Chen Style Zhan Zhuang Tutorial (Qi Magazine)

Chen Style Zhan Zhuang

By Michael Tse

Zhan Zhuang is a very popular form of exercise. For some years now there have been a wide variety of books and videos available, and there has even been a TV series on the subject. 

A very common type of Qigong trianing is 'Standing like a tree', standing still, with your arms out as if you are holding a ball, with your eyes closed. Did you know that this standing training comes from Taijiquan? this type of training we all Zhan Zhuang and there are other styles that have similar training exercises. 'Zhan' means standing and 'Zhuang' means pole. Altogether it means 'standing like a pole'. These exercises help you to gather a lot of Qi, strengthen your muscles and bones, and make you healthy.

Orginially, taijiquan came from Chen Village, and to the Chen style, Zhan Zhuang is very important, especially if you want your taijiquan to be good since it helps you develop a stance and strong legs. Here is the Chen style Zhan Zhuang which follows the teaching of Master Chen Xiao Wang.

1) Stand still with your feet together and your head upright, as if you are listening to a sound coming from behind you. Your baihui point, huiyin point and yongquan points should be in line and your Qi will start to sink to your Dantien. Slightly bend your knees. This will help your Qi sink more and stop your body from moving. (Fig 1 & 2)

2. Start to bend your knees more, but keep your knees, shoulders, hips, back and ankles in a straight line. The shoulders and hips are connected together and your arms and ankles are connected together. More Qi will sink to the Dantien because the knees bend more. Your center of gravity also moves to your Dantien and this makes the upper body feel lighter and allows the Qi to flow more easily. 

Now shift all your weight onto your right leg and lift up your left foot. Try to keep your balance and do not allow yourself to fall over. (Fig 3)

Slowly move your left foot out to the side until your feet are shoulder width apart (Fig 4) and then shift your weight over until your weight is even on both feet. You should now feel more steady. Do not forget to keep your head up (as if you are listening to something behind you), arms and body straight. Your knees should still be bent, but do not let them go past your toes. Everything should be still and relaxed, let the Qi sink to the Dantien and stand still 'like a mountain'. (Fig 5)

3. Now you can start to slowly raise up your arms, as if you are holding something between your hands. Move slowly until your arms are at a comfortable height. Some people like them high and some like them lower. How high or low you go depends on how strong you are, and this is actually the same with the stance, but in the beginning it is better to use a hight stance and just have your hands in a comfortable positoin. (Fig 6, 7, 8)

While you are standing, you can slightly adjust your posture if you find any part of your body is tense or uncomfortable. This will help you stand for a long time so you can store a lot of Qi and let the power of the Qi develop. To begin with, your teacher will help to adjust your posture until it is right. Afterwards, you will find that heat passes through your body and this means that all the blockages are clear. 

How long you can manage depends on your standard and you will find the longer you stand, the longer you like to do the exercise.  At the end, when you feel you want to stop, slowly drop your hands down to  your sides and close your legs until you are standing in the original position. The longer you stand, the more clear you will feel, sometimes you will almost forget yourself. When you try to forget everything and relax, the Qi inside your body will flow very strongly, passing all around the body, making you feel good and relaxed. 

Gradually build up the time you can stand, from about fifteen minutes to one hour. Zhan Zhaung is a very important part of taijiquan. If you practice regularly it can help to make you strong and healthy.

Qi Magazine - Issue 27 (1996)

Tadasana - Mountain Pose - Yoga Wuji

Notes from B.K.S. Iyengar

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practising and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yoga practice and philosophy. In 2004, Iyengar was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

The body extends upwards, with the base as firm as a rock; the mind is steady and attentive. Tadasana teaches balance, centering and evenness and direction of extensions. These principles apply to all the postures. -B.K.S Iyengar

Tadasana is perhaps the most basic yoga pose. All yoga poses are called asana and the word tada translates from Sanskrit to mountain, thus this is the 'mountain posture'. As it is a very simple and restful pose it is usually one of the very first that must be mastered by a new student. It is the base for all the other asanas, particularly the standing ones.

  

Although the pose looks simple, and indeed is the most simple of the asanas, it still takes much practise and concentration to master all the different areas of the body and combine them into a strong yet relaxed posture. Placing the body correctly from the beginning is of utmost importance as this will help the pose to be balanced for its entirety.

The ideal when practising tadasana is that the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and ears are exactly in a straight, vertical line. At first, this may take a surprising amount of concentration and effort. In order for your body to be lined up this way, its base, that is your feet, must be lined up. Think about the way people stand most of the time, they pretty much always lean one way or the other. Resting most of their weight on one leg, perhaps switching between the two, or standing with one leg placed more forward that the other. Even when sitting ones feet are hardly ever planted flat on the floor.

That is why this pose is so important and teaches many of the fundamental disciplines needed to carry out other standing poses successfully. Balance, alignment, concentration and awareness of the body are all focused on whilst practising tadasana. When one first begins to practise it is very important to take care when doing each of the following steps so that the end result is good. As one becomes more experienced the body will more naturally align its self, and many of the steps will become less conscious.

Once the body is correctly lined up and placed in this position, it is very important to focus on keeping it this way. Make sure that you are not leaning more weight onto one foot and that your arms are still hanging in line. Focus on taking long, deep breathes. Checking your alignment will make you aware of adjusting your body in a sensitive and subtle way. Your left and right and front and back should be exactly in line and parallel, even if one finger is bent and the other is not, this alignment is lost. Become aware of the line that runs between your legs, through the front and back of the body and to the crown of your head. This line should be vertical and once achieved you should take note of the balance and stability your body has in this position.

Try and make the mind still, do not let it wander, instead making it focus on the body, thus making it aware of the equilibrium gained. The position is normally held for about a minute, but at first you may wish to only stay in it for shorter amounts of time, and with practice you may extend it to any length you feel comfortable with. It is an excellent pose to start off with and once mastered will make all other poses more balanced and strong.

Settling into the posture brings repose. It follows precise placement of the limbs, correct extension and balance. There is peace and unity within. The mind fills every particle of the body, bringing harmony. This is Yoga.
 - B.K.S Iyengar