Taoist Lung Energy Meditation
Preparation: Sit in a comfortable position. If you are sitting on the floor I always recommend sitting up on a folded blanket - ideally you want your knees to be just below your hips. This will help you sit for longer periods without extra stress in your back. When you’re comfortably seated, place your hands in a comfortable position. I generally recommend interlacing the fingers and placing them on your lap or just in front of your lap, or simply place one palm on top of the other. When you place the hands this way it generates a very nurturing energy and helps one draw the energy inwards for regeneration. You can of course place the hands on the knees. This position, I find, tends to be more suited to an opening and expanding type of energy, good for sending out energy and metta (loving kindness).
Ok, so then close down the eyes and settle into a relaxed posture. Find your breath moving through the nostrils and keep watching it. Just have your attention on your breath, let any thoughts just move through your mind without giving them any attention. Relinquish the mind’s thoughts and images as they arise. Come back to the breath with an alert yet relaxed awareness. Just watch the breath for at least five minutes until the mind starts to settle.
So when the mind has settled a little, move your awareness down to your lungs and your chest cavity. As you breath feel the breath fill the lungs and you can simply say something like this to your lungs “thank you lungs, thank you for helping me to breath. I love and appreciate you and your hard work.” The intention is generate and cultivate appreciation and gratitude towards your lungs.
You can visualize a white, grey cloud being drawn into the lungs and swirling around the chest cavity allowing it to dissolve any blockages or impurities. Also set the intention for it to dissolve any excess grief or sadness that may be stored there. Be sure to keep a deep exhalation breath going while doing this meditation.
After a few minutes, draw your attention to the front of the throat. Feel the breath enter through the front of the throat, cooling and nourishing your lungs as it travels through the throat and into the lungs. You can add an internal mantra to the breath. So as you breath in, focus your attention on the throat and say to yourself “Hummmmm” and as you breathe out, say to yourself “Saaaaaaaa”.
Do this for a few minutes.
After some time, begin to visualize a gentle smile in the area of the lungs and chest area. Send the smile down to your chest, your heart, lungs and throat. Give thanks by smiling to them and then see them smiling back at you.
To complete bring your attention back to the breath at the nostrils. Let go of all other practices. Watch the breath until you feel calm and relaxed. Then when ready, open the eyes gently and release your posture.
Letting Go Meditation
This one is very simple to explain, yet often difficult to practice. You can do this while in a formal meditation posture or you can do it anywhere really – any situation that doesn’t require you to think, which is probably about 80% of the time.
As you sit, after eating a meal, on a park bench, while waiting for the bus, while doing a yoga pose, walking on the beach or even driving, just relinquish thoughts as they arise. Your mind has a habit of always throwing words and images into your head but you don’t have to follow them or give them any importance. Instead, just don’t follow them, let them pass through. If you find your breath and just watch yourself breathing, this can give you an anchor to focus on. Again, when images and thoughts arise, don’t give them any importance. Allow the space to come in. Allow the space rather than cultivating thoughts and stories in the mind.
See if you can sit for at least five minutes while doing this. And practice doing it more and more often.
Life has a magical way of just doing its thing and working things out in its own way, so you don’t need to really think or stress out about much of it at all. Most thought simply serves as a distraction to the present moment that is life. When we are in thinking mode, we are missing the moment. It’s the same with emotions. If anger arises, watch it, don’t follow it, don’t give it any importance. The same goes for any thoughts attached to it. Let it pass—let it go. If you keep practicing this, the emotions and the habit of excess thinking lose their intensity and power, and your life will automatically settle into a much more stable and peaceful place. You don’t have to force anything to happen - just let go of the excess thoughts and unhelpful emotions and the rest will take care of itself.
It is really that simple! Let go of the grudges, let go of the drama, let go of the self-righteousness, let go of your anger and you will have more access to the present moment, to life.