Taoism or as it is often called, Daoism, basically equates to English as the ôpathö or ôwayö (Robinson, 2004, p. 1). Taoism is more than ancient Chinese spiritual philosophy or discipline. Robinson (2004) maintains that the concept of Taoism is fairly indefinable and must be experienced, for Taoism refers to ôa power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-livingö (p. 1). The Tao is seen a regulating the natural processes and nourishing the balance in the individual and the universe. It is a concept that encompasses the Yin-Yang Symbol, what Robinson (2004) defines as the ôharmony of oppositesö (p. 1).
Taoism started to be of significant interest in the West during the late 1950s and 1960s, when an interest in Zen Buddhism arose among Western intellectuals. According to Hall (2004), Taoism was introduced to America by Englishmen turned American Alan Watts, but because Zen Buddhism and Taoism share similarities many of the Taoist thoughts introduced to Western society were ôusually confused with Buddhism or Confucianismö (p. 1). It would not be until the 1970s, after President Richard Nixon ôrecognizedö China that Taoism gained a major foothold in the minds of many Americans but it did so not as a spiritual philosophy but through the exercise program encompassed by Taoism, known as Tai Chi.
The founder of Taoism is generally considered to be Lao-Tzu, a contemporary of Confucius searching for a way to bring harmony to war-torn society. By 440 C.E., Taoism was adopted as a state religion (Robinson, 2004). The history of Taoism involves Tao, Tao Chi, Tai Chi and Tao Chi Chuan. Tao Chi came into existence during the 6th century B.C. by a Taoist monk named Chou Ling who spread it to his pupils (Orion, 2003, p. 1). During the 2nd Century A.D., Hwa Do, the Imperial doctor, studied Tao Chi and invented the ôgame of five animalsö from which the Tai Chi Chuan is derived (Orion, 2003, ...