Standing Qigong

Classic Texts Relevant to Standing Qigong Practice

The following words of Grandmaster Wang Xiang Zhai, founder of modern Zhan Zhuang practice and a renowned practitioner of wushu (martial art), explains the importance of standing practice to the martial arts:

"A small movement is better than a big movement,
No movement is better than a small movement,
Stillness is the mother of all movements."

These words of the ancient "Tao Te Ching" are also relevant to Zhan Zhuang:

"Standing alone and unchanging,
One can observe every mystery
Present at every moment and ceaselessly continuing -
This is the gateway to indescribable marvels."

Zhan Zhuang is a standing meditation practice. As a meditation practice, it helps one reach a state of stillness. Stillness in standing meditation means that the body and the mind become more unified and quiet. The quietness permits a more profound state of relaxation in the muscles and organs, which helps internal energy movement. (Qi does not move through a tense muscle.) The tranquility of mind and body is an effect of the internal balancing of yin and yang energy, as symbolized by the perfect T'ai Chi symbol. This sense of tranquility and enhanced awareness can be carried with you to improve your martial arts performance and your functioning in daily activities.

The most simple way to practice, and the proper place to start practicing Zhan Zhuang, is by using the Wuji (neutral) posture. In this form, you stand with your shoulders and elbows relaxed, arms hang loosely at your sides, palms facing backwards (as shown in the photo), which helps open the armpits. The hands and wrists are relaxed with fingers curved naturally. The fingers are spread apart a little. Your feet should be placed shoulder width apart and parallel. Your knees should be relaxed, not locked, and the kneecaps should not be positioned any further than the end of your toes.

Your eyes should look forward with and slightly down. Allow your gaze to relax. (Some teachers recommend closing the eyes for beginners, as it helps develop inner vision.) Drop your chin a little to create space in the occipital area where the upper part of the spine meets the skull. Release tension in the neck.

Let the chest relax downward, relaxing the upper and then the lower rib cage. A complete exhale helps relaxation. Then relax the belly, the waist and the hips. Allow your lower back to relax downward and unfold. Get a sense of your tailbone relaxing downward and moving forward. Have someone check your alignment to make sure that your are not leaning backward.

Inhale and exhale through the nose. The mouth should be closed and the jaw relaxed. The tip of the tongue should be placed on the roof of the mouth. Let the breath flow naturally and deepen naturally.

Visualizations are important aspects of this exercise. Imagine that your head is suspended from above and that your whole body hangs from that point. You can also visualize that you are sitting on a balloon to help you relax the hips and the lower spine.

For beginners, the duration of the exercise should be from 15-20 minutes. The first 5 minutes or so, your body settles into the posture and then you can take note of the areas of your body that are tense. It is best to work your way from the top of the body and then downward for relaxing the tense areas. In especially tense areas, you can do a visualization method of dissolving the qi blockages as if they were ice: "ice to water, then water to gas." You should focus your attention in a gentle manner and allow the blockage to disappear. Relaxing of the feet and toes should always be done last. Imagine that your energy penetrates the earth and goes into it during the relaxation process.

At the end of the standing, you should place your hands over the lower dantien, right over left for men and the opposite for women, and allow the energy to settle and concentrate there. The lower dantien is between the pubic line and your navel in the center of your body. Once you feel that the energy has settled within the dantien area, you can remove your hands, rub them together and wash the face to refresh yourself. Then you can slowly re-enter the world, or do moving exercises as you like.

Practice at least once a day. It is best to practice twice a day. Start you practice early in the morning and you can do another later in the day. If soothing music helps, then you should use it. Choose a quiet place to practice where you will not be disturbed. Practice is best done outdoors, especially near trees.

Things You Will Notice With Practice

As you are standing, whether you feel it or not, you are drawing energy from the earth. As you have success in the dissolving process, you are also releasing energy from the blockages that exist in your body. Progressive relaxation downward through the body opens up the energy channels for better function of your body. Of particular importance, for moving qigong and T'ai chi, is that your ability to connect to the earth's energy will be improved and you will be able to do the movements from the dantien and through the legs with a better sense of energetic connection.

You may notice various physical sensations while practicing. In the early stages, you may have an aching feeling, which will pass within a few weeks practice as you condition the muscles. The first few weeks are the hardest.

During the dissolving process in particular, you will notice that focused attention on blockages usually corresponds with a lessening of the blockage sensation, accompanied by tingling, heat, sweating or even cold. You may even feel movement inside, which is usually are relaxation of tendons and muscles within the body. Vibrations will sometimes be felt when blockages are dissolved. Areas that are numb will become alive again.

Sometimes you may feel a shaking in the body. This is normal it is related to you muscles reach a point of tension at the limits of their endurance. You should not do anything about it. Just watch it, stay balanced and it will gradually go away.

If you do not notice asymmetry in your body right away when you start your practice, you may notice it occurring a few weeks down the road. Sensations including sweating, numbness, heat or cold, may persist for up to a few months and then normalize. These are normal indications that the exercise is doing its magic.

Advanced Postures

The introductory wuji posture should be practiced for as long as it takes you to become comfortable in that posture. You should be able to hold that posture comfortable for a period of 20 minutes before progressing to the next posture, called "holding the ball." This posture is demonstrated in the first picture of this article.

The "holding the ball" posture is attained by raising your hands up to your chest level. The palms face inward towards the chest and the finger tips are from 4-6 inches apart. The elbows and the shoulders are relaxed downward. Pretend as if you are holding a beach ball against your chest and your arms are resting on the beach ball. This visualization will help your relax your arms so that you will be able to hold the position longer.

The other aspects of the holding the ball stance are similar to that of the wuji posture, except that this posture can be done with a lower position of the waist. The hips relax downward, the tailbone relaxes forward a little, and your knee caps do not bend further than your toes.

When you first try this exercise, you may only be able to hold it for a few minutes. That is fine. Just return to the wuji position and rest your arms. Alternatively, you can rest your arms on your lower back. Over a week or two, you will notice that your endurance will increase and that you will be able to hold the stance for longer and longer. As with the earlier exercise, small, but measurable improvements in your endurance and strength will accumulate over time.

Moving Qigong Exercises

Moving qigong exercises can augment and complement your Zhan Zhuang practice. One type of moving practice that is frequently done after standing is what is called "shaking leaf" qigong. One just simply shakes the body, originating the movement from the hip and leg region. The point of this exercise is to loosen up the body after it has been in one position for a while. Do it for 1-3 minutes, noting and feeling the spots in your body that are not moving well.

There are several introductory types of qigong that are recommended for beginners, such as the Eight Brocade Qigong, an exercise which is very popular in China. A good introduction to this exercise is on the Shen-nong.com site. Another style of qigong which has become very popular is Dragon-Tiger Qigong, as taught by Taoist Lineage Master B. K Frantzis. As with all moving types of qigong, it is important to follow the alignment recommendations for the exercises. Proper alignment of the body is necessary to allow balancing of the energy movement. Hand positions are very important as well, especially in Dragon-Tiger Qigong - where hand placement needs to align with the appropriate extraordinary energy meridians that are used for each movement. If there are workshops by certified instructors in your area, I encourage you to take one.

Of the several resources listed below, I recommend that you first read "Opening the Energy Gates of the Body" by Bruce Frantzis and "The Way of Energy" by Lam Kam Chuen. Other books are provided as resources for further in-depth study of qigong practices.