Generally speaking, vigorous exercise suits the young better than the old and frail. For people who are weak, short of fluids, and short of breath, vigorous exercise only increases internal depletion, harming the fluids and stirring the qi; rather than benefiting them, it wears them down. That is why experienced elders who regularly practice standing meditation often say that big movement is not as good as small movement.
Once the key points of health-nurturing standing meditation are made public, we believe many people will take an interest in this simple and effective health method. In fact, health-nurturing standing is a form of standing meditation (zhan zhuang) that anyone can learn. Below are its key points.
Though health-nurturing standing is very ordinary, it is highly effective for treating illness and nurturing health; it is also the method of quiet health cultivation that takes up the least space and best builds patience.
The key points of the posture are even simpler: place both feet flat on the ground, shoulder-width apart, and let the whole body relax casually. Circle the arms in front of the chest as if embracing something, and slowly move the buttocks back as if sitting on a tall stool—seeming to sit yet not sitting. Then you are in position.
There are also a few finer points:
The palms should be slightly hollowed. With all ten fingers spread, the inner joints squeeze inward and the outer joints press outward, and the tiger's mouth (the web between thumb and index finger) is held open in a round arch.
The wrists must not be locked stiff, and the shoulders should be spread open. Between each pair of fingers it should be as if you were holding a cigarette that must not fall. The hands are as if embracing a helium balloon: hold too lightly and it floats away; squeeze too tight and it bursts. Feel carefully for this sense of being relaxed but not slack, firm but not stiff.
As for the head, tuck the chin in slightly, as if holding a ping-pong ball between chin and neck; at the same time, feel as though a string is suspending the head from above.
Once the posture is set, you may sway gently back and forth, as though in a swimming pool or in warm water up to your chest, feeling the water and your body rock against each other; do not sway too far. Keep the eyes half closed, and think of whatever makes you happy.
Draw circles with the tailbone and relax the whole body—relaxed but not slack—keeping a feeling as if about to urinate yet not urinating.
In just three to five minutes, the body grows slightly warm, a warm current flowing from the inside out. The hands also become hot and full, with a feeling like ants crawling inside—the “ant-crawling sensation”—which shows that the flow of qi and blood in the body has quickened.
If you cannot control the slight rocking and swaying of the body well, concentrate your mind on the tailbone and slowly draw a small circle with it, letting it lead the body's subtle swaying. At this point, the ant-crawling sensation in the fingers becomes especially marked as the body sways.
What is special about health-nurturing standing is that it seems motionless, yet within the stillness there is great movement. This great movement differs from sports such as running or skipping rope, which are vigorous exercise and generally suit only the young. For people who are weak, short of fluids, and short of breath, vigorous exercise increases internal depletion, harming the fluids and stirring the qi; rather than benefiting them, it wears them down. For those with serious high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, bronchitis, and the like, or with hidden illnesses, vigorous exercise is all the more to be avoided. That is why elders experienced in health cultivation often say: big movement is not as good as small movement.
In fact, small movement is not as good as subtle movement. The movement of health-nurturing standing is a subtle movement—more precisely, a wriggling. As the body sways gently like this, you feel like seaweed drifting and swaying back and forth in a slow current. In this gentle swaying the body and limbs are nourished, and the blood of the whole body, like a quiet stream, circulates without ceasing.
Many years of practicing standing meditation have taught me that within its stillness there is great movement. You seem to stand quietly, swaying only slightly, but in fact the qi and blood of the whole body are moving—this is true movement, the most efficient and effective movement. Health-nurturing standing is also not still, yet truly still: though you cannot be wholly free of stray thoughts, joy arises in the heart and the spirit is glad. Simple health-nurturing standing thus perfectly unites nurturing the body and nurturing the mind; it is easy to do, and it is not prone to the deviations that can arise in practice.
Which Direction Is Best to Face When Practicing Standing Meditation?
When practicing standing meditation after rising in the morning, it is best to face east; in the evening, it is best to face west. Following the Chinese cultural method of drawing analogies from images, the east belongs to “wood,” the west to “metal,” the south to “fire,” the north to “water,” and the center to “earth.” The east signifies rising and spreading; the south, growth; the west, gathering in; the north, storing away; and the center is earth, and earth can nurture and give rise to life. Why is the east associated with rising? Anyone familiar with Chinese writing knows that the character dong (east) is made of the character mu (tree) with the character ri (sun) in its middle, an image of the sun slowly rising through the trees in the east, gradually ascending and spreading. Because the east is where the sun rises, facing east can raise and spread a person's yang qi. In the evening, the west signifies gathering in, and sleep is precisely a good way to store essence and qi and nourish yin. After a person's essence, qi, and spirit are stored away at night and one sleeps until waking naturally, this shows that one's yin fluids are full; yin and yang hold each other, and on rising in the morning, health-nurturing standing can again raise and spread the yang qi—and when the first yang returns, all things are renewed.