Breathing combines various techniques to address specific needs, particularly in cases of drug abuse disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.