How to Know If You’re Meditating Correctly | True Meditation Explained Through Nei Gong Practice
- Jiaoshi Andrea
- Nov 9, 2025
- 4 min read
How to Know If You’re Meditating Correctly
One of my students recently asked me a question that many people have at some point in their spiritual path: “How do I know if I’m meditating correctly?”It’s a simple question, but the answer goes far beyond technique or posture. In fact, it touches the very essence of what meditation truly is — and what it is not.
The Misunderstanding Around Meditation
Meditation today is often confused with other activities.Many people believe that meditation means concentrating on something, reciting a mantra, visualizing an image, or sitting in a perfect posture. These can all be useful tools, but they are not meditation itself.
True meditation cannot be “done.” It cannot be achieved through an act of will. It is not something we produce — it is something that reveals itself when the constant interference of the mind begins to dissolve.
In the Nei Gong system, we describe meditation as a particular psychological and physical state. It is not about focusing on an object or chasing sensations. It is about a deep inner relaxation, both mental and energetic, that allows consciousness to become aware of itself.
The Experience of the Experiencer
When I first began to practice, I came from years of Buddhist Vajrayana and Dzogchen training. I was devoted, disciplined, and sincere — but I still felt something was missing. I realized that for me, the missing element was the body: the direct experience of vital energy, the living bridge between mind and spirit.
Through Nei Gong, I discovered a more embodied approach to meditation. I understood that real meditation is not about chasing mystical experiences, nor about reaching a state of “no thought.”Meditation is the experience of the experiencer — awareness becoming aware of itself before it meets the objects of perception.
This recognition cannot be forced. It happens naturally when we stop trying to manipulate our inner state, when the tension that drives our constant mental movement dissolves.
The Role of the Body and Energy
At first, it is helpful to sit in a calm environment, in a posture that supports stillness without tension. But the posture itself is not the key — it is only a support.As our practice deepens, meditation begins to extend beyond the pillow, beyond the quiet moments. It becomes a way of being that permeates every activity.
When the body relaxes, the flow of vital energy (Qi) becomes harmonious.Tension, which is a manifestation of separation and fear, begins to release. This process has profound implications, both physically and psychologically. The more the body opens, the more the mind begins to rest, and what we call “meditation” starts to become a natural state rather than an effort.
Emptying Rather Than Adding
Many beginners become discouraged when they sit to meditate and find their mind full of thoughts. But this is not a failure — it is part of the process. When we observe the movements of the mind without judgment, the observation itself begins to dissolve those movements.Meditation is not about adding something new to ourselves — it is about emptying, about letting go of everything that is not essential.
This can be uncomfortable, because in that stillness we begin to see our own fragmentation, our impatience, our fears. Yet staying with that discomfort is what allows transformation to happen.
Beyond Tools and Techniques
In every tradition, the mind has created tools — mantras, visualizations, rituals — to approach the truth. These tools are valuable, but they are meant to be used and eventually left behind, like a boat that brings us to the other shore.
When we mistake the tool for the destination, we become stuck.Real meditation is beyond any method, beyond any form. It is the silent recognition of what we are — consciousness itself, free from identification and effort.
Meditation and Nei Gong
In Nei Gong practice, meditation plays a fundamental role.It refines our perception and allows us to access deeper layers of energy and awareness. The more we learn to rest in that state of being, the more the vital energy moves naturally and powerfully through us.
Meditation and energy cultivation are not two separate things — they are expressions of the same process of inner awakening.When consciousness becomes still, energy aligns. When energy aligns, consciousness becomes clear.
Returning to Simplicity
The real challenge of meditation is simplicity. We live in a world of constant stimulation, where stillness feels unnatural. But if we truly wish to discover ourselves, we must learn to value silence, to rest without doing, to be without becoming.
Meditation is not an experience to chase — it is the discovery of the one who experiences.When this becomes clear, everything we do — from Nei Gong practice to daily life — is infused with a quiet, effortless awareness that transforms the way we live and perceive the world.
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