standing meditation to help depression

[vtrader125]

Was having a bad depressive episode, so I decided to do some santi shi, after about 5 minutes, I realized that the edge of the depressive episode was taken off. That intense feeling subsided.

 

Are there any other standing meditations that could also work, but not as physical as san ti shi?

I find that standing meditation is more easier to have more body awareness then normal sitting meditation.

 

[JohnC]

Yes, 

 

These postures:

http://www.alquimiainterna.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ZHAN-ZHUANG-IMAGEN-OK.jpg

 

Specifically figure 2, then into figure 3.

 

For 30 minutes to an hour each.

Should set you straight .

 

John

Edited May 2, 2016 by JohnC

[Taomeow]

Was having a bad depressive episode, so I decided to do some santi shi, after about 5 minutes, I realized that the edge of the depressive episode was taken off. That intense feeling subsided.

 

Are there any other standing meditations that could also work, but not as physical as san ti shi?

I find that standing meditation is more easier to have more body awareness then normal sitting meditation.

 

The difficulty IS the remedy.

 

The more extreme the difficulty, the more radical the remedy.

 

Try the simplest zhan zhuang (no stance, just loose pole standing) for a length of time at the outer limits of your endurance -- then stand for another hour.

 

When the comfort ends, gong fu begins.  When it becomes painful, make sure you only have burning pain in your thighs, not in your knees, ankles, shoulders, back -- adjust the posture if you feel pain there, and loosen up, relax, relax.

 

Your system will switch to making something useful of all the neural and neuromuscular mechanisms involved in depression -- it simply won't have the resources to maintain both the chronic depression and the immediate challenge of extreme physical difficulty.  It will have to choose.  

 

Soldiers returning from wars often get depressed (for reasons too multiple and complex to go into here), but during the war, the incidence goes down dramatically -- and no one has ever been depressed in combat.  

 

Good luck.   

[thelerner]

I like combining zhan zhuang (simple natural stance) with Rawn Clark's Archaeous series.  They're free audios, about 15 minutes long and because they 'stack' the elements on the body- hips down is earth, stomach is water, lungs air etc., they work well for standing though that is not what they were intended for.  They make the 15 minutes go by easily. 

 

http://www.abardoncompanion.de/Archaeous-Links.html

 

Its not standing but the other thing I'd recommend is Gabriel Roth's Sweat Your Prayers- Wave dance style.  Putting your body through particular rhythms gets you out of your head and into the fundamental pulses of life.   You can find pieces of it on youtube.  

[doc benway]

I would also recommend starting with the very basic posture - hands around the level of the lower dan tian.

If you do not have experience with zhan zhuang, the more physically challenging postures will shorten the duration of practice you can endure, lead to muscular tension, and be a distraction from a more holistic experience of the mind/body connection. 

 

i was once taught that if one stands long enough in the most basic posture, all of the more physically complex postures will naturally arise when they are ready. 

[Phoenixrising]

Taomeow, thanks for your explanation on how to develop the zhanzhuang practice and why it is important to push the limits. Its something I am working on right now. And you are right, sometimes when I can push through the discomfort (aching quads)... It gets to a stage when it becomes effortless. Like a runner's high. The energy just flows through the body....

[Taomeow]

Very nice, Phoenix, and thank you for the validation.

 

An idea used toward developing courage I sometimes push myself with when undertaking something difficult to the point of being unbearable is,

"well, what can anyone or anything do to me if I can endure doing this to myself?"

[doc benway]

Very nice, Phoenix, and thank you for the validation.

 

An idea used toward developing courage I sometimes push myself with when undertaking something difficult to the point of being unbearable is,

"well, what can anyone or anything do to me if I can endure doing this to myself?"

 

In a similar vein, I think it is extremely valuable to look at myself nakedly, as if through the eyes of those who would be most critical of me. When I can see and acknowledge my deepest flaws, no one can ever insult me. They are either telling me the truth that I've already accepted or they are lying - I'm fine either way. I do not mean to say that we accept our faults without intention to grow, but rather we see them for what they are, honestly, and then do what we will with that. 

[Taomeow]

In a similar vein, I think it is extremely valuable to look at myself nakedly, as if through the eyes of those who would be most critical of me. When I can see and acknowledge my deepest flaws, no one can ever insult me. They are either telling me the truth that I've already accepted or they are lying - I'm fine either way. I do not mean to say that we accept our faults without intention to grow, but rather we see them for what they are, honestly, and then do what we will with that. 

 

Let me guess...  you got your inspiration for this from the end of the first episode of the new Game of Thrones season?  Melisandre taking off her red stone necklace in front of the mirror?..    

[doc benway]

Let me guess...  you got your inspiration for this from the end of the first episode of the new Game of Thrones season?  Melisandre taking off her red stone necklace in front of the mirror?..  

 

I have to tell you that I've never seen the show - should I check it out?

[Taomeow]

I have to tell you that I've never seen the show - should I check it out?

 

Oh, I thought it might be the case, but I just had to make this parallel between your "antinarcissistic" practice and the moment of truth in that episode.  

 

Should you check it out? -- let's go over the pros and cons.  (Sorry for the tangent, OP.)  

Cons: The show is exceedingly cruel and bloody and, since it was made for HBO (I think -- I don't have cable), there's obligatory nudity and porn-ish (I think -- I have never watched porn) scenes in most episodes, mercifully brief.  The pros -- most of the rest isn't "just" cheap entertainment, and the stories (there's many protagonists and many intertwined stories), however fantastic and convoluted, have an unmistakable feel of some recognizable reality, history -- for a reason:  R.R. Martin is a history buff, and he derived most of his inspiration for the novel (and consequently the script) from his monumental studies in history, rewriting actual events in a fantastic setting.   E.g. the country known in the show as Westeros is pretty much medieval England, and the whole huge conflict is modeled on the actual events unfolding there for decades at one point -- the War of the Roses.  In England, it's York vs. Lancaster, in Westeros it's Stark vs. Lannister...  and so on.  Many of the characters are memorable and quite unexpectedly developed in the long run.  Some of the actors are excellent.   Super emotional, not boring, pretty addictive once you get into it. 

 

So -- you decide if you are up to it.

[doc benway]

Oh, I thought it might be the case, but I just had to make this parallel between your "antinarcissistic" practice and the moment of truth in that episode.  

 

Should you check it out? -- let's go over the pros and cons.  (Sorry for the tangent, OP.)  

Cons: The show is exceedingly cruel and bloody and, since it was made for HBO (I think -- I don't have cable), there's obligatory nudity and porn-ish (I think -- I have never watched porn) scenes in most episodes, mercifully brief.  The pros -- most of the rest isn't "just" cheap entertainment, and the stories (there's many protagonists and many intertwined stories), however fantastic and convoluted, have an unmistakable feel of some recognizable reality, history -- for a reason:  R.R. Martin is a history buff, and he derived most of his inspiration for the novel (and consequently the script) from his monumental studies in history, rewriting actual events in a fantastic setting.   E.g. the country known in the show as Westeros is pretty much medieval England, and the whole huge conflict is modeled on the actual events unfolding there for decades at one point -- the War of the Roses.  In England, it's York vs. Lancaster, in Westeros it's Stark vs. Lannister...  and so on.  Many of the characters are memorable and quite unexpectedly developed in the long run.  Some of the actors are excellent.   Super emotional, not boring, pretty addictive once you get into it. 

 

So -- you decide if you are up to it.

 

Sounds interesting! I've had multiple people recommend it but never got around to it. 

Thanks for the summary.

The practice I referred to first came to me from listening to a wonderful talk by Fr. Anthony Demello.

[WisteriaWinds]

Was having a bad depressive episode, so I decided to do some santi shi, after about 5 minutes, I realized that the edge of the depressive episode was taken off. That intense feeling subsided.

 

Are there any other standing meditations that could also work, but not as physical as san ti shi?

I find that standing meditation is more easier to have more body awareness then normal sitting meditation.

Do ZZ watching the Simpsons or South Park. I find it works better than Inner Smile or Secret Smile.

[spiraltao]

I recommend purging the viscera with the healing sounds. My teacher recommended this to me as the further I progressed into the ZZ some organs hold repressed emotions/memories.  These sounds help get rid of them.  Xie Piexie has an example and so does that Nugent-Head guy with Traditional Studies, I just find this link the best to understand


.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_6GQP7a-54

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOTNhwqbkdU

[dwai]

One word of caution is sometimes if we "force" our way into standing for longer periods of time, we can freeze issues into the muscles. Better to increase standing little by little. Just push the boundary a little at a time. When we can stand without effort, we increase more.

When I stand, I cycle through multiple forms (at least 4-5) besides my normal taiji single forms. My word of advise is "don't be a hero/ine...if you feel pain in the upper body (neck, shoulders, elbows, back), cycle into another form which releases the pain".