STANDING POST / ZHAN ZHUANG

The following is an edited selection from Master Li Yaxuan’s Tai Chi Notebooks originally published as Essential Explanations of Yang Style Tai Chi Method, translated by Matthew Miller.

Standing Post exercises are the architectural foundation for all Qigong and Tai Chi positions. They are powerful and deceptively simple. The ancient Chinese discovered that by standing and relaxing for an extended period of time with the body aligned in specific ways, they could open up the energy channels in the body and increase the circulation of qi. In the beginning, one should start out doing 2-5 minutes of standing each morning and work up to 20-30 minutes. Start with the most basic posture (Wuji) and add onto it.

Basic Position: (Wuji Stance)

This is the basic Qigong position. “Wuji” means “without polarity.” It refers to the Chinese concept of the world before creation, before separation into yin and yang (left/right, night/day, up/down, empty/full). In Qigong and Tai Chi it means the root posture from which all others extend. It is a basic, centered standing position without any shifting of weight left or right, forward or backward, up or down. The following components of the Wuji stance apply to most of the Zhan Zhuang postures:

Feet: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, keeping the entire foot evenly spread out over the floor with nine points in contact with the ground (heel, outside of foot, 2 balls of the foot and 5 toes). Equalize the weight bearing on three points: 1) the ball of the big toes; 2) the ball of the last two toes; 3) the middle of the heel. Be sure that you are not shifted toward the toes or the heel, neither toward the inside nor outside. Toes are pointed forward, as close to parallel as is comfortable. From below your kneecaps, imagine yourself extending roots downward like a tree. Feel as if the feet were dissolving and seeping into the earth, like popsicles in warm water.

Arms: Drop the shoulders and elbows. Allow the arms to hang loosely by the sides.

Fingers: Relax the fingers and allow them to curve gently, slightly separated. Feel gravity gently pull the fingers down (don’t push) toward the ground, extending the arm, until you the pull feel in your shoulder blades and spine.

Head: Imagine your whole body suspended from a string attached to the crown of the head. Feel yourself sinking down, relaxing as you hang from the string like a puppet. Your whole frame should feel suspended from the crown of the head, as if your shoulders were a coat hanger and the body hanging down like a garment (sung). The line from which you are suspended passes through the midpoint between the tips of the ears, and through the lower Dan Tian, a point roughly 3 inches below your navel and one-third inside your body.

Nose and mouth: Breathe calmly and naturally, using abdominal breathing. Inhale and exhale gently through

your nose only. Your mouth should be closed, with the jaw relaxed and a slight gap between the

teeth. If saliva forms, swallow it. The tip of the tongue is relaxed, at the roof of the mouth, just behind the teeth.

Eyes/Mind: Look forward. Allow your gaze to soften and become aware of your peripheral vision. Do not focus on any particular object. Allow your consciousness to globally diffuse over the field of your body and environment, but without becoming foggy. Stay alert but relaxed.

Chin: Tuck in the chin slightly so that your head is not craning forward. Feel the back of the neck at the base of

the skull open. As the curve of the neck flattens slightly, feel the crown of the head push slightly higher.

Chest: When you begin the stance, take a deep breath, fill the chest, then exhale completely and quietly and allow your chest to sink down toward the belly, but without slumping the spine: maintain this relaxed position of the chest while you breathe normally from the abdomen.

Knees: Soften the knees, allowing them to bend very slightly, just enough to feel a springy, soft quality in them. Gently push the knees apart, as if there were a balloon between the thighs inflating slightly. Be careful not to shift your weight to the outside of the feet. Keep the balls of the big toes firmly planted. Feel how the slight separation of the knees helps link the legs together as a unit. It also opens the hips in the front and causes the pelvis to slightly tuck under in the back. You can confirm this sensation of stability by briefly doing the opposite — make yourself knock-kneed and stick out the butt. Then gently push the knees apart and allow the butt to tuck under slightly. Notice how much more rooted that position feels. The legs should feel as if they were screwing down into the ground, like two giant screws.

Lower back/hips/pelvis: Relax the lower back without sticking out the belly or the buttocks. Allow the lower

back to flatten slightly (tucking the pelvis under), but without sticking the belly out. Feel the pelvic tuck subtly elongate the spine. Do not bend forward. Imagine you are simply resting your pelvis on the edge of a high stool. Alternately, imagine you have a kangaroo tail, settling onto the ground, pulling the lower spine downward.

Spine: Feel the tailbone sinking down, pulling the lower spine toward the ground. At the same time, feel the crown of the head being pulled up, pulling the spine up toward the sky. Feel the entire spine elongating and opening in both directions simultaneously. You may also imagine the spine extending through the tailbone deep into the earth, and continuing through the crown of the head high into the sky.

Duration: Stand quietly, allowing your whole system to calm down. In the beginning, you should start with 2-5

minutes and gradually build up.

Advanced Standing Post Exercises

Standing Post, Second Position: Abdomen Level

Preliminary: First stand in Wuji position for a minute and allow your whole system to settle down.

Arms heavy: Slowly raise the arms a few inches away from the body. Hold for a moment. Feel the arms very heavy and relaxed. Allow the shoulders to sink down a bit more. Feel gravity pulling on the tips of the fingers, which drape down toward the floor with a natural, relaxed curve. Feel the pull of gravity extend from the fingers all the way up into the spine.

Embracing a big belly: Slowly round the arms around to the front, hands at belly level, palms facing the abdomen. The fingers should be relaxed and draping down, as if resting on a great big belly. The fingertips point toward the opposite knee. The arms are held slightly away from the body, creating a space roughly the size of a fist under the armpits.

Arms suspended by a strap: Imagine the arms as if suspended by an invisible strap wrapped behind the neck. Completely relax the arms and allow the strap to hold them up.

Standing Post, Third Position: Chest Level

Embrace a ball: Slowly raise and wrap the arms around as if embracing a sphere in front of the chest. The palms are facing the neck or shoulders. The elbows are hanging down, as if suspended between the shoulders and the wrists, slightly lower than both.

Balloons: Imagine that you are holding a large beach ball between your hands, forearm and chest. You are gently keeping it in place without tension. Your elbows are resting on two large balloons that float on the surface of a pond. Your upper arms rest on two small balloons in the armpits. Your thighs and knees gently embrace another balloon. Your bottom is resting on the edge of a huge balloon.

Rooting and rising: From the navel downward, feel yourself sinking and rooting into the ground. From the navel upward, feel an upward pull through the crown of the head making you taller, growing upward like a tree.

Use a wall as needed: Practice using a wall to align yourself. You should be close enough so that the lower spine can flatten against wall without feeling like you are leaning back. Move shoulder blades firmly back to the wall so that the whole area of each shoulder blade is in firm contact with the wall. Now round the shoulders forward, feeling the shoulder blades move away from the wall, until just the spine and, if possible, the area between the medial borders of the scapulae remain on the wall. When you feel you can hold the position, step away from the wall and apply the same principles.

Rising against pressure: Slightly flex the knees and rise against imaginary pressure on the crown of head. Moving up, sense whether one leg has more weight than the other (may cause subtle strain at the hips). Imagine someone pushing very lightly on the top of you head. Maintain a very relaxed ground connection from foot to top of the head and straighten up into the imaginary pusher’s hand. Imagine that you are straightening the knees without actually straightening them.

Self-traction: Feel a pull at the base of skull and the sacrum elongating the spine. Practice self-traction: standing with pelvis slightly tucked and head suspended. Feel the spine lengthen.

Screwing in/Locking the knees: Concentrate on the knees. Feel as though they are simultaneously being pushed in and out. Then push the knees slightly outward. Feel a spiraling effect from the knees to the ground as if your legs were screws being screwed down into the earth.

Find center: From the ankles, tilt the body forward, shifting weight to the balls of the feet, then back, shifting weight to the heel, then center; gently press thighs backward and sacrum forward to center.

Relax in posture: relax the knees and lower back to let the tailbone “drop” rather than deliberately tucking in; feel the buttocks and feet relax as well. To “root” is to surrender yourself to the pull of gravity while you maintain a structural skeletal alignment that supports the body in an upright posture.

Sink the Dan Tian: relax the abdomen and allow a heavy feeling, a sinking feeling, to drop the body through the supporting feet and into the ground. With each exhalation, feel the abdomen relax and sink down even more

Connect head to feet: extend the spine by holding the head suspended until you feel it in the feet.

Standing Post, Fourth Position: Eye Level

This position is optional in beginning practice. It helps to increase strength, endurance, and stability in the shoulder girdle. From the previous position, raise the hands up to eye level and turn the palms out. The forearms should form a v-shape. Imagine the palms and forearms resting near the top of a large sphere in front of the body. The palms should face obliquely toward the opposite corners of the room. Keep the shoulders and elbows relaxed and hanging down.

Standing Post, Fifth Position

With the palms in the Fourth, eye level position, raise the hands overhead and turn them until the palms are pointing obliquely up toward the ceiling, with the fingertips about a shoulder width apart. Keep the shoulders relaxed and the elbows hanging down.

Standing Post, Sixth Position

Slowly lower the hands down to waist level. Palms down, arms held slightly away from the body. Elbows and shoulders relaxed. Imagine the palms as if resting on two balloons floating on the surface of a stream. Use just enough pressure to prevent the balloons from floating downstream. Imagine the legs sinking down into the stream bed as you stand facing the oncoming current.

Standing Post, Seventh Position

Place the backs of the hands over the lower back. Slowly shift the weight forward onto the balls of the feet, then back toward the heels. Feel as if you were massaging the bottoms of your feet with the ground as your roll the weight back and forth. Now shift the weight from side to side, swaying the body like a tree, and allowing the weight of the body to give the feet a deep tissue massage against the ground. Finally circle the weight from the front of the feet to the side, the heel, the other side, and back to the front. Do this several times, describing a circle in the air with the crown of the head. Then repeat in the other direction.

Lower the arms down to the sides, straighten the legs and rest for a moment with the eyes closed. Notice how the body feels. Notice any feelings of tingling, numbness, pain or any other sensations in the body. This is a variation on the previous ground connection exercise. This time, we add the element of shifting the weight from foot the foot. First do the previous exercise for a few cycles. After you’ve compressed down and bent the knees, shift all of your weight onto the left foot. The right leg should be completely “empty” and free to float in the air, or keep the toe on the ground for balance. Feel the pressure build up through the left leg to the crown. Then slowly, against resistance, push yourself back up to standing position. Shift back and forth from left to right several times. Do not allow yourself to “float” up. Keep a constant sense of pressure at the crown of the head. In the beginning, just slight bending of the weighted knee is fine. The bent knee should not go past the toes. The leg, knee, and hip areas should comfortably transmit the ground strength to the body: feel as if you are balancing a bean-bag on your head and be aware of the path from the weighted leg, through the hip joint, up the sacrum and spine to the top of the head. Maintain the beanbag with this constant ground connection. Exhale as you go down. Inhale as you rise

You can also use either a chair or hanging rope as a stabilizing aid. Stop. Imagine yourself doing the movement. Feel the muscles contract isometrically as if they were just beginning the movement or as if something

blocked the movement, resisting it, but don’t actually move. Now perform the movement again. Return to center and rest for a moment. Feel how much more rooted and settled the whole body feels.

 Refinement Exercises

In T’ai Chi Ch’uan, movement originates from the ground, is manipulated by the powerful torso, and expressed through the fingers. The mind directs the ground force, the extended connection, and the passage of qi through the fingers. To train with force is a mistake that only leads to li – external, muscular force. The head suspended from the crown sets up a mild tension/traction along the entire spine that helps unite the body and gives you a “grip” with which to manipulate the force. When you do the opening of Tai Chi, you connect your body fully with “earth strength” and the very tenuous “whole-body connection.” Movement should be driven by ground connection and the ribbon of ground strength should never be broken. If you maintain the ribbon of ground strength constantly, manipulating real or imagined things with ground strength, your movements can only become correct. One leg is a “feed” for the ground strength until the feed naturally changes to the other foot. In the classics, the leg with the ground force feed is called “substantial.” The important thing in all forms is learning to manipulate the ground force with such facility that it becomes part of your movements in all direction.

Ground Connection Through the Hands

In the previous exercises, it was relatively easy (with a bit of practice) to feel a vertical ground connection between the ground and the crown of the head. However, outside of soccer practice, one rarely strikes an object with the crown of the head. More often, force is applied through the hands and feet. This poses difficulties since most people hold a lot of tension in their neck and shoulders. It will be necessary to gradual release that tension before you can effectively transmit force from the ground. The following exercise helps to feel a connection from the hand through the arm, shoulder, spine, hip, leg and foot into the ground. Stand facing a wall with the toes only an inch from the wall. Raise both palms and put them on the wall in front of the chest. Push against the wall and feel the ground connection from the hands down to the feet. Now move away from the wall, put one foot toward and the other back. Try to push the wall again and notice the much stronger ground connection. Relax around this ground path. Feel how little muscle exertion is necessary to maintain it. Lift the front foot off the ground and feel the line of force from the hands into the rear foot. Lift a hand off the wall. With only one hand on the wall, rotate the body along the axis of the ground path. Keep the shoulder pushed forward (serratus anterior abducting scapula) to connect shoulder blade to the back. Keep your lower back relaxed. Feel and build a curved path from where your arm is being pushed, through your back, and down your rear leg. Try to relax around this ground path as much as possible; the knees and waist should be able to wiggle easily while you are still feeling the ground-path. Try this with each hand and with each foot in the front position.

Connecting the Hand to the Spine

This exercise helps to strengthen the sensation of having all of your arm movements coming from the spine, which is a basic principle of Tai Chi. The arms should never move independently; they should always accompany the simultaneous movement of the spine, just as the spokes of a wheel are simultaneous with the rotation of the axle. Stand with the feet shoulder-width apart, crown of the head as if pulled up, knees slightly bent, pelvis gently tucked under. Raise the right arm across the front of the torso with the palm facing away from you at a 45˚ angle, toward the left corner of the room. Place the back of the left hand over the curve of the lower back. Keep the hips facing forward. Push the palm toward the left corner, taking up all the slack in the arm until you feel a slight stretch from the palm down the arm, through the shoulder blade and into the spine. Now, if you wanted to push the arm any further, you would have to twist from the hips, rotating the trunk so that the right side of the pelvis thrusts forward. Do this four times, being sure to keep all of the slack taken up in the arm so that all of the thrust comes from the lower back and not the arm. There should be no flexion or extension of the arm; it is being carried back and forth by the rotation of the trunk. Do this 4 times on one side then the other, alternating back and forth several times.

Stationary Drills using the T’ai Chi Form Postures

Any and all of the postures in our T’ai Chi Ch’uan Form can be held as a Stationary Pole exercise. Standing in any posture, slowly relaxing, focusing on the breath, and softening the entire body will help to understand that posture better and how the body can “relax into the shape.” Each posture also relates to a specific meridian and organ and can be used therapeutically to tonify a specific organ or open a specific meridian. You can find those associations in various books and on the internet should that be of interest or use to you.