Thursdays, 14.00-15.00 (Maine, USA time)
Daoist Direct Meditation Cohort
In times of uncertainty and tension in the world, many people feel overwhelmed by information, opinions, and constant mental stimulation. Daoist meditation offers a different approach: returning to balance, simplicity, and direct experience.
The practices explored in this cohort are intentionally simple. Rather than adding more techniques or ideas, practitioners learn how to sit and forget.
This quiet and steady approach may appear ordinary, but it is precisely this simplicity that allows deeper clarity and stability to emerge.
The Daoist Direct Meditation Cohort is an ongoing practitioner community exploring the classical contemplative practices of Daoism. Each session combines body practice like Qi Gong/meditation and the study of Daoist texts as practical inspiration for cultivation.
The emphasis is on practice rather than philosophical discussion, learning how to enter meditation through posture, balance, and natural awareness. This Special Cohort will next year also be made available as a pre-recorded course.
What you will learn
- The classical Daoist meditation practice zuò wàng (坐忘) — “sitting and forgetting,” cultivating stillness and natural awareness
- How to relax body and mind into natural alignment, allowing mental activity to settle without force
- 20 minutes of Daoist body cultivation each session, including Qigong and Zìnéng practices
- Practical insight from selected chapters of the Dao De Jing, explored as guidance for meditation practice
- The Daoist principle of Wu Wei Dao — effortless alignment with the natural way
- Participation in a community of practitioners, open to both beginners and experienced meditators, with access to earlier Daoist teachings for deeper study
2026 Meeting Schedule
Dates for 2026:
February 26
- April 9
- June 4
- Sept 10
- Nov 25
- Dec 10
Time: Thursdays, 14:00 – 15:00 (Maine, USA time)
Open & Ongoing Enrollment
You are welcome to join the Practitioner Cohort at any time. Our ongoing format allows students to enter at any stage and deepen their study and practice steadily within the community.
Pre-requiste: None
Flexible Pricing:
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Single Cohort: $180/year or 12 installments of $15/month
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All Cohorts: $360/year or 12 installments of $30/month (Join all available cohorts and save! View available cohorts )
Pre-requisite: None
Live & Recorded: If you are unable to attend live, session recordings will stay available via our Kajabi community platform.
For practitioners interested in going deeper, recordings from an earlier seven-month Daoist training exploring the Dao De Jing and the meditation practice of zuò wàng are made available soon for further study.
About the Teacher
Dharma Bodhi (Kol Martens)
Dharma Bodhi began practicing yoga at seven years of age. In his teens he moved into practices of Chan Buddhism and Daoism received through his Chinese martial arts teachers in New York. After completing his chiropractic degree he studied in an Oral-Practice Tradition of Non-Dual Śaiva Tantra, taking initiation into one of the Daśnami Orders of practice from India. In 1996 he complete ācārya training under his Śaiva gurus. This training emphasized traditional Kundalinī Hatha Yoga and a progressive system of Meditation, along supportive studies in ritual/pūjā and yoga texts. Since graduating as a Śaiva ācārya, he took refuge with a great master of Bönpo Dzogchen meditation, and studied with him by taking multiple trips per year to his monastery in India for a period of 8 years. He studies both Dzogchen meditation & yoga (trul khor), and Dzogchen preliminary and advanced texts. Both his Śaiva and Dzogchen masters gave him the task of teaching these systems stripped of the unnecessary aspects of the cultures and languages they are found in. His Dzogchen master also gave him the task of translating two Tibetan texts. One of which is finished and the other is in process. He now lives with his wife, Sahaja Dakinī, and their two children in rural Maine, USA. He is developing a practice hermitage in the wilderness of Maine and a European teaching center on the border of Italy and Switzerland.
