Taoist Meditation

Taoist meditation is an engaging contemplative practice designed to balance Yin and Yang and boost energy flow, yet can be challenging to perform correctly without professional assistance from a master.

Students learn to synchronize mindful breathing with gentle, specific body movements that will allow their chi to flow freely throughout their bodies and help ease everyday stresses. This practice releases tension from daily living.

Breathing

Breathing is one of the core aspects of Taoist meditation. It can help soothe both mind and body by drawing your focus onto breathing rather than bewildering thoughts and feelings that might otherwise distract or stress you out. Breathing also serves to teach self-control.

Taoist meditation utilizes various breathing techniques. A basic one involves inhaling into your lower tantien (energy center). Focus on feeling your stomach expand and contract each time you inhale or exhale. Gradually increase this sensation until you can sense it throughout your entire body.

Advanced forms of this breathing technique involve synchronizing inhales and exhalations with gentle body movements designed to relieve daily stresses that cause physical and mental health issues.

Embryonic breathing is another popular meditation technique. Sometimes called Taixi or Taiji breath, this practice relies on mimicking how an embryo or fetus in its mother’s womb breathes without using nose or mouth, with the goal being that you breathe directly into lower tantien and feel connected with nature and universe.

Taoist meditation involves creating an internal flow between breathing and body energy. To do this, awareness training must take place until no sudden shifts exist in either your rhythm of breathing or between inhales and exhales.

Meditation practitioners also make use of more basic breathing exercises like deep full breaths and abdominal breathing to relax their body and release tension. Some also perform gentle warming-up poses in order to loosen joints before commencing meditation sessions; later they may move on to more advanced meditation postures and breathing flows that lead to greater levels of enlightenment.

Visualization

Taoist meditation involves visualisation techniques to encourage meditators to focus on their internal body and energies, in order to understand how their body, organs, thoughts and surrounding environment all work in unison – this may be difficult for beginners but worth trying anyway!

Beginners to Taoist meditation may benefit from exploring other aspects such as breathing and concentration exercises before trying Neiguan meditation, which involves visualising internal organs, thoughts and movements of one’s qi (vital force). Furthermore, this form of practice requires learning a number of Chinese medical theories.

Meditation practitioners who wish to visualize their qi often imagine themselves sitting by a lake or stream and picturing shimmering water with moon-like reflections, with ripples gently forming across its surface – these ripples represent how qi flows throughout their bodies; solid forms in ripples represent blockages or tension in their bodies, while fluidity represents clarity of mind.

Once a meditator has settled into their routine, the next stage of their exercise involves visualizing themselves sitting comfortably – whether cross-legged on the floor, cross-legged, or sitting up straight – in nature with mist or fog moving over their body to cleanse any toxins and revitalize their energy reserves. It has been said to be the ultimate means for rejuvenating and revitalizing energy in their bodies, similar to taking a relaxing bath or receiving spa treatment.

Imagine that all mist has cleared away and that your body is now immersed in a beautiful lake of water, mirror-like in its reflection. This state represents ideal harmony with the universe and all creation. Similar to Buddhist beliefs regarding God, humanity’s ultimate goal should be returning to this emptiness from which creation originates.

Concentration

One of the key techniques in Taoist meditation is focusing on one single thought. This helps clear your mind from distractions and increase chi flow; plus it teaches your body how to relax itself. Taoist meditation is highly recommended for individuals suffering from physical or mental illnesses as a means to combat stress and anxiety.

To experience all of the benefits of meditation, it is crucial that one is completely committed. Akin to the old saying “if you want to become a billionaire, make a commitment and don’t give up”, meditation should not just be seen as sitting around eating sandwiches or reading books – true meditation sets itself apart by demanding full commitment of both mind and body.

The third level of meditation involves discovering one’s essence. This transcends any event that has taken place, any fact about you or any movie watched; rather it represents a deep sense of being, an affiliation with all things. Reaching this stage may prove the most difficult.

Taoist meditation requires harmonization between body and mind, making Tai Chi and Taoist meditation complementary practices. An experienced instructor of tai chi can show you how to focus on breathing to calm the mind.

Meditation can be an extremely valuable asset in the pursuit of health and longevity, provided it’s practiced under the supervision of an accredited instructor. Otherwise, it could prove dangerous and lead to injuries. We advise beginning small and increasing your meditation time gradually over time – even five minutes per day is better than nothing at all!

A good Taoist meditator recognizes both the power of nature and his own mind as forces of influence, so when beginning meditation it is crucial that thoughts don’t become long or repetitive; when successful in doing this, his mind becomes clearer and his connection with the universe strengthens further.

Relaxation

Taoist meditation can help alleviate stress from daily life and allow your body to heal itself, freeing you of negative emotions while increasing chi flow. People who practice Taoist meditation often find they become more productive while connecting with others more intimately than before – though unfortunately it may be harder than other types of meditation to find a teacher for this practice.

Techniques employed during this form of meditation are intended to promote deep levels of relaxation. To do this, the practitioner must focus on breathing deeply from their belly while relaxing their shoulders. Although this form of meditation can be practiced anywhere, ideally it should take place in a quiet, clean space and after practicing it should avoid engaging in any intense conversations or energy exchanges with other people as the body can easily be put off balance by such interactions.

Once a meditator is fully relaxed, they can move into deeper levels of meditation by focusing on specific energies in their bodies. A visual aid like a candle or beach may be used to help focus on certain energies; ultimately the goal is for the meditator to feel their inner self dissolve into a sea of healing light which then permeates their physical and spiritual bodies.

Meditation practitioners who practice this type of mindfulness believe it to be essential in maintaining good health and increasing longevity. The practice involves clearing away blockages to the meridians that cause high blood pressure, pain and depression; furthermore it may boost immunity against disease. Therefore it’s vitally important to utilize an experienced teacher who can teach proper techniques – using one will allow you to control breathing effectively, sync it with gentle body movements, relax all parts of your body at once!