Abstract

Offering a fresh perspective on immediate presence and embodied spiritual practice, The Four Dignities shows how the mindful cultivation of the four essential postures – walking, standing, sitting, and lying down – are the basis for a formal practice to develop greater vitality and spiritual awakening. The author reveals the subtle inner nuances of the four traditional meditations, and shows how they can be practiced as a unified system. Readers are given a profound understanding of correct posture, alignment, breathing, and attention, and the author explains the philosophical basis for the practice, offering a pathway toward realizing profound spiritual and energetic transformation.

This accessible yet profound study will be an invaluable resource for students and practitioners of yoga, taiji, qigong, and meditation, as well as spiritual seekers, and anyone interested in Eastern philosophy or the study of movement.

Cain Carroll has produced a must-have book that is essential reading for any self-respecting person on the path of self-cultivation. A wonderful collection of wisdom from diverse traditions that serves to illuminate the simple universal truths at their heart. This book needs to be with you standing, walking, sitting or lying down.
Gordon Faulkner, Principal Instructor, Chanquanshu School of Daoist Arts and author of Managing Stress with Qigong
Cain Carroll is a pioneering teacher, speaker and author in the field of self-healing and embodied spirituality. He has studied the martial, healing, and spiritual arts of Asia since childhood. Cain is founder of the Taoflow Yoga system, co-author of Partner Yoga, Mudras of India, Mudras of Yoga Card Deck, and creator of three instructional DVDs: Pain-Free Joints, Heal Neck & Shoulder Pain, and Digestive Power. Visit www.caincarroll.com
The four dignities form the basis of all Eastern wisdom traditions and this book provides a comprehensive overview of the nature of sitting, standing, walking and lying down in the internal arts. As well as this are a host of other useful sections on the nature of mind/consciousness and the path of internal cultivation. This is a great book for those engaged in any form of spiritual training.
Damo Mitchell, author of Daoist Nei Gong and Heavenly Streams
In China, we have a saying that we commonly apply to our inner cultivation practice: ZhanZuoXingWoBuLiZheGe ????????, which means never leave from "This" whenever you are standing, sitting, walking, or reclining. What is "This" and how do we stay with "This"? In Cain Carroll's The Four Dignities, you will find the answers!
Master Zhongxian Wu, lifelong Daoist practitioner and author of 12 books (5 in Chinese) on Chinese wisdom traditions