Most of us would say our lives are busy and our schedules are full. We are constantly bombarded with information from every possible direction—our boss, smartphone, TV… and also our thoughts, worries, and wandering mind. We are a thinking species—ridiculously so! Yet many of us seek that ‘zen’ moment of quietness and calmness, if only to catch our breath or feel sane again amidst all the noise.

Lao-tzu said:

“The reason we have a lot of trouble

is that we have a lot of selves.”

from Tao Te Ching

What he is telling us is that just as in ancient China, today we still have the work-self, the family-self, the playful-self, the desiring-self, and all the other selves you can think of. We fragment ourselves into blocks of time and then stress out about which self gets which block and for how long. In this way, we cause ourselves perpetual anxiety and combined with all the noise, then stress is unfortunately in avoidable.

Here are 3 simple steps to get you to your zen moment everyday:

1. Find the time in a day where you can get away for 20 minutes, it doesn’t matter when in your day, as long as you can be uninterrupted.
2. Set-up the area to your ideal comfort. With practice you will know what works for you and helps you reach your relaxed state the fastest (see tips below).
3. Do the Dao Lu flow drill or any of the pillars of Dao Lu, i.e. Chi Kung, Tai Chi or Lu Kung Fu. Twenty minutes is all you need if you can focus from the get-go, and otherwise you will be able to do so after some practice.

Don’t give up if it doesn’t work as fast as you want it to, that’s a rookie mistake. Even if you only achieve 1 minute of stillness at the end of the workout, you will have gained something incredible. With practice, it will happen sooner and sooner.

Some useful tips for setting up the exercise space (discover which work for you):

• Make the room as dark as possible, as this helps your eyes relax even when they are closed.
• Close any doors or windows to have as much quiet as possible. For some, very soft music, usually without vocals, in the background helps them relax more.
• Aim for a warmer room so you don’t have to expend energy, or feel uncomfortabl in the cold.