What does standing meditation do to/for you?

[Maddie]

I've heard a lot about "standing meditation" and hear that its supposed to be very good for you, but what exactly does it do? I guess more specifically what does it to do your chakra's and channels, as well as to your energy? I would guess its good for grounding? does it affect the crown chakra as well? what else does it do?

[Celestial]

http://www.youtube.c...StandStillBeFit

 

Those videos will explain the benefits of standing meditation.

 

Start with Day 1, and come back after the 10th day and tell me if you notice any difference at all. Now don't expect after only 10 days of Zhan Zhuang for it to have a huge impact on you, but you should notice something.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited November 13, 2012 by Celestial

[doc benway]

I think standing meditation is one of the greatest practices the Chinese internal arts has to offer and one of the most important for developing skill in Xingyi, Taiji, and Bagua.

I think it is presumptuous and misleading for me to tell you what it does for anyone but myself.

For me, it has helped to develop and deepen the connection between awareness and physical manifestation.

Whether you like to use Daoist or Hindu terminology and paradigms doesn't really matter - it opens you up to yourself.

It enhances sensitivity to yourself which then extends to others as well as to the environment.

It's a great foundation for shamanic practices.

It helps to correct posture. It has a healing effect on joint and musculoskeletal problems.

It can develop profound strength and also flexibility.

It is extremely useful in achieving "song."

The best thing I can say is practice it for 6 weeks before you decide whether it's worth your time or not.

One warning - IMO, people begin more physically challenging postures way too early in their progress.

This adds physical tension which detracts from the internal development.

I recommend that people new to the practice do basic posture for months, at least.

Eventually, the hands will naturally begin to raise of their own accord.

This is when it's time to start adopting the more complex and physically challenging postures like hug the tree and so on.

As with anything, YMMV!

Enjoy

[ChiDragon]

I've heard a lot about "standing meditation" and hear that its supposed to be very good for you, but what exactly does it do?..... I would guess its good for grounding? does it affect the crown chakra as well? what else does it do?

 

It is mainly building up good muscle tone for the leg muscles. You have good grounding after a long period of practice. Good grounding means good rooting which will allow to anchor your feet to the ground from falling off balance. Good rooting will not allow anyone to push you out of place. The breathing exercise will help you to do the rest of the stuffs that you have asked.

Edited November 13, 2012 by ChiDragon

[GrandmasterP]

It saves you having to think where to put your feet next.

[ChiDragon]

Keep your eyes on the legs of the guy in red to see how he maintain his calm and balance and how powerful his punches are. He has good muscle tone. BTW He is a kung fu expert had won twenty-nine fights in the roll. In the video, he is fighting the bodyguard of the Russian President Putin.

 

http://v.youku.com/v...g==.html

Edited November 13, 2012 by ChiDragon

[ChiDragon]

Here is another guy in white has good rooting with the legs to maintain his body balance. Check it out at 1:20.

http://v.youku.com/v...IxMjc0NzQ0.html

 

 

Here is the guy in red again. See how he handles the kicks above the waist from his opponent. BTW he never kick above the waist because he knows better. When he kicks, he always kept one foot on the floor for rooting and leverage. That is why he kicks are so powerful...!!! Even through he was knocked out at 6:35, his feet were still anchored to the floor.

 

 

http://v.youku.com/v...U2NTMzNjA0.html

The opponent cannot withstand the kicks was because he doesn't have any muscle tone in his legs. He was hurt in many places in his left leg. Especially in the beginning, he was hurt in the inside of the left thigh.

 

Keep the legs strong to maintain body balance is what Zuan Zhuang will do for you.

Edited November 14, 2012 by ChiDragon

[Gerard]

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Edited September 16, 2013 by Gerard

[Marks of Glory]

Once you reach an advanced stage drop it and focus on moving and sitting meditation practice. Then come back and see if you really need it.

 

I have been practicing Pranayama and sitting meditation daily for three years now.

 

I noticed that for months on a row I kept entering into a mental slumber, sleepiness process, without alot of benefits.

After starting practicing Zhan Zhuang, everything changed. I practice standing meditation for about 1hr - 1hr 30min at night and sitting meditation on the mornings. The result is incredible, sometimes I need to stop the sitting meditation earlear due to excessive energy.

 

I feel very lucky to findout about the standing meditation. Really nice. A true complementary practice to sitting meditation.

 

Sometimes after a good session, some frieds have said to me that they are able to see auras and even feel extre-physical entities. (He believed that he attracted the spirit because his energy got strong.)

 

Every day of practice is a new discovery. New energy patterns. New insights into the practice and into my energetic nature.

[Ish]

I've heard a lot about "standing meditation" and hear that its supposed to be very good for you, but what exactly does it do? I guess more specifically what does it to do your chakra's and channels, as well as to your energy? I would guess its good for grounding? does it affect the crown chakra as well? what else does it do?

 

It's only as good as how well you practice it.

[Cheshire Cat]

I've heard a lot about "standing meditation" and hear that its supposed to be very good for you, but what exactly does it do? I guess more specifically what does it to do your chakra's and channels, as well as to your energy? I would guess its good for grounding? does it affect the crown chakra as well? what else does it do?

 

I've been falsely accused of making use of doping and hormones for strenght in my jujitsu class...

[idiot_stimpy]

Deepens concentration

[Ish]

I've been falsely accused of making use of doping and hormones for strenght in my jujitsu class...

 

Haha thats pretty funny, what form of Zhan Zhuang do you practice?

[thelerner]

I practice standing meditation for about 1hr - 1hr 30min at night and sitting meditation on the mornings. The result is incredible, sometimes I need to stop the sitting meditation earlear due to excessive energy.

 

I feel very lucky to findout about the standing meditation. Really nice. A true complementary practice to sitting meditation.

 

Sometimes after a good session, some frieds have said to me that they are able to see auras and even feel extre-physical entities. (He believed that he attracted the spirit because his energy got strong.)

 

Every day of practice is a new discovery. New energy patterns. New insights into the practice and into my energetic nature.

I'll repeat Ish's question to you. What form of Zhan Zhuang do you practice? Any special arm or leg positions?

Thanks

[Cheshire Cat]

Lam Kam Chuen's books (the way of energy and The way of power) are my Zhang Zhuang bible with little adjustment based on my personal energetic structure.

Basically I work on each position until I can reach a certain level of mastery and then I use that same position as "standard stance for meditation" (as full lotus is for traditional zenists).

 

The open secret is to cultivate zen mind in zhang zhuang. This gives faster and deeper results than any other approach (except breath retention).

If you don't like zen mind because you claim to be a daoist, then you can probably find an equivalent meditation in daoist tradition. :-)

 

Haha thats pretty funny, what form of Zhan Zhuang do you practice?

[Celestial]

Lam Kam Chuen's books (the way of energy and The way of power) are my Zhang Zhuang bible with little adjustment based on my personal energetic structure.

Basically I work on each position until I can reach a certain level of mastery and then I use that same position as "standard stance for meditation" (as full lotus is for traditional zenists).

 

The open secret is to cultivate zen mind in zhang zhuang. This gives faster and deeper results than any other approach (except breath retention).

If you don't like zen mind because you claim to be a daoist, then you can probably find an equivalent meditation in daoist tradition. :-)

 

Yep these are the two books that I have as well.

 

Read my post, it's the second one down from the OP.

[Ish]

Lam Kam Chuen's books (the way of energy and The way of power) are my Zhang Zhuang bible with little adjustment based on my personal energetic structure.

Basically I work on each position until I can reach a certain level of mastery and then I use that same position as "standard stance for meditation" (as full lotus is for traditional zenists).

 

The open secret is to cultivate zen mind in zhang zhuang. This gives faster and deeper results than any other approach (except breath retention).

If you don't like zen mind because you claim to be a daoist, then you can probably find an equivalent meditation in daoist tradition. :-)

 

Great.

I would say if you want to describe it in Taoist terms then -

you wei (getting the right position and structure, song) --> Wu wei (just being - Zen mind).

Indeed i have found myself the powerful energy only appears once you get this formula correct.

[Marks of Glory]

I'll repeat Ish's question to you. What form of Zhan Zhuang do you practice? Any special arm or leg positions?

Thanks

 

Thelerner, I read master kam lam chuens books and videos on youtube.

 

I practice holding the belly, holding the ball on the chest, arms spread oon sides and holding um heaven. Will try other ones after some more weeks who knows.

 

I am still a newbie on zhan zhuang, but it is very powerful for me.

 

As an overall formula though, I would first master breathing processes such as nadi shodhana pranayama (on the morning) with high retention periods. That certainly will activate your energy. After that I would start to add on zhan zhuandg practice at night. I recomend this because it is the way I did it.

 

I thought I was going insane, for months on a row everything was constantly spinning around me. I was totaly spaced out, I couldn't walk on a straing line, always tilting to my left. I didn't know what was happening.

 

So I started practicing zhan zhuang at night, after some months I discovered how to reallly STAY STILL, like a rock, a mountain, And a miracle happened. my body stayed still, the spinning sensation stopped and all of a sudden a spiraling energy current started moving round my body like a snake, i finaly separated the energy from my body, and it was very pleasent. I ended up discovering also that thoughts are formed by energy, a kind of subtle matter on top of the head, so I learned how to stop the thought process, so the "energy" ontop of my head to get loose and start spiraling around my body in the most fantastic spiral moving patterns, often spirling down my left leg into the ground.

 

The Pranayama activated the energy currents and the standing meditation gave the last "pull" to further unlock. Incredible.

 

those experiences are the latest ones I had, but every week or so I discover new ones, truly amazing..

 

I agree with DAO rain tao... an empty mind is totally necessary for the new experiences. and.... STAND STILL, ROCK STEADY...

[Celestial]

This is my 6th day of doing Zhan Zhuang for only 5 minutes each day (I am following the books instruction to the letter). I only do the first position, and my knees still ache like hell afterwards. I notice powerful energy moving in my hands and feet but no where else around my body. I also notice the whole world in front of me going almost completely dark even though my eyes are open the entire time.

[宁]

Been practicing for more than three months, up to one hour two session per day.

It's a great practice, it teaches your body about alignment in a very straightforward way.

Increases stamina, physical power and clears the mind.

It brings your mind inside your body ~ something many meditators need !!

 

On a downside, with time it starts to pull all of your energy up to the head, could cause slightly high bloodpressure.

Overdone it can become unballancing, you need practices that work the energy different ways, in order to complement the upward pull.

 

Overall, once you want to give it a try, work it up to an hour, and keep it that way for three months. Then you decide how good is it TO YOU.

[effilang]

This is my 6th day of doing Zhan Zhuang for only 5 minutes each day (I am following the books instruction to the letter). I only do the first position, and my knees still ache like hell afterwards. I notice powerful energy moving in my hands and feet but no where else around my body. I also notice the whole world in front of me going almost completely dark even though my eyes are open the entire time.

 

I get this too, but not only with standing. Eyes wide open and everything goes black. If you let it be you'll sink deeper and deeper into that darkness, but only if you don't pay attention to it being there. The instant you think about it, it disappears.

[Celestial]

I get this too, but not only with standing. Eyes wide open and everything goes black. If you let it be you'll sink deeper and deeper into that darkness, but only if you don't pay attention to it being there. The instant you think about it, it disappears.

 

Haha exactly! The minute I think about everything going black, it goes away. Can you explain why it goes dark in the first place?

[Andrei]

I have a supposition about that: either you flood your visual cortex with "energy" and you don't focus anymore on visual sense or just disconnects the visual sensory input. Either way is weird how unaware are we of our own body functioning. In my first attempts to meditation with wide eyes open I could modify the visual image having a negative imprint on the visual cortex, but this is only possible in crepuscular light or in a shadowed not dark room.

[doc benway]

On a downside, with time it starts to pull all of your energy up to the head, could cause slightly high bloodpressure.

Overdone it can become unballancing, you need practices that work the energy different ways, in order to complement the upward pull.

 

Where is your intent when you stand?

Do you practice qi sinks to dan tian?

[寒月 Hanyue]

I only do the first position, and my knees still ache like hell afterwards.

 

Where is the ache? is it muscular? or does it feel more in the joint? Is it front of the knee, side, back?

 

You need to learn to open the knees and allow the weight to transfer through them. Your weight getting stuck there may lead to injury, and simply standing more doesn't always lead to the knees opening.

 

Best,