Zhan Zhuang -- What is it? Recommended books?

[DaoChild]

Hey guys. I just came across the Zhan Zhuang type postures, but have read many diverse opinions regarding their use. Can you explain what they are for? Are they just a method of power training for conditiong & retaining peace of mind?

 

Can you recommend any books with a starter posture? (That no doubt will be difficult.. I'm looking for ones that DO require physical exertion, but aren't impossible

 

Thanks

[neidan practitioner]

Hey guys. I just came across the Zhan Zhuang type postures, but have read many diverse opinions regarding their use. Can you explain what they are for? Are they just a method of power training for conditiong & retaining peace of mind?

 

Can you recommend any books with a starter posture? (That no doubt will be difficult.. I'm looking for ones that DO require physical exertion, but aren't impossible

Thanks

 

I was told that zhan zhuang literally means something like standing stance.

In other words, it is standing practice, or standing meditation.

It can be used to help calm the mind, strengthen the connecting tissue in the

body, and in my experience is also a very effective form of qigong (it builds

energy fairly quickly).

You can find some more information here:

http://www.yiquan.org.uk/art-zz.html

 

The most basic standing stance is the wuji standing stance, which is done as follows,

(you will likely come across variations of this):

Stand with the feet parallel, about shoulder width apart, with the toes facing straight forward.

The knees are slightly bent, i.e., do not lock the knees, but let them extend forward a bit over the feet.

The pelvis is tucked in a bit to help naturally straighten the lower spine. You are not

pushing the pelvis all the way forward, that will feel awkward and unnatural. For me it

feels like I move the lower part of the spine about an inch forward or so from the

fully backward extended position of the pelvis. This feels relaxed and natural.

The back is kept naturally straight, with the chest sunken, i.e., do not lift the chest at all,

just stand vertically with the chest and shoulders completely relaxed.

In the wuji stance, the arms can just hang down naturally by your sides, or

you can rest the palms lightly on the sides of the legs.

You should also lower the chin slightly which straightens the back of the neck.

You can close the eyes, or just close them a bit, and gaze forward.

The breathing should be slow, deep, soft, and natural.

 

A variation of this is to hold the arms in a semi-circle in front of the body,

with palms facing inward, and with the shoulders and elbows dropped.

This can be done at the height of the navel, or at chest height, and is known

as big tree, or tree standing, and maybe known by some other names as well.

There are many other variations of standing stances as well.

What I described are the basic stances as was taught to me, but although

they may be basic stances, they are a very effective form of qigong in my experience.

 

- np -

 

[Edit: Fixed a couple grammatical errors.]

Edited May 17, 2009 by neidan practitioner

[Pranaman]

edit: triple duplicate post

Edited May 17, 2009 by Pranaman

[Pranaman]

edit: duplicate post

Edited May 17, 2009 by Pranaman

[Pranaman]

I do not own this book, but my Sifu has trained with the author, Yu Yong Nian. The book is "Zhan Zhuang & The Search Of Wu". From what I have read about Yu Yong Nian's book, I think his teachings and what I have been taught are similar or same styles of standing. I enjoy the feeling it gives me as well as the subtle and immediate martial benefits I recieve, I can imagine what standing 1 hour a day would do. That book shows you how to stand, mentally and physically, as well as gives results of scientific studies on ZZ. I'd check it out, I plan on buying it myself soon.

 

I really like my practice, but it's painful at the moment and I only do 6mins on good days, sometimes 10, never less then 5 (and always in horse stance, sometimes i'll add 5min combat stance each leg, and 1:30 in dragon). My goal is 20mins a day by September.

[neidan practitioner]

Here is more info on zhan zhuang from the dachengquan crowd's perspective.

One should keep in mind that zhan zhuang was common to all the internal

martial arts though, so it has a broad tradition.

http://www.da-cheng-chuan.org/tga1.htm

 

- np -

[Creation]

Two books that go into great detail about wuji standing are B.K. Frantzis' Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body and Jan Diepersloot's Warriors of Stillness. Frantzis goes into greater depth about breathing and has more practices and qigong theory, and Diepersloot's gets into more detail about the martial aspects of wuji (more precisely: how it relates to proper movement). I highly recommend them both.

 

For a book covering several martially oriented zhan zhuang postures, try Lam Kam Chuen's Chi Kung: Way of Power. His Way of Energy is also very good, but is more of a qigong-for-everybody type of book.

 

Btw, Zhan Zhuang = "standing like a post".

[Dainin]

Traditional Chinese Therapeutic Exercises: Standing Pole

 

Product Description

The "Standing Pole Exercises" are a unique form of calisthenics involving the cultivation and integration of mind and body under the conditions of non-movement or slight movement. In this book, the authors outline the ancient Chinese tradition of therapeutic exercises, now known as qi-gong, of which these exercises form a part, the practice of the "Standing Pole Exercises" today, and the physiological factors underlying their therapeutic effect. These exercises constitute a very simple and effective system for the treatment of illness and the development of overall health and fitness, suitable for practice by persons of all ages and physical constitution.

[WhiteTiger]

Just a reminder note... If any of these supposed practices of ZZ, Standing meditation, Pole standing, should all generally incorperate Stilling the mind. (some call it clearing the mind)

[Trevcaru]

ZZ is used to integrate/interpenetrate/connect the entire body and/or mind. You may hear a lot about whole body movement, this is practically essential for any internal martial art. I would recommend standing meditation for at least an hour a day for 3 years before training any internal martial art. But even standing meditation requires a qualified teacher. I had someone ask me for adjustments who had been practicing for over a year with no teacher, he had pretty much wasted a year as far as internal martial arts are concerned. Maybe he saw some mental aspects that come along with sheer discipline from his practice, but little more. There was good reason that they taught aspiring students only ZZ for 3 years before teaching anything else. Even master yao (yiquan) would have me stand 3-5 hours a day. Im lazy, but also its ok to tone it down quite a bit the more integrated the body/mind/intention is, i practice ZZ a little over a hour a day now. I have been practicing ZZ for 6 years. Only recently has my current teacher really started to show me much of anything else. But looks like you are on a good path finding interest in ZZ. Its definitely worth the time, i can say that now. Will internal always be that elusive place on the other side of the river? There is no substitute for hard work. You get what you put in. No magic, no shortcuts.

Edited May 19, 2009 by Trevcaru

[minkus]

ZZ is used to integrate/interpenetrate/connect the entire body and/or mind. You may hear a lot about whole body movement, this is practically essential for any internal martial art. I would recommend standing meditation for at least an hour a day for 3 years before training any internal martial art. But even standing meditation requires a qualified teacher. I had someone ask me for adjustments who had been practicing for over a year with no teacher, he had pretty much wasted a year as far as internal martial arts are concerned. Maybe he saw some mental aspects that come along with sheer discipline from his practice, but little more. There was good reason that they taught aspiring students only ZZ for 3 years before teaching anything else. Even master yao (yiquan) would have me stand 3-5 hours a day. Im lazy, but also its ok to tone it down quite a bit the more integrated the body/mind/intention is, i practice ZZ a little over a hour a day now. I have been practicing ZZ for 6 years. Only recently has my current teacher really started to show me much of anything else. But looks like you are on a good path finding interest in ZZ. Its definitely worth the time, i can say that now. Will internal always be that elusive place on the other side of the river? There is no substitute for hard work. You get what you put in. No magic, no shortcuts.

 

Great post ! You get what you put in yes.

 

Like planting a little seed and giving it water every day it grows and grows slowly till one day it becomes a big oak

 

As mentioned above you need a teacher for ZZ really, its impossible to correct yourself 100% and chances are big that witouth someone correcting the stance you will generate more problems then the advantages ZZ gives. Small deviation in the beginning will lead to big deviation at the end.

 

Good luck !

[11:33]

Small deviation in the beginning will lead to big deviation at the end.

 

When I first took up qigong years ago I started with Zhan Zhuang from The Way of Energy by Lam Kam Chuen.

 

After about a week or so of diligently following the instructions I found myself angry. Very angry and just emotionally a mess. I was upset at people for no reason. I had a lot of blockages in my channels at that time and learning these zhan zhuang exercises was too much for me, they exacerbated the negative. Maybe you would fair differently. I know a lot of people manage to escape the pitfalls.

 

When in doubt, find an instructor to check your posture.

[gendao]

The second question is easy, according to Longmen Pai's tradition, the following 14 characters summarized all possible qigong practice (proper qigong) in existence :

 

動修經絡立修脈，坐修神意臥修靈。

 

Translation: Moving practice cultivate the Meridians, Standing practice cultivate the Channels, Sitting Practice cultivate the Shen (spirit) and Yi (intention), sleeping practice cultivate the Ling (soul).

I would be curious exactly as to why each qigong type cultivates each aspect in particular?

[Pranaman]

ZZ is used to integrate/interpenetrate/connect the entire body and/or mind. You may hear a lot about whole body movement, this is practically essential for any internal martial art. I would recommend standing meditation for at least an hour a day for 3 years before training any internal martial art. But even standing meditation requires a qualified teacher. I had someone ask me for adjustments who had been practicing for over a year with no teacher, he had pretty much wasted a year as far as internal martial arts are concerned. Maybe he saw some mental aspects that come along with sheer discipline from his practice, but little more. There was good reason that they taught aspiring students only ZZ for 3 years before teaching anything else. Even master yao (yiquan) would have me stand 3-5 hours a day. Im lazy, but also its ok to tone it down quite a bit the more integrated the body/mind/intention is, i practice ZZ a little over a hour a day now. I have been practicing ZZ for 6 years. Only recently has my current teacher really started to show me much of anything else. But looks like you are on a good path finding interest in ZZ. Its definitely worth the time, i can say that now. Will internal always be that elusive place on the other side of the river? There is no substitute for hard work. You get what you put in. No magic, no shortcuts.

 

^^ This where it's at.