"The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness, it's stillness in movement where the universal rhythm manifests." - Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...

 

Maipayat (also spelled Maipayattu) is the is associated with the emergence of knowledge concerning achieving meditative and prescriptive exercises. Originally recorded late in the Vedic period

Vedic period

The Vedic period was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BCE, also...

 in conjunction with Vedanta

Vedanta

Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...

 and Yoga

Yoga

Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...

 working from a full deep yogic breathing initiating set movement patterns nurturing creative and feeding the body with breath energy. This energy is taught in Maipayat to be of the divine energy. The teachings of Maipayat are within many different branches of Tantra

Tantra

Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....

, Yoga & Martial Arts. Similar exercises are taught in t'ai chi although Maipayat exercises more fluid movements while attempting to align the chakras.

Practitioners of Maipayat seek to ritually appropriate and channel their harvested energy through practical training and development of breathe and progressively more intensive rapid movements.

Proponent practitioners report the method improves body-mind balance and coordination, a rejuvenation of spirit and assist creative potential. As the oldest health art of breathing known from Ancient India

History of India

The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...

. It is also instructed as a self-healing yoga therapy in Ayurveda

Ayurveda

Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...

.

Subsequent off-shoots of Maipayat have been the basis of various transplantations of sutras

Sutra

Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...

, such as late into the Han dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

  dealing with breath control and mystical concentration. Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century AD. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch...

 is said to have transported to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 in the fifth century, Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 combined with mind, body & breath training in the form of Maipayat.

"The foundation of Kalaripayattu, like all other martial arts, is structured movements called maipayat, which are based on certain foundational stances drawn from the stances of animals like the elephant, horse, crocodile, boar, fish, peacock, snake and lion. Maipayat practice is associated with a lot of jumping and kicking movements that are typical to the practice of the Kalaripayattu." ^ref

Thus, in China it customarily utilized Taoist vocabulary to make the Indian techniques intelligible in Chinese and evolve into what we know today as Martial Arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

. Beneficiaries of the Shaolin Temple learned it to defend themselves and strengthen their bodies from these foundations. It shares many basic principles with Qigong

Qigong

Qigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...

 and Kung-Fu.

In modern times, it is proving popular among yoga instructors, dancers, singers and athletes as a tool to improve their energy levels.