• Find a comfortable quiet spot and stand easily with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees unlocked. Put yourself into an agreeable mood as much as possible - perhaps by finding something around you that you are grateful for.
• Imagine that there is a silver string running up from the top of your head up into the heavens.
• At the same time, imagine that your feet are well connected to the earth in a joyful way.
• Bring a bit of tension between your head and feet. This helps you to hold your centre.
• Stay like this for a few minutes. As you do, you are gathering qi from the cosmos and from the earth - building qi to help you through your day.

Some people take time in the evening to release this qi so that they can start fresh the next day. Release the qi by doing gentle exercise or movements or walking in nature. Some find rocking in a rocking chair does the job perfectly.

There are no right or wrong ways to do a meditation. The instructions are guidelines; adapt them to who you are and to your needs at that particular time. Be curious about the process itself.

Remember most meditations become richer the more you practice them. They reveal more of themselves. It can take practice to remember to do a meditation when you need to, and it can take practice to go through the steps. But that's why it is called practice, and for most of us, we practice for the rest of our lives.