If you practice Zhan Zhuang, for how long do you stand?

[Vitalii]

I heard that it is not recommended practicing Zhan Zhuang for more than two hours. it's not good. It may be harmful.

 

yes, if you are practicing without a teacher or you do not have enough experience.

[ChiDragon]

What harm could it be done...???
It could only burns up your calories. Isn't it.....???

[Friend]

I heard that it is not recommended practicing Zhan Zhuang for more than two hours. it's not good. It may be harmful.

It depends on your development.

Chinese hours are actually 2hours.

So practise is 2 chinese hours which is four hours.

Actually you have build so much Qi you sit on that + arms start to float.

If after that standing time you get tired and stiff out then it is only willpower and disciplined body

which will pay back some day for the torture.

It also happen to sitting meditation or using sitting posture where one fight to sit straight and hold the posture.

 

This is why Wu Chi is starting first to stand errect by natural like stacking the components.

To deepen this is to sit. Then if one archive it to max out the torso rising and then go back

to natural standing with starting using arm posture.

 

When one is ready for horse stance one is errect when one go down to 90°

without having an impulse pushing one bending forward but upward.

If one not follow this one has to fight the bending forward by standing straight which is again

use of effort which is hindering ones progress to rely on Qi than on Li.

 

Whenever one start to compete with others how long one can stand then one lost

and add to the accumulation of stress response to the practise.

Doing a little every day regular and after long time increase time one gain stable foundation.

Haste kills the progress and becomes hinderance.

 

A teacher is a different thing, if can help you with Qigong and increase it while you stand.

[Miles]

I stood for 2 hours every day, and sometimes 3-4 hours pauseless.

Yes, it's very impressive! Personally I never stand more than 30 min.

[Vitalii]

Yes, it's very impressive! Personally I never stand more than 30 min.

 

When new students come to my trainings, even the first time they stand 30-40 minutes, and when they come to retreat, they stand for 2 hours after 2 days.

[Ish]

Vitali - what kind of results have you seen once you have done 2 hours standing daily for, lets say, 2-3 years? It must be quite incredible.

[Vitalii]

Vitalii, did you/do you personally notice a difference when you stand at 5-7 in the morning, versus other times of the day (specifically, later in the day)?

 

Yes, I can feel this difference very well, Qi in a space is completely different in different times and therefore the internal processes occur in different ways.

From 5-7 is the perfect time for Zhan Zhuang practice. When I just started practicing it was only beautiful words for me, but then I really felt it myself and understood why this time is the best.

[soaring crane]

 

Yes, I can feel this difference very well, Qi in a space is completely different in different times and therefore the internal processes occur in different ways.

From 5-7 is the perfect time for Zhan Zhuang practice. When I just started practicing it was only beautiful words for me, but then I really felt it myself and understood why this time is the best.

 

Lungs are fully active and the Large Intestine is coming to life at that time. Metal/Air, breakfast

 

I have a question Vitalii - what posture(s) would you hold when standing for that long?

[Vitalii]

Vitali - what kind of results have you seen once you have done 2 hours standing daily for, lets say, 2-3 years? It must be quite incredible.

 

The first time it was hard, I felt discomfort in my arms and legs and for me it was very hard to maintain correct inner work.

But after some time I really started feeling Qi of Heaven and Earth very well and I felt that the circulation of Qi in my body had improved, my yin and yang Qi became balanced.

I started felling that my energetic system and my body became more stronger and my martial art practice got better.

I could collect Qi in dantian faster and started felling the original Qi in the sitting meditation.

And ultimately I could fuse yin and yang.

[Vitalii]

Lungs are fully active and the Large Intestine is coming to life at that time. Metal/Air, breakfast

 

I have a question Vitalii - what posture(s) would you hold when standing for that long?

 

I kept my palms at the level of my lower dantian about 6 month, then at the level of my middle dantian about 6 month and then at the level of my upper dantian about 5-6 month.

At the moment I use this or that position depending on my needs and feelings.

[CloudHands]

and what about the legs ?

[Vitalii]

and what about the legs ?

 

Like that:

[CloudHands]

standing slower is something you'd agree with ? Like 90° legs ?

[Vitalii]

Like 90° legs ?

 

When you standing 90° legs, your inner work will be different and focus of your practice will shift to the physical body.

 

Zhan Zhuang in martial arts and Zhan Zhuang for neidan have different inner work.

 

When a person practices Zhan Zhuang in martial arts, his goal is to make a structured and holistic body.

 

In Zhan Zhuang for neidan, ones goal is to connect own mind and spirit with the spirit of Nature, feel and understand the Unity of internal and external.

[joeblast]

it takes more integrated breathwork at 90. consider the different between a fully ingrained reverse breath on 90, vs breathing in some other fashion...just like in meditation, get below the glass floor by conquering breath.

[CloudHands]

Ok, that's the reason.

[Green Tiger]

 

Good thread! I love this video of Williem de Thouars. I've heard a lot about him, but never saw him move until now. Very impressive!

 

For the past year or so I haven't been standing very long. 20 or 30 mins tops.

 

I recently met a local tai chi teacher who said 40 mins is the minimum for developing internal power. It is both inspiring and discouraging to read about people practicing 3-4 hours. On the one hand, I love a good challenge. On the other, I just don't have the time!

[宁]

IMHO the only gains you can count are the ones that let you enjoy your stay here on this beautiful earth, for other purposes what we need is not to gain, but to lose, the more you empty up, the closer you come to the emptiness that generates, allows, supports and destroys everything in existence.

[Miles]

I love this video of Williem de Thouars. I've heard a lot about him, but never saw him move until now. Very impressive!

 

Good video.

Some movements similar to Baguazhang..

[AlexKarmazin]

I start practicing Zhan Zhuang from one hour after retreat with Vitaliy. After month I increas standing time to 1.5 hours and after 6 months I start practicing 2 hours each day. I am doing it already for 2 years and most of the time I stand holding my hands near lower dantian.

[spiraltao]

For health benefits at least 45 minutes per day. For martial benefits at least one hour a day. I prefer to do our eight mother palm standing stake after wuji.

...if I were to have a favorite posture it would be wuji. Also I always begin and end with wuji.

My first two years of baguazhang training was almost all ZZ.

[TomBrad]

At the moment I do 5 minutes, but I've just started and I hope to go a lot longer. What I would like to do would be to do about 20 minutes low horse stance and then straight after go into Zhan Zhuang for thirty minutes, so I could do altogether 50 minutes. Is that advisable? After all the first is physical, the other is more energetic, so I'm not mixing different cultivation energies as such, which is said to be wrong.

[Rocky Lionmouth]

Tried standing for a bit yesterday evening while waiting to be served in a semi-crowded bar. I noticed that the people oscillated/swayed in a remarkably synchronized fashion, more like a social action than a consequence of inebriation.

[Vitalii]

Just to clarify, the question still stands though. What quality of qi are we working on in Zhan Zuang (yin qi, yang qi, other..) , and what's the alchemical process taking place. I have a few pieces so far but I'm still not clear. Thanks

 

If you practice correctly then you will absorb Qi of Heaven (yang qi) and Qi of Earth (yin qi).

 

Zhan Zuang is really powerful exercise, but it is not alchemy.

[GreytoWhite]

After practicing in neck high water - standing outside of water seems empty. Although if I am doing something rather dynamic like Andrew Nugent-Head describes here I cannot hold a posture for very long as it is changing my body too quickly and exposing weakness. The tattoos on my forearms have elongated - the taijitu is closer to a football if I point my index finger.