For thousands of years Taoists have used meditation (taoyin) or internal alchemy (nei-danshu) as a tool for releasing emotional demons and entering into "higher" levels of consciousness. Meditation can be practiced sitting, lying down, or in a moving practice such as Taiji or Ba Gua. Generally, it is advised that students first become comfortable with the standing and dissolving chi gong before attempting to advance on to the more demanding meditation practices. Taoist meditation uses the "inner-dissolving" method of "ice to water, water to space" to release blockages in the emotional body and find the "inner-space" which allows one to find inner peace while connecting directly to the energy of the physical world around us.