Grand Master Nan Lu shares his thoughts on the four levels of meditation.

1. Lying Meditation:

Lie down and close your eyes. Be peaceful and relax in a meditative state. In ancient times, meditation began in this way, but since people were so comfortable, they ended up falling asleep! The masters tried to figure out how to remain in a peaceful and meditative state while remaining awake. Level 2 is what developed.

2. Sitting Meditation:

Sit in a meditative state and drink tea to keep yourself alert and aware. Many people sit and meditate for hours at a time. A sitting meditation helps to create a peaceful mind, but does not increase your energy.

3. Moving Meditation:

Move your body and keep a steady mind. Moving meditation is considered the highest level of taiji. Once you reach this state, your body moves but your mind remains peaceful, helping you to acquire energy.

4. Standing Meditation:

Stand in a steady position with different hand movements. Like moving meditation, standing meditation creates a peaceful mind in a meditative state while helping the body to acquire energy.

Try to experience these different levels of meditation. Each will help the body achieve a different level of purpose. When you first begin, you put the effort in to learn how to meditate. You are not actually meditating. Instead, you are controlling your mind and forcing the body to stand in a certain posture. Once you meet the requirement of meditation, the body will automatically flip itself into a meditative state.

If you have a physical difficulty, start with the first level. Lie down and challenge your mind. Focus on breathing, counting or the scenery to help stop your mind from its constant barrage of thoughts. When you are ready, move to level two. Sit and focus on one thought or object. Help the mind to focus on just one thing until the mind drops away naturally.

All of our seasonal cleanses include a meditative component. Join us!