15-Min Taoist Meditation

“One practice is better than reading 1,000 books” - Master Hyunmoon Kim

Before we dive into the theory and philosophy more deeply it’s important to have an experience of the practice. I highly recommend practicing with this video every day. This short practice is what I did 3-5 times a day for over 5 years when I first began my journey into cultivating the Tao. The practice is divided into 4 parts:

Part 1: 5-mins of warm-up exercises and body tapping to prepare your legs for a 15 minute sit. If you do these practices daily before your meditation you will find that it get’s easier and more pleasant to sit for longer and longer periods over time. (note: the harder you slap and tap your legs the better ;)

IMPORTANT: For the meditation practice keep your tongue resting gently behind your top teeth. This helps your energy to circulate.

Part 2: 5-Mins of “Danjeeon” breathing. You will learn more about the Danjeon later in the course but for now just try to experience it. It’s important to focus on elongating your exhales and letting the inhales get longer in an unforced way. This practice will help draw awareness to your belly and quite the mind. You will also be guided to feel how warmth settles in your belly and coolness rising to your brain. These feelings, known in Taoist practice as the “microcosmic orbit” may not happen for you as a beginner, but with practice they will come.

Part 3: 5-Mins of “Ji-Gam” Energy Meditation. Translated as “Stop Emotions,” this practice was popularized by Taoist teacher Ilchi Lee founder of Dahnhak, a modern off-shoot of Korean Taoism. The goal is to bring your awareness to your palms and notice subtle sense perceptions which may be experienced as pressure, heat, magnetic feelings and even a more subtle “Qi” feeling. With continued practice you may feel that your breath and subtle sensations are moving your body unconsciously. When this happens you enter deeper into meditation.

Part 4: 5-Mins of silent seated meditation. This is the part of the meditation where you get to enjoy the subtle sense perceptions of your body. Over time you will feel more and more pleasant sensations in your body as energy gathers in your danjeon. The key is to remain as still as possible and let your mind settle on body sensation. In the beginning if you feel discomfort I recommend allowing yourself to feel the discomfort and do your best not to move. The only movements should be your breath and occassionally as you sit for longer periods if you notice your spine curving you can gently straighten it.

Please complete this practice once before moving on to the next lesson and please do this practice daily.