Daily practise

[Juan Botero]

[quote]I'm trying something new with a beginner student over here. I told her to practise zhan zhuang for just 3 minutes a day for the first month, then add one minute daily per month from then on.[/quote]

Hi Linda,
I did something different: Instead of doing half an hour, I just did only three minutes at a time. When the three minutes were up, then I did three minutes, and so on. So it never felt like doing half an hour but rather 10 consecutive series of 3 minutes (it was just three minutes anyway). Since doing 3 minutes is not such a big deal, perhaps this was just a way to fool myself, but it worked for me.

I hope you are fully recovered very soon!
Best,
Juan

[Linda Heenan]

Hello Juan. Recovery is progressing. I've just made the transition from only doing things sitting down, to 5 mins standing zhanzhuang, 5 mins other exercises and 5 mins basic cuts, in one session. That much is exhausting. After a few hours rest, I'll do 5 mins footwork and 10 mins form - so half an hour today.

That's the thing about daily practise. You can do something, even if you can't stand up, every day. But when we are in full health, we should take advantage of that and never miss a day of focused practise on things that take more energy. There are times when you can't do much, so when you can do more, you should. A day never comes back again.

[Tashi James]

I find it useful to do zhan zhuang immediately before continuing with the form. It seems to make it feel softer and lighter but also 'energetic.'

[WhiteNovice]

I find it useful to do zhan zhuang immediately before continuing with the form. It seems to make it feel softer and lighter but also 'energetic.'

How do people manage to keep most of the 'energy' from zhan zhuang when continuing into the form?

WN

[Tashi James]

I find it useful to do zhan zhuang immediately before continuing with the form. It seems to make it feel softer and lighter but also 'energetic.'

How do people manage to keep most of the 'energy' from zhan zhuang when continuing into the form?

WN

I actually find that it dissipates if I lose mind intent. So if i get distracted by something external like a siren, or internally by a particular pain or even mentally by analyzing my posture it fades or at least my awareness of it does.

I'm yet to complete the form without distraction or loss of intent on some level, but perseverance is key.

[Linda Heenan]

I also like to do what Tashi does. If I use my zhanzhuang time to circulate qi, rather than just to work on body mechanics, I can get a good strong qi flow during the standing time. The feeling of peace and relaxation carries over to the form. The mental focus carries over as well and sets me free from distractions that might take my attention. Most of all, the qi circulation is far easier to continue throughout the form because it has been set off. It's like getting a rock rolling. Once it has momentum, it keeps going with little effort. So the zhanzhuang time is the initial push and the form takes advantage of the momentum. Remember the classics tell us there is a difference between cultivating qi and circulating qi.

At present I'm working on getting qi flowing the correct way through my arms. I've had to change some things, so it's taking awhile. It works fairly well in zhanzhuang now but when I move over to the form, I usually need to stop and repeat one movement over and over to get it happening through that movement - same as we would do for the body mechanics of a movement or for an application. Many repeats brings better results. One movement at a time and you can concentrate through the whole form before very long.

The 6 basic exercises are good for this too. If you repeat one over and over while circulating qi, movements that use similar body mechanics should be natural in the form. If you can circulate qi while doing zhanzhuang with one weigted leg, or doing carry tiger - there is nothing new to learn for doing it in the form. You have already developed the intent and the qi will follow your mind. I'm using games with mental focus on beanbags right now, to develop the concentration skills for this in the kids. They don't know what they are doing but later, when they need internal focus, they will have already developed it.

[Nik]

I find it useful to do zhan zhuang immediately before continuing with the form. It seems to make it feel softer and lighter but also 'energetic.'

How do people manage to keep most of the 'energy' from zhan zhuang when continuing into the form?

WN

Actually, you don't have to, as this is an effect that is bodily yet provoked / controlled by the deep mind (the mind that is generally involved in controlling body functions). It is a grave mistake to try to "concentrate" on keeping some energy. It becomes dead, and constructed, as opposed to lively, spontaneous and integrated into the NORMAL body moving. It may take some time until the body mind integrates this kind of function into the normal moving, but when it does, a LOT of spontaneous, to the point effects occur, and lots of then becoming natural abilities you would have never expected to be able to get.

The key is to get into the no-mind state, leaving all that to this inner mind that controls any other body function, without problems. Why would anyone start learning how to sweat intentionally ? The body does it when it gets too hot. So then why trying to "learn" how to do things intentionally that boost the strength of the body, when the body can and wants to do it himself. The key is in doing the basics, in a meditative mind state, not unlike a tennis player who would do 500 long lines without thinking, just getting the feeling of it. The body can and will make use of additional mechanisms that get stimulated from the basic practice, it just takes some time. One of the keys is to keep will out of this. The instance to do the controlling of internal strength is the very same that retracts the hand from a hot plate, even before you realize.

[Tashi James]

Yes, I didn't mean to imply that I çoncentrate or attempt to force the process.

Rather that I've observed a greater awareness of 'qi' when doing the form in the aforementioned manner.

[WhiteNovice]

Yes, I didn't mean to imply that I çoncentrate or attempt to force the process.

Rather that I've observed a greater awareness of 'qi' when doing the form in the aforementioned manner.

Yes, of course. I think that the differences between "not doing" and "doing something" on the one hand and "not doing" and "doing nothing" on the other are so subtle that it is not easy to capture them in words. WN

[Linda Heenan]

Interesting... this doesn't sound anything like what Laoshi has taught me so far. Perhaps that's just because I haven't asked the right questions yet, or perhaps there is a difference. Whatever the case, I'm still at the stage of using my conscious mind to lead qi.

Meanwhile, back to daily practise. When I see how quickly the kids over here pick up skills, I wish I'd had the opportunity of beginning much younger . We're working on sword footwork. It's amazing how they can understand and do something in a moment that took me an hour to learn. It's fun though. Imagine how good a person could get if they practised well every day since they were six.