Zhanzhuang is first and foremost a form of Qigong, unlike other forms of moving Qigong Zhanzhuang or "Standing Pole Exercise" as the translation suggests, is an entirely stationary exercise. There are variations on both the position of the arms, feet and trunk but once the Zhanzhuang posture is adopted its static nature is the feature to be nurtured.

Figure A

The majority of Longfei students are familiar with Daoyin Yangsheng Gong exercises. This system of moving Qigong is very popular but it also adopts some more stationary techniques. I have found that the popularity of standing postures depends entirely on the character of the student. My own introduction was to a one and a half hour session. This period was interspersed with not too frequent instructions to straighten the legs and then to resume the sitting posture. This is not the kind of treatment the majority of students welcome, my own reaction was a version of Nils Carborundum.

In 1991 Master Lam Kam Chuen published a very good book on the subject, "The Way Of Energy", this was followed by his equally good TV series "Stand Still to Get Fit" in 1995, subtitled Standing Like a Tree. It presented five basic postures of this system and the programme introduced warming up and cooling down exercises. Although Lam's presentation did not include the martial aspect. He is a Taijiquan master of note. However his Zhan Zhuang deals specifically with fitness and health promotion. The TV series is probably available on video and can be recommended for its content, philosophy and presentation.

The prerequisite of all Daoyin, Qigong or Yangsheng Gong in all of the varieties is the cultivation and the art of nourishing life, in traditional Chinese medicine the "Three Gems" (San Bao). These represent the three forces of nature inherent in human beings, essence (Jing), vital breath (Qi), spirit (Shen). These terms are difficult to define in as much as the different Chinese traditions have arrived at separate conclusions. One common thread running through most systems is the use of respiratory disciplines referred to as "Tuna" (taking in and pushing out) or "Xing-Qi" (moving the breath). One quote by Tao Hongjing exemplifies the importance played to Tuna and Xing-Qi:

"If one is tired and listless then practice Daoyin exercises and close up the breathing to attack the illness."

At some time in Qigong training it must be necessary to take a view on a practical and pragmatic approach to the work. If you ask the average Chinese on the street about Qi, he or she will quite likely wave an arm indicating the air and the ozone. This observation is of course correct but serves little purpose as it represents just a tiny overview of the semantics that can be employed. Perhaps the best approach is through the more reliable source books on Traditional Chinese Medicine and avoid the avenues of mysticism.

Chinese medicine emphasises the relationships between human beings and their environment. Chinese doctors considered the Qi of humanity to be an end result of the interaction of the Qi of heaven and earth. It's interesting to note that the characters that indicate Qi are at the same time material and non-material; the two characters indicate vapour and rice. Commentators suggest this implies that which cannot be grasped (vapour, immaterial) and that which can be grasped (rice, material).

This does help to understand the Chinese approach to calisthenics having the dual purpose of working on the material of the body and at the same time guiding Qi and nourishing Shen (hence, Daoyin and Qigong). The uniqueness of this self cultivation approach is self evident when students without a clue of the foregoing comment on how good they feel after training, in a relaxed mood and spirit lifted.

My introduction to Zhanzhuang came from master Chu King Hung of the International Tai Chi Chuan Association many years before Master Lam's TV programme and book. In this issue I present some elements of my own training with the help of a few line drawings.

Wuji Posture

The Lower Limbs

Taiji and Wuji are terms that have roots in Chinese Cosmogony. Taiji is itself rooted in Taoist concepts that signify the origin of the duality of existence as manifested from the void (Wuji). Taiji is the mother of Yin and Yang.

This whole concept is a clue to the posture to be adopted; to be formless with absolutely nothing happening, physically, mentally, emotionally with a quiet spirit.

The foundation is in the lower limbs, the feet should be parallel, shoulder width and support the ankle. In turn the ankles will rest directly under the tibia and fibula which in turn support the knee and femur. The knees should be gently pushed out as if a large balloon was being supported and at the same time being inflated. The feet however should be equally weighed from heels to toes and from inside to outside edges. At the same time do not lose sight of the concept of nothing happening.

The Torso

The trunk should be upright. When dealing with the body one should also address the head. The head should be lifted from the crown (acupoint Baihui), the feeling should be as if a balloon filled with air was lightly drawing the crown up. At the same time one can visualise a weight is lightly drawing down the base of the spine. So the feeling visualised is an opening of the vertebrae of the backbone.

In the Wuji posture because the arms are by the sides it can help to relax the shoulders which is important for eradicating discomfort in the shoulder and upper back. The defining line of the trunk would be plumb from Baihui (DU20) and Huiyin (REN1).

It is important to give attention to the relaxation of the abdomen, the inguinal joints, hip joints and the sacro illiac area. This will help to sink the Qi to Dantian. Visualisation can be applied to the relaxation of the internal organs. The overall aim should be calm and loose without collapsing.

Upper Limbs

The arm and hand directives in this posture can be simple. They should hang loosely by the sides with a feeling that a pair of rolled socks were being held in the armpits. The hands and fingers should be relaxed and loose, the hand is slightly dish shaped with the fingers pointed to the ground and at the root of each finger a gap the size of a garden pea.

Head

The head position is important and we have already commented on the raising of Baihui. The tongue rests on the roof of the mouth connecting the two governing vessels, Du and Ren.

The eyes must remain relaxed and look directly ahead; alternatively they can be averted down. When the eyes are averted take care that the head remains lifted. This care with the head should also apply when we lift the crown point. It's a common fault with beginners, that when instructed to lift the crown they also lift the chin. This will be counter productive to the relaxation of the neck, when lifting the crown one must also tuck the chin.

As in all meditation techniques all students are confronted with their endless discursive mind. Whatever problems this may present are best discussed with an experienced instructor. With more practice the chattering mind can lose some impetus and the student will adapt his or her approach over a suitable period of time. Remember the instruction to do nothing can be applied on all levels of being.

Breathing

Breathing should be performed quietly through the nose keeping it simple, warm and friendly. The accent is on being natural and treating yourself gently. The respiration should be deep and slow but this should arrive naturally and never forcefully. Remember that any mental effort to govern the breath will be counter productive to some overall relaxation. It is permissable and practical to be attentive to the flow of breath even to count them as an aid to meditation.

General guides to good practice

It is better not to push yourself too hard; we are looking for nourishment not punishment. Perseverance and patience and a little training daily will bring its own rewards eventually. When practice is established non-practice can result in withdrawal symptoms. The exercise we are discussing is not directed to martial arts training. Standing still has been found to be very beneficial for a variety of health problems but one can only gain experience for oneself. So the aim is to build strength and improve general health.

When I was training with Master Chu, when the legs become tired I was urged to use a technique of rocking backward and forward and from side to side. This served two purposes: the first is quite obvious, when rocking to either direction there is alternating relief for the legs; the second, and not so obvious purpose, is finding a position where the legs experience the least strain. When the legs experience the least amount of strain it allows the upper body to relax more. When rocking forward or backward one feels the greater pressure on the legs that arises to stop us from falling over.

With experience this will enable us to find a resting posture with just sufficient leg strength to keep us upright. In the work of Yiquan this is known as stablising one's posture and allowing the mobilising muscles to be passive.

I have discussed Zhan Zhuang with Professor Li. He feels that there is insufficient knowledge about the beginning of this form of exercise to place dates on its arrival in Chinese history. In the programme "Stand Still to Get Fit" Lam Kam Chuen's teacher, professor Yu, remarks that this form of exercise dates back 2,700 years to the times of Lao Tzu and was one of the most ancient forms of oriental exercise.

There is a tendency in Chinese health arts to assume that locating the beginnings in antiquity will somehow bring greater credibility. However a great deal of the current popularity of stationary postures can be attributed to the work of professor Yu's teacher, Wang Xiangzhai (1885-1963). Master Wang was among the most famous Chinese martial artists of the twentieth century. Wang developed the art of Yiquan from his previous martial arts experience which was heavily influenced by his Xingyiquan training. Yiquan fundamental training is based in stillness unlike many other martial arts with the basics concentrated in forms.

Wang was considered a formidable fighter and built a considerable reputation but when the communists came to power in 1949 he abandoned his Yiquan Club in Beijing, apparently discouraged from teaching the Yiquan as a martial art by the authorities. He was subsequently invited to teach the standing meditation at the Hebei Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

This prohibition would have continued through the cultural revolution and until the passing of Mao Zedong some twelve years after Wang's own death.

This sequence of events goes some way to explain why Zhan Zhuang became more popular during the second half of the twentieth century. Its spread to the West has been a slow process since China opened up after President Nixon's visit to Beijing in 1972. I have no personal reference to any teacher presenting standing exercise before Master Chu King Hung brought it to London in 1976. Chu stressed both the benefits to health and its application to martial arts practice. More about this aspect later.

Figure B

Most of the general observations for Figure A, apply equally to Figures B and C. It's obvious from the illustrations that the knees are bent, the bending of the knees is not excessive and a good guideline is not to allow the knee to move forward beyond the toe. Care must be taken not to lean back or to incline the body forward.

A third point to note is that the bottom must not stick out. The sitting must be just that, as if we were sitting on a bar stool. This is by no means an easy posture to adopt for a novice and supervision is advised with regular checks on attaining the correct posture. Each one of us can bring a variety of problems to the training, these can be from a lifetime of bad postures or inherited traits and also from accumulated psychological tension.

The position of the arms is very comfortable, it allows the shoulders to relax, sink and sit comfortably. The elbows must also sink and relax. The fingers are open as in Figure A, the tips are apart with a gap approximately the width of the head. The feeling is not as if holding and clutching something heavy to the body; on the contrary it's as if the arms were floating or being supported by a balloon, with the muscles and tendons relaxed and the ligaments open.

Cultivating the correct feeling is of prime importance. Remember in Figure A, the knees are relaxed but not bent in Figure B they are bent using the guidelines above.

Figure C

The obvious change here is the lowering of the arms, the arm formation is with the palms facing up as if supporting the abdomen and the feeling as if sinking the energy to Dan Tien. All the general observations for postures in Figures A and B apply equally to Figure C.

Before starting practice one should do some gentle warming up exercises, stretching and loosening the body in preparation for sitting. It's also advisable to cool down with some breathing exercise.

The continual process of practising Zhan Zhuang is self-learning and self cultivation, correction to postural defects, arranging the skeletal structure as if we were erecting a building so that we have a good foundation, a sound structure allowing our internal organs to breathe and our metabolism to function at its optimum.

In the West the work of the Alexander technique and the Feldenkrais system have brought awareness to the problems of habitual postural abuse and its effect on function. In Chinese medicine the simple view that senility begins from the ground up (not confined to the brain) explains the position of Zhan Zhuang's approach to strengthen the legs. In recent years we are constantly being reminded of the need to use exercise to strengthen our leg bones and muscles to counter the onset of osteoporosis. Perhaps the gentle work of Zhan Zhuang ideally fits the bill. It's certain that osteoporosis sufferers need to be very selective about their exercise to avoid the onset of stress fractures.

Longfei has been working with the North London Osteoporosis Society for some years. When the body's framework is arranged correctly with the muscles relaxed and using only enough strength to maintain equilibrium we can experience the unobstructed circulation of the blood (and Qi).

While this form of exercise will bring a slight rise in the heart rate it certainly avoids the excessive rise in metabolic rates induced in more vigorous forms of activity. This will facilitate the possibility of taking the exercise into our most advanced years. In general practitioners should proceed at their preferred rate. However one should persevere in a disciplined fashion, it's very easy to shorten or retreat from regular and correct training.

A good plan would be to make a start with five minutes twice a day with posture A progressing to fifteen minutes and then experiment with postures B and C. Practice can be taken indoors or in the open, the air outside is considered beneficial in most of the Chinese methods of exercise. The aim of Zhan Zhuang is to bring a greater awareness of the body and its functions, to improve overall health and to improve one's energy quotient strengthening both body and resolve. In our next issue we will take a look at the more martial postures the training and the function.

Richard Watson

See also part 2

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